A Little Bit of History

Veedon Fleece was incorporated 28 years ago as a custom weaving house creating purely bespoke hand knotted rugs and carpets within our own workshops in the then Kingdom of Nepal. Looking back we can now see that it was a wonderful  trail blazing experience with two guiding principles; firstly to stop the use of child labour within the industry and secondly to change the industry practice by making unique carpets of a superior quality that would last for generations.

No mean feat to start a business 4576 miles away, the fax machine was still our most reliable method of communication, we had 100 colours to choose from and the telephone lines were often temperamental.   We were fortunate that the world wide web soon became a new word in the Oxford English Dictionary.

   Hard work and passion paid off, with interior designers appreciating the quality of our production created for them and their clients;  purely bespoke rugs and carpets using the traditional technique of hand knotting in qualities of yarn previously rarely used.

Both personally and through the success of our business, we have been able to support many local Nepali based charities and incentives;  The Kathmandu Valley Preservation Trust at www.kvptnepal.org;     a Tibetan Monastery and Nunnery; a women's group whose activities were broad and diverse, ranging from home composting to the safe disposal of hospital waste; (certainly the used hypodermic needle destroying machines were highly relevant);  The Tibetan Education Relief Association at www.tera-charity.ngo.

  Veedon Fleece is also proud to support the work of The Gurkha Welfare Trust, Registered Charity No:- 1103669 www.gwt.org.uk.  Historically, we supplied single colour green rugs for the Residential Homes in both Pokhara and Dharan; a reminder for the Gurkha veterans of the green terraces of their mountain villages.

Veedon Fleece is proud to have contributed to ethical weaving stances in Nepal and to show the industry that there was a market for leading quality carpets and rugs and that the World would one day realise that this beautiful country which the British had failed to conquer (and so wisely made their ally) could produce excellence in the foothills of the Himalayas.

If you are interested to know more, 'The Longer Story' makes for an interesting 10 minute read.