25/09/2026
“My school reports said I wouldn’t amount to much. They were wrong.”
School was never easy for me. I had undiagnosed dyslexia and was labelled “stupid”. I left with few qualifications — but with confidence, determination and something to prove.
At 16, I joined Harrods. Three years later, I was named Harrods’ Trainee of the Year and became the face of Harrods Careers.
I found my passion in the Oriental Carpet department, and that passion became a career spanning almost four decades.
Over the years, I’ve travelled extensively through Iran, Turkey, Pakistan, India and Nepal, sourcing and creating exceptional handmade rugs. I’ve supplied antique to contemporary and everything in between to royalty, celebrities, hotels and some of the world’s most prestigious interiors.
By 26, I was a director of what became the UK’s largest independent rug company.
But eventually, I wanted to build something of my own.
I risked everything — even remortgaging my family home — and founded Bazaar Velvet.
After months searching London for the right showroom, one evening I sat in a pub on the King’s Road and noticed an art gallery opposite.
I remember thinking: “That would be perfect.”
The next day, unbelievably, it came onto the market.
That space became Bazaar Velvet’s home for the next 20 years.
Today, Bazaar Velvet continues to combine traditional craftsmanship with contemporary design, creating handmade and bespoke rugs for some of the UK’s leading interior designers and beautiful homes around the world.
Being diagnosed with dyslexia in my 30s finally helped me understand why school had been such a struggle.
But perhaps the biggest lesson from my journey is this:
Where you start doesn’t have to determine where you finish.
Christopher Mould.
