Handmade in Nepal
Jan Kath at QUBIQUE: Hangar 5, Stand 6.2
Jan Kath flagship store opening 28th October 2011, 7 p.m.
All over the world interior designers and lifestyle media proclaim: carpets are in vogue again. Innovative designers and fair production have freed carpets from their dusty im-age. Two main promoters of the carpet culture’s comeback – the Swiss fair trade label STEP and the German designer Jan Kath – will be at the new design trade show QUBIQUE in Berlin this week.
The independent Swiss Label STEP cooperates with dealers and designers from all over the world who commit themselves to fair trade with handmade carpets. One key partner of Label STEP is the carpet designer Jan Kath. Jan Kath exhibits at QUBIQUE and will open his flagship store in Berlin Mitte this week.
Jan Kath’s carpets link century old craftsmanship and contemporary design. The designs are created at the computer in Germany – the carpets are then produced in traditional hand work in Nepal. Today 1,500 experienced weavers manufacture the many times awarded designs.
This ‘haute couture’ for floors secures the base of existence for the producers
The impact of fair trade in the Nepalese carpet industry is obvious: workplaces are safe, bright and clean. The weavers’ children don’t work at the looms but attend schools. Living facilities are provided by the employers who often also contribute to educational and health expenses. Label STEP looks after eco-friendly wool dyeing and supports the construction of wastewater treatment plants. Label STEP regularly calculates the ‘living wage’ and compares it with the current market rates. In the case of Jan Kath wages are on average 50% higher than the usual rate in the carpet industry and double the governmental minimum wage.
We’d be pleased to explain Label STEP’s functioning and impact in one-to-one inter-views. Jan Kath and Reto Aschwanden of Label STEP are available for press interviews on Friday 20th October 2011.
Please contact us to make an appointment or if you need further information:
Label STEP press agent Germany:
Gunnar Gilgen, Berlin
tel +49 (0)163 904 15 76
press(at)gunnargilgen.com
Label STEP:
Reto Aschwanden (Commercial Director)
tel +41 (0)79 476 38 57
reto.aschwanden(at)label-step.org
Jan Kath at QUBIQUE: Hangar 5, Stand 6.2
Jan Kath flagship store opening 28th October 2011, 7 p.m. – Brunnenstrasse 3, 10119 Berlin-Mitte
