Product Care
How do I take care of my Kashmir carpet?
Vacuum your Kashmir carpet regularly to keep it clean. Dirt is a natural enemy of fine carpets as it can cause increased wear. Vacuuming will also keep the natural fibres from becoming packed down.
Use the ordinary vacuum nozzle while cleaning your Kashmir carpet. The beater bar of your vacuum cleaner can grab loose fibres and can cause a run or tear. Similarly, avoid the use of a power brush while cleaning your carpet. In particular, do not use the beater bar or power brush on the tassels or fringes of your Kashmir carpet – these can wear out or shred the tassles
Clean all spills immediately. Do not use soap or bleach on your valuable Kashmir carpet to clean it. First, absorb the spill with paper towels by gently daubing it from the end of the spill towards the centre – this will keep the spill from spreading. Use only water to clean spills on a valuable Kashmir carpet. Should the stains persist, send it to a laundry for specialised carpet cleaning.
How do I take care of my Kashmir shawl?
Hand-washing your shawl is preferable to dry-cleaning it. Dissolve baby shampoo (or a very mild, neutral detergent) in cold water in a bucket, pail, clean sink or bathtub. Soak the shawl in the soapy water and pat the shawl gently all through to allow the soap to reach all through the shawl. Exercise care with the hand-tied tassels, in particular. Use a hand-held shower to rinse the soapy water out. Let the shawl air dry, leaving it flat on a large towel to absorb the moisture or on a bar / hanger. Do not wring or twist your shawl as this will damage the delicate fibres. Similarly, do not use a dryer for drying your shawl and avoid drying the shawl in direct sunlight. If your Kashmir shawl has stains which persist, please send it to a laundry for specialised cleaning.
Why Kashmir Carpets?
Why should I buy a carpet or shawl through Kashmir Weavers?
Kashmir Weavers is a social enterprise. It is our objective to benefit the skilled craftsmen by enabling them to sell their creations at better prices by cutting out the middlemen’s profits. Simultaneously, we aim to deliver the best quality products to you at prices lower than what you would pay at the lush carpet showroom or boutique.
Kashmir Carpets is a not-for-profit organisation, and does not earn any “cut” in the process. What you pay is what the weavers receive, after covering the minimal operating costs of this website – no high rents, salaries or profit margins.
Through this route, our objective is to revitalise and invigorate these wonderful crafts and sustain them for future generations.
How can realisations for the weavers be increased, while lowering the price I pay for the items?
Boutiques from which you would otherwise purchase these products directly pay extremely high rental costs. They need to mark up the prices of the products substantially to cover their costs. Further, they apply a large profit or commission on these articles. On average, you pay 250% of what the weaver receives, for the carpet or shawl that you purchase from the boutique.
Kashmir Weavers sources the products directly from the weavers and sells them to you at near production prices. We deliver a better price to the craftsmen for their skilled works and offer the articles to you at significantly lower prices than the boutiques.
How does Kashmir Weavers interact with the craftsmen?
Through Mohammed Yasin Khan, a prominent and highly respected individual in the local community. Yasin Bhai uses his relationships, established over several decades of interaction, with weavers from the rural areas in Kashmir, to source the carpets and shawls. He is involved in integrating more of them in this enterprise, for the benefit of all concerned.
Placing Orders
How do I place my order?
As our online store is still in the works, drop us a message in the Contact page detailing what you'd like, and we'll get back to you as soon as possible!
Do you take customised orders for carpets?
Yes, we do. Should you desire a variant (in size, colour scheme, material or fineness) of a carpet in our Store section, we can have our weavers create this on a bespoke basis. Please contact us with your requirements via the Contact page. We will respond to your and obtain the specifications of your request.
How long do these customised orders take to produce?
This will vary, depending upon the specifications of your requirement. Our products are hand-woven and intricate, and we would like to deliver the highest quality products to you. We will provide you an estimate of the production time when we respond to your message.
Shipping and Delivery
How will the products be shipped to me?
When you send us an inquiry relating to the products you wish to purchase, we will revert with an estimate of the shipping costs via courier and postal delivery. These will be a function of the size and weight of the articles. You may let us know which alternative you prefer, and we will ship the items to you via this channel.
What are the shipping costs for these items?
We will check on the shipping charges through the different channels for each order and revert to you. There will be no mark-up over the charges levied by the courier company or postal service.
