With the aim of strengthening its foothold in domestic and international markets, the Handicrafts and Handloom Department, Kashmir, on Friday urged stakeholders associated with the craft sector to gain access to new and contemporary designs created in the Design Studio of the Indian Institute of Carpet Technology (IICT) in Srinagar.

Apart from hand-knotted rugs, the design studio is also offering new designs for Kani and Sozni-embroidered Pashmina shawls and stoles, which are in tune with the buyers’ demand in the international market.

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Director IICT, Zubair Ahmad, said that the design studio in the institute is well-equipped with the latest software and expert designers for creating new and contemporary designs, catering to the prevalent demand at the global level.

“The software has made the creation of contemporary carpet and shawl designs easier, as compared to the traditional and archaic way of design development that used to consume months together for a group of persons,” he explained.

Offering contemporary designs on nominal charges, the IICT Director advised the concerned stakeholders to visit IICT premises at Nowshera for a firsthand exposure experience. “Recently, we have sold new Kani shawl and carpet designs to various business houses, which will surely boost sales of their products in overseas markets.

Zubair further stated that as many as 2,687 carpet and 473 Kani shawl designs have been developed by the IICT so far. “Most of these designs have been provided to the handicraft stakeholders in the form of computerised design scripts, locally known as Taleem, on nominal charges,” he added.