Like his father and grandfather before him, Cornelis Nouwens became a craftsman in carpet making in Tilburg, the wool textile hub of Holland at that time. In the early fifties he moved to Harrismith, in the foothills of the Drakensberg. It was there, in one of the town's old garages, that he established his own carpet factory in 1962. Under his guidance, Nouwens Carpets flourished. In the early years the factory made haircords, woven on an old converted blanket loom. Later, conventional wilton wire-looms and axminsters were used to produce carpets from home spun yarns. Over time, Cornelis Nouwens saw his company develop into an innovative market leader, enjoying a sound reputation for quality and craftsmanship. Nouwens has always been a family business and over the years, Cornelis Nouwens has enjoyed the support of his wife and children, two of whom, Luci and Pieter, have become carpet craftsmen in their own right. Today the company houses a state of the art yarn processing and tufting plant. Since 1990 Mr Nouwens has taken a back seat, satisfied to let the next generation of Nouwens build on the family's proud carpet making tradition in Harrismith.

Mr Nouwens was a craftsman fired with enthusiasm and innovation. Over the years, these qualities have inspired Nouwens to invest in the most up to date equipment and technology, enabling the modern Nouwens craftsmen to produce exceptional products of quality and innovation. Mr Nouwens favoured traditional wilton looms to weave his pure new wool carpets. Old favourites like Ankara Twist and Kabir spring to mind. Being open minded craftsmen, Nouwens identified the need to move with the times, introducing synthetic tufting and state of the art Flat Weaves. However, these modern advances have been introduced without compromising the traditional craftsman's spirit. The love of the unique art of carpet making and inbred carpet making skills allow Nouwens to reinterpret the traditional beauty of carpets using today's technologies, fibres and systems.