Iras Kashmir

Wondering what IRAS is all about. Well, you should! IRAS, the brand signifies the initials of the names of four musketeer brothers; Imitiaz, Riaz, Arshad and Shahnaz. Hence, the name. Originating way back in the 1990s, IRAS had been initially started by our Founder, Late Syed Hussain Rizvi who also happened to be working for the then Jammu Kashmir Industries as a Marketing Incharge supervising Baghi Ali Mardan Khan and Bemina Woolen Mill both based in Srinagar, Kashmir (India). Let's not forget, it was a struggling period when the turmoil had been at its peak in Kashmir. Even when day to day chores of life were getting difficult, therefore starting a business in those times was quiet a challenging and a bold task followed by numerous unsaid struggles to sustain throughout. The family business of Shawl making and Paper machie was carried forward by Hussain sahab's eldest son, Syed Riaz from a very young age although his father’s wish was to see him as a doctor but who knew destiny had different and better plans. Syed Riaz along with his brothers would learn the artistic skill of paper-mache in their free time while pursuing their studies as well during the times of turmoil in Kashmir. And having a tremendous and resilient zeal for scaling up the business, Riaz sahab made a choice to leave home and expand the business at the national and gradually to the international level. Nevertheless, today we are a team of 40-45 artisans along with the master craftsmen who work tirelessly like a family in order to promote and preserve the dying but skill intensive art of Shawl weaving. IRAS is in its third generation stage now and since whole world has turned digital especially after the Covid19 Pandemic, young successors of IRAS are trying to digitize and level up the traditional business.