 |
SANJAY PUROHIT JOINS TURQUOISE MOUNTAIN |
LONDON -- Turquoise Mountain announces today that Sanjay Purohit has been named director of carpet sales.
In his new position, Purohit will help to grow Afghan carpet sales internationally and oversee client relationships.
Purohit joins Turquoise Mountain from JTN Rugs and Home and brings more than 26 years of experience working with rug suppliers and manufacturers around the world. Among his previous positions was serving as chief executive officer of Zollanvari USA.
"We are delighted to welcome Sanjay to the Turquoise Mountain team," said Shoshana Stewart, CEO of Turquoise Mountain. "He joins us at an exciting time, as we expand our carpets program to facilitate sourcing from Afghanistan, integrating thousands more Afghan weavers into the international market. With his extensive experience in the industry, he is the perfect fit for this role and will be instrumental in growing our international sales presence."
Christopher Farr, a Turquoise Mountain partner, showcased an exhibit of its Afghan made rugs.
Carpet weaving is at the heart of Afghanistan's heritage, but almost four decades of conflict have left the country virtually inaccessible to international buyers. Over the last three years, Turquoise Mountain has worked to build the capacity of Afghan producers so that they can meet the standard of world-renowned wholesalers, retailers and designers such Christopher Farr, Matt Camron, Oritop, and Creative Matters Inc., all of whom are looking to Afghanistan for high-quality rugs at competitive price-points.
In 2019, Turquoise Mountain launched the Carpet Exports, Jobs, and Market-Linkages Program, generously supported by the United States Agency for International Development, which will ensure that Afghanistan becomes fully integrated into the international market as producer companies master the entire value-chain -- from wool spinning to finishing -- and streamline order fulfillment, while making leaps in social and environmental responsibility. Over the next four years, Turquoise Mountain plans to show international buyers the quality, sophistication, and beauty of handwoven rugs sourced from Afghanistan.
ABOUT TURQUOISE MOUNTAIN
Turquoise Mountain was founded in 2006 by HRH The Prince of Wales to revive historic areas, traditional crafts, and communities, to create jobs, skills and a renewed sense of pride. Turquoise Mountain has trained over 6,000 artisans and builders, restored 150 historic buildings in the old city of Kabul and elsewhere, and organized major international exhibitions - from the Museum of Islamic Art in Doha to the Smithsonian Museum in Washington D.C.
Turquoise Mountain has brought over $10,000,000 in handmade crafts to international markets, working with prestigious international retailers, from Bloomingdales and Kate Spade in New York, to five star hotels in London and the Gulf (the Connaught, Four Seasons, and Fairmont), developing products based in crafts traditions for contemporary international markets that provide viable incomes for artisans. Turquoise Mountain now works in Afghanistan, Myanmar and the Middle East, combining heritage buildings, training and craft.