Where creativity meets purpose.
Handmade rugs carry centuries of skill, colour and story. How do you turn that heritage into something new?
Kahhal Workshop brings emerging designers into the world of Kahhal 1871, Egypt’s oldest luxury rug manufacturer. Over two days you will move from knowledge to making: learning the stories and techniques behind handmade rugs, trying tufting for yourself, and developing your own rug concept from first idea to finished artwork.
No weaving experience is needed. Bring your curiosity and your visual references.
The Programme
Day one: Discover and experiment
- Kahhal 1871 and brand building: History, heritage and craft in the luxury market.
- The language of rugs: Fibres, yarn and pile. Knotted, tufted and kilim, and why handmade matters.
- Live tufting demo and trial: A safety briefing, then supervised turns on the tufting gun.
- Mood board lab: Develop your concept with references, textures and colours. The day closes with a short review.
Day two: Develop and design
- Story development: Refine your mood board. What should your rug say?
- Material and colour: Work with Kahhal yarns and colour references to set your final palette
- From concept to rug: Sketch by hand or digitally, with scale, repeat and production in mind
- Final artwork and presentation: Present your mood board, story, palette, materials and rug artwork
One Winner, One Rug
By the end of the workshop, every participant will have developed a complete early-stage rug concept. The winning design will be commissioned by Doha Design District and produced with Kahhal 1871 within three months. The finished rug will be placed in Msheireb Downtown Doha, where it will be seen by the city for years to come.
Giving By Design: Craft, culture and generosity, embedded in the city.
The Kahhal Workshop marks the launch of Giving by Design, Doha Design District’s initiative to help children in need through design.
All ticket proceeds go to Education Above All Foundation.
What to bring: A laptop or tablet, drawing tools and any visual references you would like to work from.
Talk: Sunday 8 November
Talk only 50 QAR per person Up to 100 places
Workshop: Monday 9 November, 3:00–6:00 PM
Includes entry to the 8 November talk 300 QAR per person Up to 15 places