A Coral + Hive rug is touched by many hands and is a beautiful testament to slow, conscious design that will breathe life into your home for a lifetime.
We aren’t exaggerating when we say that a Coral + Hive rug is touched by many hands. From concept to completion, this is a process that requires the care of many conscious and creative inputs throughout. These beautiful creations are brimming with stories and songs by the time they enter your home. We love to share the incredible talents of our team – here we give you a glimpse into the wonderful world of handwoven rug making at Coral & Hive.
Design
The journey begins with the creative conceptualisation with our client. Here, we look at the brief; where will the rug live, what is the client’s lifestyle, what do they love. A client will either choose a rug that they love from our online gallery or studio samples, or we will custom design a rug. Together we choose the right fibres, weave, shape, size and pattern. If the client would like to include colour, we choose colours from our Close to Nature pom pom box. Our pattern designer produces a digital render to give the client an idea of the design, and where necessary we weave a small sample for the client to see the texture and colours chosen. Once all of the creative design work is approved, the making process begins.
Making
The looms receive the client-approved digital render and colour codes, and the weaver is consulted and briefed on the project. The fibres are ordered from our carefully sourced suppliers, and on arrival they are spun by hand. The spun fibres are then washed and hung in loops out in the sun to set and stretch the fibres. The fibre needed for the rug is weighed and put into a large basket for the weaver. If colour is included the fibres are hand dyed.
The next stage is to warp up the loom. Strong twine is hooked through nails on the loom, up and down to create the warp. Warping runs vertically and weaving runs horizontally – known as the weft. An artisan weaver draws the design on cotton fabric which is placed behind the looms to act as a template. Then, line-by-line, the wool is passed through the warp thread and the rug starts to take form. The looms vary in size and when weaving a large rug (sizes up to 5 by 8 meters are possible) the weavers sit on a platform which moves up the vertical loom using a pulley system. Rugs are measured daily to check that dimensions are correct.
Once completed, the rug is cut off the loom and the warping is tightly knotted to secure the weaving. Finally, the finishing team whip the rugs closed with a large needle and thread of fibre to create a neat seam along the edges of the rug. A final comb and quality check is the last step before the rug is wrapped and ready for shipment. Depending on the size of the rug, intricacy of the weave and fibre chosen, the rug can take 6-14 weeks to weave.
Watching the weavers at work is a wonderful joy, as they sing together as they weave with their hands. The loom space is a bustling hive of song and creativity and we love to capture these special moments to share with our clients as their rugs grow on the looms. In this way the buyer is connected with the maker and a deeper appreciation for the craft of weaving is fostered. Each weaver has their own signature weaving style, and they pour generations’ worth of talent into each creation.
You are welcome to visit our loom space in Cape Town, South Africa to meet the weavers and watch them create rug art with their talented hands – this is slow design at it’s best.
“In this new world, luxury has taken on a new meaning. Invest in a memorable piece filled with soul and story.” ~ Jeannine Birch, Founder & Creative Director, Coral + Hive