Much is said about the components of sustainable design: the materials themselves, the nature of the process and how friendly it will be to the future. But we often forget about sustaining the traditions that make the most of longstanding handicraft techniques. Promoting these skills can help develop trade that is crucial to certain economies. Barcelona’s nanimarquina has been playing an important role in sustaining the human touch, manufacturing rugs in northern India since 1993.

Common sense dictates that quality goods will be made by artisans who have specialized in the production of these items over hundreds of years. If nanimarquina were to manufacture shoes or porcelain, it is highly likely that it would be done in Spain, but as the company has produced handcrafted rugs since 1987, it is only fitting that specialized Indian craftspeople have been chosen to carry out the work.

The focus on handcrafted products allowed nanimarquina to reflect on the meaning of rugs in various cultures. The messages that are put across are limited to the available materials and methods, so the company designers have nurtured these techniques by using them to provide an exciting range of volumes, textures and dimensions. Resources such as wool, jute, silk, and cotton – all natural, renewable and recyclable – are the most common materials used for nanimarquina rugs, along with a wide selection of natural dyes from Mexico and Pakistan, and a totally chemical-free vegetable wash.

Hand-knotting, tufting, looming or dhurrie-weaving are some of the skills used to produce rugs with rich contemporary designs that cannot be mass-produced. The emphasis truly is on the human touch. The hands of the workers add each die-cut element, one by one, as they control their own looms. Felted wool is sewn into spiral rosettes; this type of rug can only be made by hand. Even old rubber tires find new life by grounding us in a completely different way.

A collection of a handmade nature results in a limited production, adding value to rugs that are more pieces of art than soft furnishings. This in turn leads to a wider range of products that draw upon a fruitful blend of innovation and tradition, highlighting more local talent. By enabling local cultures to carry out and improve upon their traditional skills, forward-thinking companies like nanimarquina are investing in our future.

Watch Creations, a 2010 video that brings out, very respectfully, even more of the beauty inherent to the rugs of nanimarquina.