'Home and family are the most important things to me - it is this sense of home, comfort & joy that I endeavour to bring with creating rugs for people. I love going into client’s houses and really helping them find what would suit them.' - Amy Kent
ABOUT
The Story
Amy began her business almost 20 years ago, in 2005. At the time, there were few rug companies, and she found, having searched herself, that there was a gap in the market for beautiful, bespoke, high-quality rugs that didn’t cost the earth.
She took herself to India, where her father’s best friend lived, and with their help and advice, travelled down to Bhadohi, which they told her was the best place to create her own designs using the traditional skill of Indian rug weavers. And they were right. She met the husband and wife team who were to become the lynchpin to her business and who she still works with today. In 2015 Amy started working in Kathmandu, too, another family-run business; this time, a brother-sister team. Over the years, Amy has developed a brilliant system with them that ensures everything runs smoothly, making their remote working relationships the success they are.
Amy's first overnight train trip down to Varanasi in 2005 to look for rug makers
Learning about different rug making techniques
Amy checking one of her early designs
Design Inspiration & Collaborations
Originally, Amy’s designs were founded on very organic designs, drawing inspiration from nature and the world around her. On that first trip to India in 2005, she took with her a portfolio of 15 designs based on drawings and photos from the Chelsea Flower Show and her garden. This then progressed to more architectural patterns, anything really that caught her eye that she thought would look nice on a floor.
Starting with her sister, artist Lucy Kent, she then turned herself to collaborations, working with like-minded creatives whose designs and aesthetic she knew would translate beautifully into rugs. ‘Working on your own is wonderful, but can get creatively quite lonely. There’s nothing quite like collaborating with someone else to really expand and challenge your aesthetic boundaries.’
Community
Over the years, Amy has worked directly with both her teams in India and Kathmandu to ensure no child labour or unethical practices are used during rug production, contributing in any way she can to the respective communities. When her children were little, she ran private charity events (mainly involving animals!) to raise funds for specific projects, often in schools. Latterly Amy helps in whichever area she is asked to support.
The Team
Working so closely with both her teams she not only has a wonderful relationship but trusts them completely. She visits them once a year and, during this time, endeavours to understand as much as possible about each part of the rug-making process and identify which areas could be improved. She is very much of the opinion that ‘every little helps’ in the universal strive to make the world more sustainable and that running your own business brings with it a certain responsibility.
