The Katran project may be best described as found art, an uncovering of the miraculous in the mundane. This artisanal furniture collection is a meditation on sustainability in all its implications, from material to craft to design. It was born from a collaboration between product designer Pavitra Rajaram, woodwork craftsman Rais Mohammed Shaikh and one of India’s largest textile exporters, Ascent Décor.

Rais has collaborated with Pavitra on design projects for over 25 years, drawing from the traditional woodworking practices honed by his family for generations. Ascent Décor supplies the finest silk and velvet jacquards to top European design houses. The exacting process of weaving these luxury textiles yields waste in the form of ‘katrans’, which are sampling lengths of fabric that cannot be resold. Pavitra was inspired to upcycle these exquisite scraps, through the alchemy of Rais’s craft practice, into strikingly original tapestries for Katran.

The Katran project explores sustainability in design through multiple lenses. It honours the robust craft and textile traditions of India, creates extraordinary value from waste, and highlights the role of contemporary designers in building a circular economy.