Armadillo weaves meaningful living with natural fibre rugs

Founded with a passion for artistry, sustainability and social change, Armadillo produces natural fibre handmade rugs described as barefoot luxury. Made from jute, wool and linen, every rug feels naturally sumptuous, yet is hardwearing enough to become an heirloom piece in your home. The designs are so timeless it is easy to see how they’ll remain a household centrepiece for many years to come.

The rugs are handmade by artisans in India using energy efficient processes, drawing on expertise and craftsmanship cultivated over many generations, keeping alive these ancient skills.

The fibres are hand dyed and then dried in the sun, which adds texture and subtle variations, giving each rug a sense of life and its own character. The fibres are then spun to ready them to be handwoven on a loom. After each rug is created, it is gently handwashed to allow it to shrink just enough to tighten up the weave and increase its durability, then it is dried out in the sunshine. Only after the artisans give each rug their finishing touches are they then considered complete.

Armadillo create their beautiful rugs as an antidote to the fast-paced throwaway culture and promote a philosophy of “Quiet Living” which embraces the principles of slow design.

Our ethos is to create thoughtful and intuitive products that will satisfy real human needs and restore meaning to our lives. Our rugs are crafted slowly by hand from carefully sourced natural materials in a transparent, sustainable process that brings conscious living to the fore, helping us to simplify, slow down and engage more deeply with our spaces as they evolve alongside us.

Related: Weft Textiles follow the ethos of slow design to create their 100% organic bedding, homewares and loungewear.

All of the Armadillo rugs are Declare Label certified by the International Living Future Institute. The Declare Label tells you where a product comes from, what it is made of and where it goes at the end of its life. It also tells you that the product is free from harmful chemicals, so you can be sure that any rug you purchase from Armadillo is both sustainable and healthy.

To add to their sustainability credentials, in 2021 Armadillo became the first Australian rug brand to become a Certified B Corporation, joining a global movement of business as a force for good. B Corps are internationally recognised as meeting the highest standards of social and environmental performance, public transparency and legal accountability.

Founders Jodie Fried and Sally Pottharst have also established the Armadillo Foundation, a non-profit organisation whose mission is to improve lives of underprivileged communities in India. They donate 10% of net profits towards educational, healthcare and environmental initiatives, including full funding of the KVM School in India, attended by many of their artisans’ children.

Their latest rug styles, launched earlier this year, called Odessa, Pompeii and Aspen have all been designed with timelessness and longevity in mind. Each style of these natural fibre rugs exudes a sense of calm and aims to bring mindful and meaningful living to the fore. A gesture that is needed more than ever at the moment, I think we can all agree.

For more information, and to view their collections, visit Armadillo