Introducing Plains: Our New Collection In Collaboration With Edward Bulmer Natural Paint

The Plains Collection: Pelican House Join Forces With Edward Bulmer Natural Paint

We have joined forces with Edward Bulmer Natural Paint to launch a rug collection. The eight-piece collection spans four colourways, developed collaboratively between our founders Bella Valenzia and India Holmes and Edward Bulmer.   

Inspired by Edward Bulmer's distinctive heritage colour palette, the collection is a natural meeting of minds: both brands share a deep commitment to responsible design, artisanal craft, and creating beautiful things that stand the test of time. Edward Bulmer uses only time-honoured natural pigments from sustainable sources, with every ingredient disclosed and every claim backed, while Pelican House's rugs are handwoven by artisanal communities in India and Nepal, with GoodWeave and LabelSTEP certifications ensuring ethical production and the preservation of centuries-old weaving skills. In partnership with LabelSTEP, Pelican House will measure and track the carbon footprint of the collection, following the journey of each rug through production to arrival at Edward Bulmer’s showroom. 

COLOUR FROM THE WALLS

Four of Edward's colours lead the collection: Drab Green, Lute, Ethereal Blue and Burlington, from his range with Chatsworth. We chose shades that look just as good underfoot as they do on a wall, and paired each one with an accent it naturally sits with: Brick, Saxony, Hawtrey and Georgiana. With each colourway in two versions: one in three tonal variations of the lead shade and one pairing two shades with a contrasting accent. The four colourways - Drab Green, Lute, Ethereal Blue, and Burlington - span earthy greens, warm ochres, chalky blue-greens, and rich terracottas, with accent pairings in Brick, Saxony, Hawtrey, and Georgiana respectively.

Each rug features an undyed natural wool centre bordered by hand-carded flatweave in shades drawn directly from Edward Bulmer's paint range. This gives the collection a chunkier, more textural feel than our existing flatweaves, and a palette designed to work in direct conversation with his wall colours.

THE MAKING OF THE COLLECTION

Each rug in the Plains collection begins with Edward Bulmer Natural Paint. Wool is sorted by hand at our workshop in Boudha, Kathmandu, then carded and spun by hand into yarn. The yarn is colour-matched to Edward Bulmer’s Natural Paint palette and dyed in small batches at a local dye house that treats and tests its wastewater.

Back at the workshop, the dyed yarn is wound by hand into balls, ready for the loom. Our rugs are flat-woven rather than knotted, so there is no pile. Instead, the weaver passes the coloured yarn over and under the taut vertical threads of the loom, row by row, and beats each row down firmly to build a dense, even surface.

 

Every line of colour is placed by hand, with no machinery beyond the light the weavers work by. Once off the loom, the rug is washed, stretched by hand and dried in the Kathmandu sun, before being clipped, finished and inspected.

MEET THE MAKERS

Every rug in the collection passes through many skilled hands, from carding and spinning the wool to weaving it row by row on the loom. Here are some of the weavers behind The Plains Collection. We're so proud to work alongside them. 

MEASURING OUR IMPACT

We've partnered with LabelSTEP, the fair-trade organisation for handmade carpets, to carry out a Life Cycle Assessment (LCA) report to understand the environmental impact of making our Edward Bulmer Natural Paint collection. The study follows each rug through our workshop in Kathmandu, from the moment the wool arrives to the moment the finished rug is packed. It looks at every stage along the way: sorting, carding and spinning the wool, dyeing and the treatment of the dye house’s wastewater, weaving, washing, stretching, drying, finishing and packing. At each stage, it measures the energy, water, materials and transport involved, using information gathered directly from our workshop and dye house. Because nearly every step is done by hand, the rugs are dried in the Kathmandu sun, and Nepal’s electricity comes mostly from hydropower, the making itself is a remarkably low-energy process. The study also looks at the journey each rug takes to reach the UK, and it shows us where we can make the biggest improvements. We’ll be sharing the full findings, including what the study does and doesn’t cover.

You'll be able to read the full report soon.