Weaving Our Way
Inviting you into our home—the why and how we’ve created Joon Loloi—starts in India, with skilled artisans and long-held relationships we’ve been lucky to enjoy over decades (and countless cups of chai).
It's here in Varanasi that we find inspiration and immerse ourselves in centuries of tradition. As we witness a rug emerge from the loom, we're reminded that every rug's story is a testament to the community that writes it—knot by knot.
The Artists of Varanasi
Varanasi has been a center of learning and civilization for over 3,000 years and is one of Hinduism’s holiest cities. Pilgrims travel to this bustling city to participate in religious rituals, bathe in the sacred Ganges River, and participate in funeral ceremonies (where it’s believed that the cycle of rebirth is broken and salvation is obtained).
It is against this backdrop that Varanasi’s craft scene thrives, alive with traditions that go back centuries. It was around 500 years ago that Emperor Akbar the Great sought to put northern India on the map as an industrial leader in textiles, both to indulge his love of the arts and to unify the region under a distinct craft that people could be proud of.
His efforts are evident today in Varanasi, where textile production—including silk-weaving and rug-making—continue to thrive.
“Even after 13 years of working in the industry, I am still awestruck by the craftsmanship that I witness every time I travel to Varanasi. It deepens my appreciation for the final product and I hope that sharing this process with the world affects others as much as it has affected me.”
cyrus loloi
Generations of Tradition
Rug making in India has changed very little since it became an industrial staple all those centuries ago. The techniques, materials—and even some of the tools used—have been passed down through generations of families. The artisans who practice the craft continue to evolve their skills and technique through today.
The artisan communities we work with and visited in Varanasi specialize in hand-knotted and hand-loomed rugs, which take many crafts people and many months to produce.
Hand-knotted rugs are considered the highest order of the craft: Each is composed of individual stitches, tied row-by-row, knot-by-knot by a highly skilled artisan. We like to think of it like a pointillist painting—each tiny knot a dot of paint on a canvas.
01.
Each rug is unique unto itself, transformed from a raw bundle of fibers into an heirloom: It’s a process that never ceases to amaze us and inspire our work.
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Hand-loomed rugs require a different kind of precision, one executed by a team of artisans working in sync to push entire lines of knots down the warp of the loom.
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The rhythmic back-and-forth yields a unique piece with a design characterized by rows of color: A work of art woven in concert.
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After the rugs are completed on the loom, they’re finished with careful shearing, trimming, and sewing. This is more painstaking work—one false move and months of work could be lost.
Goodweave certified
All of the India-made rugs in our selection are GoodWeave certified, ensuring our commitment to ethical production and the support of weavers' communities.