Shawls and kerchiefs from Pavlovsky Posad

The Pavlovsky Posad shawl factory is an exception to the rule for Russia: it is more than 200 years old, having survived the Russian Revolution and civil war, two World Wars and perestroika.

The factory’s official founding year is 1795, which is when Ivan Labzin, a farmer from the village of Pavlovo founded a small workshop for producing silk shawls.

At the time, it was one of more than 70 small factories in the Moscow Region.

Since then, woolen shawls and silk kerchiefs from Pavlovsky Posad have been an important part of Russia’s cultural heritage.

The factory’s longevity might be attributed to its ability to adapt and change with the times. In 1860, under the leadership of Ivan’s descendent Yakov Labzin and his assistant Vasily Gryaznov, the factory adopted modern methods of production, printing patterns onto the shawls.

By the beginning of the 20th century, Pavlovsky Posad was the largest producer of shawls and silk kerchiefs in Russia. After the 1917 October Revolution, the factory was nationalized.

During World War II, the factory kept working, but instead of making printed shawls, it produced fabrics for the Red Army. Life during the war years was difficult, but the factory’s biggest challenge was yet to come.

At present, the Pavlovsky Posad shawl factory is the only textile factory in Russia that produces both the fabrics it works with and the end product.

“We sell our products through our Internet site as well: over 200,000 people used this option to buy our shawls", said Deputy Director Vyacheslav Dolgov.

"We are especially happy to see young girls wearing our shawls. It means that we managed to conquer the prejudice that shawls are made solely for elderly women,” he added

Pavlovsky Posad shawls are always visible on Russian Orthodox women on their way to church, and not just because they are attractive. Vasily Gryaznov is actually an Orthodox saint.

Pavlovsky Posad is located in 56 miles from Moscow and it's population counts 60000 people.

Today the shawl factory gives work places to 600 employees. Before the October Revolution of 1917, there were 4,500 employees, and 2,500 during the Soviet era.

The average employee’s monthly salary is 15,000–25,000 rubles ($470-$780).

The total number of shawls and kerchiefs produced annually is 1,000,000, while in the Soviet era the factory produced 20,000,000 shawls and kerchiefs.

More than 600 types of shawls, kerchiefs and scarves, both for men and women, are produced, using 2000 patterns. Every two months the designers creat new models and patterns.

There are 90 direct sale points in Russia, 11 of them in Moscow. Eighty percent of all sales are concentrated in Russia, ten percent in Turkmenistan and ten percent in other countries, including Europe.