Srinagar, India
Shah Rug International was founded by M. Yousuf Shah in 1995 and works from Safakadal in Srinagar. The house craft is Kashmiri hand embroidery, crewel and chain stitch worked with an aari hook onto a woven ground at roughly 110,000 hooks per square metre, which takes about ten days for a single piece. Output covers rugs, cushion covers, curtains and bags, along with papier mache, shawl embroidery, wood carving, namdha and silk carpets. Around 650 cottage artisans work on the range. Exports go to the United States, the United Kingdom, France, Italy, Spain and Australia. The firm is Sedex audited and certified by Intertek.
Crewel and chain stitch rugs, cushion covers, curtains, bags, papier mache, namdha, silk carpets
Wool crewel worked with an aari hook onto a woven ground. A piece carries roughly 110,000 hooks per square metre and takes about ten days to finish.
Cushion covers embroidered by hand in chain stitch. Designs are worked to order in the colors a buyer specifies.
Curtain panels hand embroidered in crewel wool. Width and drop are made up to the buyer measurement.
Bags embroidered by hand in chain stitch and crewel. They are worked by the same cottage artisans who make the rugs and cushions.
Papier mache pieces made by hand in Srinagar. They are produced alongside the embroidery range by the same artisan network.