hand-embroidered chabi merino wrap

with skills passed down from father to son. After five tumultuous centuries, these methods have barely changed – men do the weaving and embroidery, and women do the cleaning and spinning of the fibres. But as all these pieces are made by hand from start to finish by a team of more than fifty weavers, it's a pretty involved process.

Muzaffir Andrab and his wife Irfana have a deep love of their native Kashmir and its indigenous arts and traditions, which is what spurred the idea to start their business. Whilst the business is famous mostly for its cashmir harvested from goats roaming the Kashmir Valley, fine merino wool from Australia is also imported, something that really ticks our boxes here at Merchant Campbell. This wool is spun on a 'charkha' spinning wheel and the thread is put on the handloom to create tension for the horizontal 'warp' thread, as another thread is wound around a pin to create the lengthways 'weft' thread. Warp and weft are woven together to create the cloth for the final piece.

Once woven, the shawl is passed on to an embroiderer for the intricate detailing that typify Muzaffir's designs, and then given a final clean.  The whole thing can take up to six months for the more intricate pieces.