Start with what the loom can do
Pattern, colour, and form began with the behaviour of thread, weave, and hand-led construction.
Textile design · Craft intervention · Founder-led
Cheval Rugs
Cheval Rugs grew from my love of textiles and the people who make them. Drawing on my background in textile design and craft intervention, I worked with artisans to create a contemporary, cotton-led rug collection while keeping the hand behind each piece visible.
Where the story began
This project began with craft and curiosity
I wanted to understand how fibre, weave, colour, and the rhythm of making could shape the design itself. Cheval Rugs became my way of connecting contemporary textile design with the practical knowledge artisans bring to the loom.
- RoleFounder, textile designer & creative lead
- Starting pointA love of craft and craft intervention
- CollaborationDesign developed through artisan making
- Documented range15 rugs across six named families
01Why I began
My textile practice taught me to design with craft, not around it
My background in textile design introduced me to craft intervention: using design to work thoughtfully with established materials, techniques, and maker knowledge. I created Cheval Rugs to apply that approach to a real product—one that could feel contemporary while keeping the texture and character of hand production visible.
Craft intervention, simply put
Add a new design point of view without erasing the knowledge already held by the maker.
Let craft shape the design
The artisan process informed the work instead of acting as only the final production step.
Carry the value forward
Naming, imagery, and identity helped people understand why the material and making mattered.
02Designing with artisans
The collection took shape between my drawings and the loom
Working with artisans made the process physical and iterative. Ideas were tested in thread, adjusted through sampling, and refined around the behaviour of the material. The maker was not simply the last step; technique and judgement helped each rug find its form.
Craft intervention in practice
Every sample taught me something the screen could not
A line could soften in the weave, colours could shift beside one another, and a construction choice could completely change the surface. I used those discoveries to revise the work.
- 01Learn from the material
Understand the character and limits of cotton thread and jersey. - 02Test with the maker
Translate graphic ideas into flat, looped, braided, and stubbled surfaces. - 03Refine on the loom
Let thread, technique, and the maker’s judgement influence the final design.
Sustainability through craft
Sustainability was a way of working, not a label added at the end
My intention was to work more slowly and thoughtfully: centre artisan knowledge, respect the limits of the material and loom, and design pieces with lasting value rather than treating craft as disposable décor.
Value human knowledgeArtisan skill remained visible in both the design process and the final story.
Work with material limitsCotton was the core material, explored through several constructions and tactile surfaces.
Design for lasting valueThe goal was a considered object people could understand, choose carefully, and keep.
03From experiments to a range
I turned material experiments into six distinct rug families
The surviving project archive documents 15 designs. I grouped variations in pattern, colour, and construction into named families, then created product boards so each rug could be understood through its image, texture, size, and specification. Exploration became a clear range without making every rug look or feel the same.
04Turning craft into a brand
The identity made the value of the making visible
A strong product story would be lost if the brand showed only finished rugs. I built Cheval Rugs as a bridge between the workshop and the customer: a name, identity, labels, photography, and product information that made the range coherent while keeping material and craft at its centre.
A more personal offer
The collection created a point of view; customisation made it personal
People could begin with the curated range or request changes in size, design, colour, or texture. The offer could respond to a home and a person without losing the visual language I had built.
Named collectionsRelated patterns and constructions became memorable product families.
Identity on the objectLabels and hangtags connected the brand and its origin to the finished rug.
A clear customer pathProduct boards and the custom offer helped people understand their choices.
05 · Project impact
The impact was a bridge between craft, product, and brand
Cheval Rugs gave me a way to put my textile-design values into practice. Material experiments became a coherent collection, artisan production became part of the design story, and the brand gave customers a clearer way to understand the human and material value behind each rug.
Product impact15 documented designs became six families with clear specifications and choices.
Craft impactArtisan technique and hand-led construction remained visible as part of the design value.
Brand impactIdentity, labels, product boards, and a custom offer connected the making to the customer.
The project confirmed the kind of designer I want to be: one who connects material, maker, product, and story.
Impact note: these are documented design and craft outcomes. The surviving project record does not include verified sales, environmental, or livelihood metrics.
