About Us
Our Shawl draws inspiration from the rich traditions and natural beauty of Kashmir.
The Naqash Shawls were founded in Srinagar, Jammu & Kashmir India upon a desire to bring the centuries-old timeless Kashmiri art to the world. In this world of countless uncreative machine-made products, Naqash shawls stand out for their timeless creativity and unique designs. There are few concepts that represent the mission, vision, and ultimate ambition of the Naqash Shawls. These concepts underpin everything we do here at our unit and can be expressed as a desire to preserve the genius and unique skills of Kashmiri craftsmen, a passion to revive century-old traditions of timeless Kashmiri art that can continue to thrive only with patronage, an obsession to conserve traditional skills that inflict minimal harm to the environment and a dream to make a difference in the lives and families of the rural people of Kashmir. We have a well-equipped manufacturing unit wherein a range of Designer Exclusive Shawls is crafted. A series of advanced equipment, loom, printing, dyeing and other machinery are installed. The manufacturing unit is supported with the facilities of design, finish, quality control and testing etc. That is managed by a team of experts. Owing to our infrastructural setup, we manufacture exclusive Designer Shawls in best design and patterns. Our Shawl draws inspiration from the rich traditions and natural beauty of Kashmir.
The Tradition
The Kashmir Shawl can be categorized in two main types-the loom woven or Kani shawls and the needle embroidered or Sozni Shawls. The shawls are embroidered in various motifs like floral, paisleys, borders, all over work etc. with the help of a needle. It is very fine needle work.
The fine work almost take up to two years to embroider, which makes them absolutely connoisseur’s items and valuable pieces of art.Photograpgs do not do these essential luxuries justice; you have to see them close up, feel them, peer at their amazing patterns to realize what treasures these are. They are heirlooms in the making.
Kani is the Kashmiri name given to a wooden poolwhich works most weaving a shawl on the loom.Kani Shawls are woven in pure Pashmina and etc fabrics on hand looms with help of Kanis.Kanis are small eyeless bobbins used instead of the shuttle.Weaving is meticulously regulated by a coded pattern,known as the Talim drawn by the Naqash for guidance of the weaver.
Kalamkari shawls are one of the in demand shawls in which art is mixed with innovation.These kalamkari shawls are made of high quality top pashmina,which is hand painted in differents designs and patterns after which very fine hand embroidery is done with different designs as floral,petals done by very fine artisans.These beautiful creations are exclusive.
The Shawl that we manufacture, export and supply is hand woven and handcrafted by Kashmiri artisans. The Shawl, as the name suggests, is available in variety of colors and checkered patterns like broad checks, tapered checks, etc. The Checkered Shawl offers ample warmth and cozy feel.
The Reversible Shawl that we manufacture, export and supply features double shades that can be worn either way. The Reversible Shawl is hand made by our skilled Kashmiri artisans with the help of traditional weaving method. The Reversible Shawl features tight weaving fabric so as to provide a quality product. Soft texture and warm feel make these Reversible Shawls an ideal option for chilly winters.
Our Fabric
Naqash Shawls use the softest, most luxurious and the best wool in the world. The fabric is soft, thick undercoat that keeps the beautiful changra mountain goat warm through the freezing, high-altitude winters of Tibet and Ladakh. Its comes from Himalayan region as finest Kashmir wool which is derived at the altitudes of 12000 to 14000 ft from a special goat (Capra Hircus), where temperature goes down up to -40 degree centigrade. The thermo conductivity of the wool is the best in the world, as it survives the animal at minus 40 degree centigrade. The animal survives because of this nature’s gifted hair. Each spring it is gently and lovingly combed out by hand by the locals, so the animals are unperturbed. Then it is hand spun into gossamer-fine yarn on a ‘charkha’ (spinning wheel) and woven into fabric on ancient handlooms in the Kashmir Valley. All these processes are extremely complex and contribute to the amazing softness and luxuriant qualities of the end product. The fibre is less than 15-19 micron in thickness making it very soft (in comparison human hair is 75 microns thick).
Location
Srinagar Kashmir 190001
Contact
+91-9915416221
+91-9815462175
Hours
M – Sat : 8am–5pm
Sat : 11am–6pm
e-mail:
info@naqashshawls.com