A Family Owned Rug Company
“I’m stimulated by the creativity that goes into each of the handmade rugs in our collections. Working with the artists who make the area rugs is a constant inspiration since they come up with amazing designs and interpret them in such a way that the results are truly spectacular,” he explains. “Our collections are mostly inspired by nature – sunset, sunrise, fall colors and even visual impressions from my travels. For instance, after we returned from a trip to Morocco we created the Kundan Silk Collection inspired by the tiled floors shimmering beneath pools of water that we saw while we were there.”
Sanjay credits the artistic nature of the fine rug industry for inspiring him to be in the business. He also enjoys being part of the creative process and says his favorite materials to work with are Persian wool and Indian silk because they are the best and finest materials available.
For the last decade Sanjay Purohit has served as the CEO of the United States and Indian sectors of Zollanvari International handling the American operations and the production in India. Zollanvari is a multi award-winning, family owned and operated, 105-year-old rug company that has headquarters in Shiraz, Tehran and Zurich, and affiliates and showrooms in Hamburg, Shanghai, Istanbul, Kapstadt (South Africa), Kobe City Hyogo (Japan) and New Jersey. Along with the company’s commitment to quality, Sanjay credits Reza Zollanvari, the Group CEO and Managing Director with whom he has worked closely on developing the production in India, for making the sixth generation family company a global success and for turning it into a truly international brand.
“Every member of the family handles a part of the business but Reza has always had a global vision,” Sanjay explains. “It was his idea to introduce Gabbehs on a commercial level without giving them the mass production feel. Gabbehs have so much art and soul and Reza has been able to retain the soul and art of these rugs whilst mass producing them.” It’s therefore not surprising that after the last 10 years of close creative association with Reza and the entire Zollanvari clan, Sanjay feels like one of the family.
All Zollanvari International rugs are manufactured in southwest Iran so before the embargo in 2010 Sanjay visited Iran four to five times a year. Since the embargo, Sanjay, along with Reza who still travels to Iran regularly, visits the looms and the production facility in Jaipur, India. Jaipur was chosen not only for its weaving tradition, where the artistry and craftsmanship are on par with the standards of the award-winning carpets from Iran, but also because it is Sanjay’s hometown. This makes the trips even more special for him. He says he’s thrilled to be able to visit and give back to the city that raised him. What Sanjay enjoys most is maintaining a positive, in-person rapport with the weavers. He adds: “It’s important to have these relationships with our weavers because happy weavers make happy beautiful rugs.”
View our selection of Zollanvari rugs.
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