What’s the Story Behind Those Cult

May 03, 2023

By Stephanie Sporn

You’ve likely seen them everywhere: simple yet chic bamboo blinds, often rolled two thirds down against a bright window. At once modern and traditional, airy and solid, this treatment has been ubiquitous in India for centuries and has more recently become a staple in projects outside of Asia—including in the portfolios of AD100 designers like Billy Cotton, Frank de Biasi, Beata Heuman, and others.

Joss Graham, a purveyor of textiles and antiques in London's Pimlico neighborhood, has emerged as one of the leaders of the trend. A decade and a half ago, his business took an unexpected turn when, inspired by the chik blinds he’d seen during various trips to India, Graham installed a set of his own to help prevent the textiles in his gallery from wilting in the sunlight. Fate intervened when former World of Interiors editor Rupert Thomas visited the shop. The blinds would be perfect in the pages of the magazine, Thomas noted. "We weren't thinking about making window blinds a commercial business," Graham tells AD PRO, "but then we thought, Well, why not?"

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Interiors enthusiasts have been seeking out Graham ever since in search of chik blinds of their own. "They add unfussy character to a window and offer privacy without blocking a lot of light," explains Asia Baker Stokes, who incorporated bamboo shades into her own home as well as those of clients. Outside of the obvious spots like sunrooms, the designer says she loves to use chik blinds in a library, a family room, or a powder room. "They are casual in a sophisticated way."

But patience is a virtue. Because demand for the blinds far outweighs supply, Graham's current wait times are stacking up between six and seven months. Baker Stokes however points out that "the pandemic has forced everyone to grow accustomed to waiting for good things."

Virginia Tupker, who calls herself a "huge fan" of chik blinds, praises their versatility. "They are equally successful in a midcentury-modernist setting as they are in a more classic country house or rustic cabin," she says. Among the "endless possibilities" for further decoration, Tupker dresses the blinds up with colorful border and inset trims, and lines them with printed fabrics revealed in the shade roll when the blinds are raised. Like Baker Stokes, Tupker appreciates chik blinds on their own or paired with other accessories: "I often use them in kitchens to filter the light when I don't want a heavier window treatment, or use them as the sheer layer on windows with curtains." Although Tupker's online shop has offered chik blinds "for ages," in early 2021, she decided to start selling ones from her own vendor in India: "It was partly the long wait times and partly the fact that it always made the most business sense to ultimately go direct." In addition to a plain natural variety, she also offers custom painted versions.

Designer Kate Driver opted for a side-by-side pair of chik blinds in this Venice living room.

Designers in the AD universe have been known to purchase bamboo shades through spots like Etsy, Amazon, and Pearl River mart, too, though Graham shares that some clients have found their way to him after mishaps from other vendors. "The actual production of the blinds is quite finicky, and it requires a very specific skill set," he says.

Graham notes has been working with the same family of artisans in Delhi throughout this venture. Recent efforts to scale production by using other vendors haven't panned out, as Graham was dissatisfied with the results. "It is an expanding business, but you can't just suddenly multiply the quantity by ten. It would be impossible." For this reason, Graham eschews representation at trade shows and fairs, and even limits the brand's online presence.

The process of making a set of chik blinds typically does not take more than a week, but it requires great attention to detail. One group of makers specializes in splitting the bamboo into tilas, or small slivers, which requires "considerable control and experience," Graham says. The tilas then must be scraped so there are no splinters, and then another cohort handles the production of the screen (or chik) itself. For that, at least two people work simultaneously: "There are often women in their sixties sitting down with their daughters and granddaughters to make them," Graham says. "It's a very simple activity, but underneath it all, they’re paying a lot of attention with a sixth sense for what they’re doing because one mistake and the whole thing goes off kilter, just like weaving rugs."

As for how Graham found such gifted artisans, he gives credit to the Delhi Crafts Council, who helped fund families with knowledge of blind making. The various parties have since formed a "strong bond," Graham says. Because of demand, the family has agreed to supply only to Graham in an arrangement where the Delhi Crafts Council also earns a commission. The gallery currently sells the blinds for 18 British pounds or around $21.47 per square foot, while colors are 20 British pounds or $23.85 for the same amount. (Graham offers six chik patterns as well.) Even though natural tones are the most popular, "we give clients the option to choose any color from Farrow & Ball, and we can match it," he adds. All the cotton components (edging tape, design string, pulley cord, and loops) and the wood pulleys can be dyed.

Bamboo blinds run through a Jae Joo–designed project in Connecticut, including in the kitchen…

…. and mudroom.

According to designer Baker Stokes, "You need to decide exactly how you plan to hang them before you place your order." Even though Joss Graham does not install or line its blinds, a key benefit of working with the company is its guidance for proper measurements. "We spend a lot of time discussing window designs and asking people for pictures of their windows so that we can judge whether the blinds should be within the recess or go outside the recesses, whether it should have a pole, and so on," he explains. "We want to make people absolutely certain, to the nearest quarter of an inch, what the measurement should be." Graham can also advise on installation—within the recess, for example, he recommends placing the bamboo over one cup hook in the wall. Baker Stokes has her own system: "I usually use C-shaped cup hooks, which we space out across the window, and hang the cotton loops that are attached to the shade onto the cup hooks. Then we add an antique brass wall cleat for the string pull to hold the shade in place."

The fervor for these bamboo blinds is rooted in their balance of form and function—they offer great light filtration in hot climates, can last for years outside, and are highly decorative. There is an element of timeliness too, according to Graham: "They check all the right boxes for the current zeitgeist of using natural materials."