How do I take care of my Kashmir carpet?
Vacuum your Kashmir carpet regularly to keep it clean. Dirt is a natural enemy of fine carpets as it can cause increased wear. Vacuuming will also keep the natural fibres from becoming packed down.
Use the ordinary vacuum nozzle while cleaning your Kashmir carpet. The beater bar of your vacuum cleaner can grab loose fibres and can cause a run or tear. Similarly, avoid the use of a power brush while cleaning your carpet. In particular, do not use the beater bar or power brush on the tassels or fringes of your Kashmir carpet – these can wear out or shred the tassles
Clean all spills immediately. Do not use soap or bleach on your valuable Kashmir carpet to clean it. First, absorb the spill with paper towels by gently daubing it from the end of the spill towards the centre – this will keep the spill from spreading. Use only water to clean spills on a valuable Kashmir carpet. Should the stains persist, send it to a laundry for specialised carpet cleaning.
How do I take care of my Kashmir shawl?
Hand-washing your shawl is preferable to dry-cleaning it. Dissolve baby shampoo (or a very mild, neutral detergent) in cold water in a bucket, pail, clean sink or bathtub. Soak the shawl in the soapy water and pat the shawl gently all through to allow the soap to reach all through the shawl. Exercise care with the hand-tied tassels, in particular. Use a hand-held shower to rinse the soapy water out. Let the shawl air dry, leaving it flat on a large towel to absorb the moisture or on a bar / hanger. Do not wring or twist your shawl as this will damage the delicate fibres. Similarly, do not use a dryer for drying your shawl and avoid drying the shawl in direct sunlight. If your Kashmir shawl has stains which persist, please send it to a laundry for specialised cleaning.
Why Kashmir Carpets?
Why should I buy a carpet or shawl through Kashmir Weavers?
Kashmir Weavers is a social enterprise. It is our objective to benefit the skilled craftsmen by enabling them to sell their creations at better prices by cutting out the middlemen’s profits. Simultaneously, we aim to deliver the best quality products to you at prices lower than what you would pay at the lush carpet showroom or boutique.
Kashmir Carpets is a not-for-profit organisation, and does not earn any “cut” in the process. What you pay is what the weavers receive, after covering the minimal operating costs of this website – no high rents, salaries or profit margins.
Through this route, our objective is to revitalise and invigorate these wonderful crafts and sustain them for future generations.
How can realisations for the weavers be increased, while lowering the price I pay for the items?
Boutiques from which you would otherwise purchase these products directly pay extremely high rental costs. They need to mark up the prices of the products substantially to cover their costs. Further, they apply a large profit or commission on these articles. On average, you pay 250% of what the weaver receives, for the carpet or shawl that you purchase from the boutique.
Kashmir Weavers sources the products directly from the weavers and sells them to you at near production prices. We deliver a better price to the craftsmen for their skilled works and offer the articles to you at significantly lower prices than the boutiques.
How does Kashmir Weavers interact with the craftsmen?
Through Mohammed Yasin Khan, a prominent and highly respected individual in the local community. Yasin Bhai uses his relationships, established over several decades of interaction, with weavers from the rural areas in Kashmir, to source the carpets and shawls. He is involved in integrating more of them in this enterprise, for the benefit of all concerned.
Placing Orders
How do I place my order?
As our online store is still in the works, drop us a message in the Contact page detailing what you'd like, and we'll get back to you as soon as possible!
Do you take customised orders for carpets?
Yes, we do. Should you desire a variant (in size, colour scheme, material or fineness) of a carpet in our Store section, we can have our weavers create this on a bespoke basis. Please contact us with your requirements via the Contact page. We will respond to your and obtain the specifications of your request.
How long do these customised orders take to produce?
This will vary, depending upon the specifications of your requirement. Our products are hand-woven and intricate, and we would like to deliver the highest quality products to you. We will provide you an estimate of the production time when we respond to your message.
Shipping and Delivery
How will the products be shipped to me?
When you send us an inquiry relating to the products you wish to purchase, we will revert with an estimate of the shipping costs via courier and postal delivery. These will be a function of the size and weight of the articles. You may let us know which alternative you prefer, and we will ship the items to you via this channel.
What are the shipping costs for these items?
We will check on the shipping charges through the different channels for each order and revert to you. There will be no mark-up over the charges levied by the courier company or postal service.