Sebastian Ghandchi offers the lowdown
Hertiage revised
There was a time when handwoven carpets were synonymous with Persian carpets. But with the emergence of design-carpets made in Nepal, and to a lesser extent India and Turkey, they lost much ground after the Pahlavi-period weavings. Persian carpet producers were obsessed with knot counts and rigid ‘traditional’ designs and colourways. In most instances the results lacked the refinement and fluidity that had created the perception of Persian carpets being the greatest. This led to a notable decline in their appeal and market share.
Shahdad is the brainchild of the three Ashkiyoun brothers, whose family have been active in this market for over 100 years. They are the creators of the most luxurious (and purportedly most expensive) silk Persian carpets, Jafarnejad—awarded the Golden Knot Award by a unanimous jury in 2016, an unprecedented occurrence.
CEO Mohammad Ashkiyoun, the eldest of the three brothers, says: ‘For me it was very sad to see that there were hardly any Iranian modern design-carpet producers in the international market… perhaps three at a push? Our three brands [Jafarnejad, Sahara and now Shahdad] are all quite different from these existing brands, but our goal is the same: to reclaim the reputation of Persian carpets and preserve our weaving heritage.’
Shahdad combines innovative designs in on-trend colourways with the extraordinary craftsmanship that has become the hallmark of the Ashkiyouns. There are three distinct design collections, available in bespoke sizes and colours: Classical, Neoclassical and Contemporary. A further innovation is the company’s commitment to delivering its carpets in record times—within eight to nine weeks from order, depending on size.
Actually the concept for Shahdad stems from a twenty-five-year-old idea. Interesting avant-Heritage revised garde ideas in design and quality were discovered during the creation of the Jafarnejad brand, but the firm had to concentrate on securing the luxury market first. ‘We had to be patient for twenty-two years before we started research and developmental work on Shahdad some three years ago,’ says Mohammad, ‘and we managed to put together a young international team in the run-up to the launch at Domotex 2019 to impart the attributes of Shahdad in a new, unique way.’
In the past thirty years the company proved it could break all the rules in luxurious fine carpets by creating a higher level of quality and design in
We had to be patient for twenty-two years before we started research and developmental work
astonishing colourways. This is what it now plans to achieve in this ever-changing and still-growing market, with a new generation of customers, interior and project designers.
The brothers seek to define quality not only in terms of production and natural materials—superlative wool and silk and working with the Pantone colour system where they have standardised the dyeing process—but also in terms of service and customer care. ‘Shahdad is the first fully bespoke carpet brand from Iran. Our philosophy includes the term “Extreme Flexibility”—we are ready to produce endless variety for our customers,’ Mohammad affirms.
Shahdad carpets can next be seen at DOMOTEX asia/CHINAFLOOR 2019 in March as part of the Luxury Brands Pavilion organised by COVER, and later this year at Maison et Objet, Paris in September.
