Qaria Cashmere

12/12/2015

Qaria cashmere scarves finding their way around the world, and yes, it is around Alec Baldwin's neck.

04/12/2015

Turkmen Gallery, London

Qaria hand-knitted products now for sale through Turkmen Gallery in London: http://turkmengallery.com/about/

Big thanks to Omar for his support!

Turkmen Gallery was opened in 1995 by Omar Masom who himself is a Turkmen, born in Afghanistan. Carpets and textiles are the traditional family business, established about 120 years ago by Omar’s grandfather near the ancient city of Merve.

03/12/2015

Liz Lovick and Qaria knitters in partnership. Thank you for the design Liz, Sherbano is our first knitter to attempt knitting a pattern from a graph, I will keep you updated on how she gets on

07/11/2015

Wanted: Sales and distribution agents in the UK

Qaria is now at the end of the one year pilot phase. We have demonstrated the viability of producing pure Afghan cashmere hand-spun yarn and hand-knitted garments.

We are now recruiting sales and distribution agents to contribute to growing the business, helping to create more training opportunities and jobs for women and men in Afghanistan by increasing Qaria's sales in the UK.

We have a product range of yarns for the home knitting market and garments, with proven appeal in target markets. We sell through crafts fairs, crafts groups and retailers as well as responding to individual customer orders.

The ideal sales and distribution agent will share our commitment to sustainable development in Afghanistan, have contacts in the crafts and/or garments retail sector in the UK and some experience in managing sales and distribution.

We are looking for people who want to work from home on a commission and expenses basis - knowing that they are contributing to the success of the Qaria social enterprise.

If you are interested in working with us, please send an email to [email protected] explaining your reasons for wanting to work with Qaria, together with a summary of your relevant experience.

06/11/2015

New photos of Qaria hand knitted cashmere garments, now going on sale.

Enormous thanks to Olivia Inge for giving her time to Qaria, to Stewart Bywater for the photos and Bunny Hazel Clarke for the make up - a great team!

03/11/2015

Qaria and Afghanaid event in London on 11 November

A chance to hear the Qaria story, buy some of our new hand-knitted garments, and learn more about Afghanaid's work in Afghanistan. For tickets, please go to:

http://www.eventbrite.co.uk/e/from-kabul-to-cashmere-finding-a-common-thread-tickets-17226711558

Hope to see you there!

Join us for an evening of engaging talks, an Afghan cashmere market and beautiful paintings from Arabella Dorman’s exhibition Before the Dawn - An Artist's Journey through Afghanistan. The evening will be opened by Nicholas Crane, President of the Royal Geographical Society and presenter of the BB…

24/10/2015

A thoroughly enjoyable time in Glasgow, thank you to everyone who came to visit our table.

23/10/2015

Thank you to all the people who visited the Qaria Cashmere stall today. We still have lots of yarn and fibre to share with you tomorrow.

22/10/2015

Qaria is all set up for the Yarn Cake event tomorrow and Saturday at the Mackintosh Church in Glasgow. Do come and visit the Qaria Cashmere stall and meet Dale.

17/10/2015

Dale designed and made the "Capra" hat after seeing an Afghanistan Nuristan door depicting Markhor goat horns. The cashmere yarn and (untested) pattern will be available at the Glasgow Yarn Fair. Do come and meet Dale and hear about her Afghanistan and knitting experiences.

12/10/2015

Do come and meet Dale, and see the beautiful Qaria yarn cashmere cowl/shawl she has made, at the Glasgow Yarn Fair on 23rd/24th October 2015.

09/10/2015

Our first ever Chinese customers!