About Hill & Company Rugs
Hill & Co History
Hill & Co was established in 1991 by Bill Hill & Peter Auckland. Bill as managing Director, is responsible for sales assisted by Denise, marketing and general direction: Peter looks after design direction, quality control and production. Day to day design matters are controlled by Neil and Rosie.
Bill & Peter previously worked together for many years at Vigo Carpet Gallery, London, one of the world’s foremost antique carpet galleries, where Bill was managing Director and Peter was in charge of the reproduction business, the first of it’s kind. During this time they also set up the Contemporary Textile Gallery, the first retail outlet dedicated exclusively to the promotion and marketing of new work in fabrics and carpets.
Having set up Hill & Co, activity was initially restricted to the manufacture of one-off reproductions of antique carpets, accurate in every detail, mainly for prestigious projects including embassies, government bodies from around the world, museums and first-rank interior designers. A large part of the business was focused on the Eastern states of the US, particularly New York.
Production was at first centred in Hungary and Romania but transferred gradually to India and they began to develop ranges of traditional and modern carpets for a broader market. Here they pursued their conviction that moderately priced rugs need not be shoddily made or carelessly designed.
Gradually wholesale business overtook the specialist retail work and they now supply a UK retailer.
Attention to detail means that all design work is undertaken on computer by the in-house design team and full working ‘Nakshas’ (graph-paper format designs used by the weavers on the loom) are produced and supplied to the workshops.
Amongst the staff there is expertise covering all areas of new and antique carpets, manufacturing techniques and design from youth-culture to the minutiae of antique carpets.
