Mala Carpets




 

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Exhibitions of our rugs and carpets

Thank you to all who visited our exhibition last December in York. Our next exhibition of rugs, carpets, and mats will be held in Spring 2005.

To receive an invitation to the exhibition, please e-mail us - your e-mail address will only be used for this purpose.

Our exhibition of Indian rugs and carpets held in York during December 2004 - picture courtesy of the Yorkshire Post

Buying a new carpet from Mala Carpets changes the look of the room and the life of the purchaser

Buying a new carpet changes the look of the room and the life of the purchaser. Buying a Mala Carpet also changes the life of some of the poorest people in rural India. Creating our carpets not only provides work for the skilled weavers employed by Mala Handicrafts but also supports Project Mala, a UK registered charity dedicated to providing schools for children in the Indian carpet weaving belt.

All our carpets carry a lifetime guarantee. They are all made in Mala Handicrafts' own workshops in India where they are thoroughly inspected at all stages of manufacture to ensure a very high quality.

Every carpet has a Mala Handicraft symbol discreetly woven somewhere into the pattern,
which denotes that it is genuine Mala product.
It will also have a unique number in the fringe for identification purposes.
The Blackboard symbol of Mala Handicrafts

All the carpets are made from natural fibres (mostly wool and cotton), and, as they all are individually handmade, they will vary slightly in colour and size, and have those endearing imperfections in the design that denote a specific weaver’s work.

The names are all individually chosen for each Mala design, and in most cases represent a description of the design, the location where the carpet originated, or the name of a person who was influential in the design. The names themselves are  Hindu, Urdu or English.

The fibres used are specially chosen to suit the carpet design, i.e. 60- to100-count wool where higher definition is needed; 30- to 60-count for larger patterns. The warps will mostly be strong cotton with two wefts.

All carpets are hand-finished. The hand-washing process involves three to five separate procedures to remove loose fibres, fasten the colours, enhance the lustre, or change the appearance.

The carpets are inspected and clipped by hand before the final, and only, process which involves a machine: the electric shearing, which evens and ensures the correct depth of pile.

Our hand woven carpet design 'Chir'. Chir is a type of tree found in the Indian mountain ranges of the Himalayas.  The big motifs are the trees.  It is a bold symmetrical pattern designed to blend in with most rooms.  It can be woven in a number of colourways and in multi-coloured Indian wool using our 20:20 quality.  The ends are finished with a short kelim incorporating the colours of the Indian flag.  It has been given a heavy wash to produce enhanced lustre in the wool.

Our hand woven carpet design 'Gamla'. Gamla is the Hindi word for “pot”.  It is hard to see how the designer came up with the name as whilst the design has flowers in it, it does not resemble a pot.  However, this is one of our finest carpets.  It is woven in our 40:40 quality as the intricate detail demands a high knot count and exceptional weaving skill.  This carpet is woven in the finest 60 count New Zealand wool and the fringes are finished in the traditional manner.  The carpet is given a special wash to achieve a sheen then air dried in the Indian sun.

We are able to dispatch carpets and rugs to anywhere in the world. Contact us by:

Telephone - 01904 786880, Fax - 01904 786880, or e-mail us.

Carpets from our range can be seen, and bought, in the York area at
Geoffrey Benson and Son York Road, Green Hammerton YO26 8DH (location map).

Our carpets are also stocked in Wimborne England.


 

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Indexed on Serebella.com

Copyright Mala Handicrafts Ltd. 2005 | Site updated 7 July 2005 by Peter Chapman