Sukhi - Supporting Women Artisans!

I'm officially declaring this The Week of the Woman!  You heard it here first.  It seems only fitting - On Saturday Aly and I launched #motherhoodalive on instagram (holy moly, you guys are amazing - I am LOVING being part of this little community on there already), then it was Mother's Day, then it was International Women's Day, and in the midst of all of this, we are over halfway through the annual campaign of Fairtrade Fortnight, which although isn't specifically arranged to champion women, it is rooted in the same values that ensure the equal and fair treatment of some of the most vulnerable in the world - a vast majority of whom are female - so it's all connected, you see? The Week of the Woman - has a ring to it, no?

In light of this, I want to draw your eyes to a beautiful company I've been getting to know lately - Sukhi.  In Nepali, Sukhi means 'happy' and when you read about how much importance this company puts on making both the customer and the artisans that make their products happy and well cared for you will see that it's a good fit for a name!  Sukhi specialises in unique and beautifully hand crafted rugs - let me tell you more...

All of the rugs that you see on the site are made in country (Nepal, India, Morocco, Turkey) by local makers, mostly women.  What I've loved hearing about is the dignity the work gives - each maker gets paid 2 or 3x the local rate of pay in safe conditions and by buying the rugs directly with Sukhi, all the middle men and retailers are cut out so the customer gets a fairer price too.

The whole process of making their signature felt ball rugs is mesmerising and involves such incredible artistry.  I love that it's made with natural materials and dyes and you can really tell the pride of the makers by the quality you recieve. Watch this video to see what I mean...

I chose one of the traditional felt ball rugs in a marbled grey to go in our bedroom.  You can literally chose any colour, pattern and size for whatever you are after (fully customisable) but I wanted something soft and neutral to give a bit of warmth to our bare wooden floors.

The detail that goes into making these is so mind-boggling - approximately 5000 felt balls to make up one rug!  Bonkers.  Such craftsmanship and patience!

The texture of the rug is really soft on your feet - Levi is especially a fan! Anyone that's been in our bedroom since we got the rug has commented on how stunning it is - not that there are hoards of people all up in our bedroom, but you know!

What's also beautiful is that you get a little tag with your rug that lets you know the name of the woman who made it and if you go to the website, you can even send her a little message to thank her and share how much you love the rug!  It's little extra personal touches like this that bring us closer to the people who make our stuff - it's so important we remember and I can't help but want to support companies like Sukhi for endeavouring to shrink the gap between the maker and the customer.

I'm going to be supporting Sukhi on my sidebar this year - so if you are in the market for a new rug for anywhere in your home, make sure you click over and check out the variety they have knowing that you are directly supporting some amazingly talented women around the world when you do!

Thanks to Sukhi for sending us this rug to review - I love to support and spotlight companies that are in keeping with my values & ethics so all thoughts and words are genuinely my own.