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Loloi Explores India
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The Old World Waycommitment to the craft - 01 of 11The modern-day methods used to craft our rugs are anything but modern. Every step of the process is done by hand, where proud artisans keep this time-honored tradition alive.
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Artisans & Their Craftmeet the weavers - 02 of 11Knot by knot and thread by thread, skilled artisans bring our designs to life. In areas like Varanasi, weaving is more than a livelihood—it’s the preservation of a proud legacy.
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The Raw Materials
from natural fiber to colorful yarn
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A Hands-On Approachpreparing the yarn - 03 of 11Wool is first received in raw bundles, still spotted and full of green from the pasture. It’s up to skilled specialist to card and hand-spin the wool, transforming it into long twisted strands.
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The "Before" Photoready for its dye - 04 of 11Before wool is transformed into a colorful yarn, it’s twisted into loosely tied bundles called skeins. The skeins are then hung onto metal wheels that rotate and repeatedly dip into a pool of dye.
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In Full Colorhanging to dry - 05 of 11Row after row of recently-dyed yarn is hung to dry under the Indian sun. Soon thereafter, they’ll be ready for the loom.
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The Art of Weaving
a time-honored craft
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An Artisan & His Canvashand-tufting a rug - 06 of 11At first, our Underwood Collection is literally a blank canvas. The design is executed slowly by a skilled artisan who hooks fine wool to form the intricate pattern, looking down only occasionally to follow a hand-drawn map.
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A Few Inches A Daythe art of hand-knotting - 07 of 11Hand-knotting rugs is a slow art. Here, a weaver glides his nimble fingers across the loom with careful attention, finishing only about a few square inches each day.
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The Final Touches
achieving perfection in every piece
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Deep Cleanthe washing process - 08 of 11A very little known fact about rug-making; After a rug is woven, wooden paddles (also called pharwas) squeeze mild detergent and water on both sides of the rug to cleanse the pile.
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Getting Some Sunthe drying process - 09 of 11To give our rugs a natural look, we dry them naturally. Our rugs will spend several days lying under the sun after a wash, sometimes for multiple rounds, to ensure a final product that’s rich with character.
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Every Last Detailhand-shearing the pile - 10 of 11Using nothing more than a pair of scissors, a skilled specialist carefully cuts loose yarn to ensure a smooth and even pile.
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The Final Stretchevening out the edges - 11 of 11When a rug comes off the loom, it’s almost never completely straight. Therefore, artisans stretch the four sides evenly onto a metal frame before it’s finally packaged and shipped to our Dallas headquarters.
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"From the designs we create, to the way they're woven, everything we do and everything we are is linked to India's community of weavers."amir loloi - founder & lead designer