Gaurav Shawls

Gaurav Shawls is up on the 2nd floor of the Gaurav Woolen Mill, right in the middle of 6-Shastri Market. Being in a market area means it’s always pretty chaotic downstairs. There are people shouting, cycle rickshaws ringing their bells, and the smell of street food everywhere you turn. Once you get up to the second floor, it’s a bit quieter, but you still hear the hum of the market. We have rows of looms and workers who have been making these shawls for a long time. The air is always a bit fuzzy with tiny wool fibers floating around in the light. We make all kinds of shawls, from the very simple ones to those with more detailed patterns. It’s a lot of sitting and watching the threads to make sure nothing snaps. Sometimes a machine jams up and we have to spend an hour getting it all lined up right again. We don't have a fancy office for meetings; we just have an old wooden desk tucked in the corner with a lot of ledgers and loose papers. The natural light comes in through the old windows, and we use a lot of overhead bulbs to see the fine details in the wool colors. We usually have some hot chai in the afternoon to keep us going through the shift. The market outside is where most of our stuff ends up, or it gets bundled up for the larger shops.