Hindu Kush Imports
Our Story
For the last 16 years my wife Feliz and I have been living and teaching overseas. Our careers have taken us from South Korea, to Myanmar, and eventually to foothills of the Hindu Kush mountains in Pakistan. While living in Pakistan we were amazed by the number of highly skilled artists creating beautiful objects. Over time this realization grew into a plan to bring these items to markets here in America. We hope you enjoy them as much as we do!
Carpets
Meet Hammad and Hasham. These two brothers collect handmade carpets from weavers around Pakistan and Afghanistan, specifically "war rugs". Starting with the 1979 Soviet invasion of Afghanistan, Afghan and Pakistani carpet weavers began including images of war in their designs. These "Baluch" or war rugs have evolved to reflect the reality modern conflicts. All of our carpets are woven by hand and dyed with natural pigments.
Doors
All of our doors are carved by Bahktar and his two brothers Amjal and Dedar Khan. They're talented wood carvers living in Islamabad. They start the carving process by sourcing old timbers. These are salvaged when old houses are demolished. The wood pulled from these old houses is typically old growth cedar and was originally milled hundreds of years ago. It's largely of knotholes and has beautiful grain. Once milled down, they can build the door structure. They then lay down a sketch in pencil and begin the intricate carving process. All doors are raw wood, allowing you to choose a finish. Here is a video of their workshop!
