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Advice Ep: How to Buy an Antique/Vintage Rug
18 Plays1 year ago
In the newest installment of our advice series, Ben Miller speaks with Jordan Heres, co-founder with his wife, Ingrid, of the Charlottesville, Virginia, rug purveyor Weft and Wool. The focus object is a rug from Karaja, Iran, made in about 1900, but Ben’s and Jordan also tackle such subjects as how often a rug should be washed, why you should never use a beater bar when vacuuming a rug, and where the best rugs can be found (spoiler: it’s Istanbul, but the runner-up might surprise listeners).
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Transcript
Introduction to the Podcast
00:00:10
Speaker
Hello and welcome to Curious Objects, brought to you by the magazine Antiques, I'm Ben Miller.
00:00:14
Speaker
This is the podcast about art, decorative arts and antiques, the stories behind them and what they can reveal to us about ourselves and the people who came before us.
Fascination and Fear of Antique Rugs
00:00:22
Speaker
And we are doing an advice episode today.
00:00:24
Speaker
It's on a topic that I think a lot of people struggle with, and that is antique rugs.
00:00:30
Speaker
We love them, we need them, but let's be honest, we're also kind of afraid of them.
00:00:36
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You can buy them anywhere, and I mean,
00:00:38
Speaker
anywhere, but buying the right one ain't easy.
00:00:41
Speaker
And that's good.
00:00:42
Speaker
If it were easy, it wouldn't be fun.
00:00:44
Speaker
But there are just so many options and your room needs the perfect rug, right?
00:00:50
Speaker
You want the right size and color and pattern, etc, etc.
00:00:53
Speaker
And that's just the tip of the iceberg because you also want quality and condition and you want to get good value and price.
00:01:01
Speaker
And these are factors that personally I find really, really hard to sort out.
00:01:06
Speaker
I see sticker prices that can be totally mysterious and I feel like I have no idea whether I'm getting ripped off.
Expert Insights with Jordan Harris
00:01:13
Speaker
And then once you do have your dream rug, there are even more questions about how to take care of it.
00:01:18
Speaker
And if all of this is sounding a little intimidating and you're starting to think maybe a plain linoleum tiled floor wouldn't be so bad after all, hold on a second, because my guest today wants to show you that you can find your ideal rug and not get ripped off and treat your toes right and have something handcrafted and beautiful and authentic with a captivating story behind it that will last for generations.
00:01:41
Speaker
You can have it all.
00:01:43
Speaker
I am talking today with the perfect guide to the complicated world of rugs, Jordan Harris.
00:01:49
Speaker
Jordan and his wife Ingrid fell in love with rugs during their globetrotting as disaster relief workers.
00:01:55
Speaker
And now they buy and sell fine handmade rugs in Charlottesville, Virginia, through their company Weft and Wool.
00:02:03
Speaker
And today Jordan is going to lead us through the naughty world of rugs from identifying their origins to evaluating their condition and quality to finding the perfect style for your space.
00:02:16
Speaker
And he's also going to share with us a special and really beautiful rug that he has picked out as today's curious object.
00:02:23
Speaker
But before all of that, I have some rapid fire questions.
00:02:27
Speaker
Jordan, are you ready?
00:02:28
Speaker
I'm ready.
00:02:29
Speaker
Yeah, you really set the stage there.
00:02:30
Speaker
So let's start with some easy ones here.
00:02:33
Speaker
I wish you luck with that.
00:02:35
Speaker
What's the worst color of shag carpet?
00:02:39
Speaker
Oh, man, color.
00:02:40
Speaker
I would say...
00:02:43
Speaker
There's something unique about an orange that that I don't know what time period it was in the 60s or 70s that vibrant orange, but it's it's more of the application.
00:02:52
Speaker
Like in my brother's house, it not only was in the bathroom, but up the toilet, as I'm sure many of your viewers would be.
00:02:58
Speaker
Oh, I feel like we easy just thinking about that.
00:03:01
Speaker
Yeah.
00:03:02
Speaker
Okay, what's the most valuable rug you've ever touched?
00:03:06
Speaker
I think it would be at the Textile Museum at George Washington University.
Market Dynamics of Rugs
00:03:12
Speaker
And for many of these rugs, you know, there's a different category of price points when museums are dealing.
00:03:19
Speaker
And so I don't know where exactly it would fall in the open market, but, you know, rugs can easily, once they're in the
00:03:28
Speaker
you know, 17th, 16th century and earlier, they can easily get into six figures and beyond.
00:03:34
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So I don't think I've reached the multi-million dollar price point, but definitely into six figures.
00:03:42
Speaker
There's still time.
00:03:45
Speaker
What's the most overpriced rug you've ever seen?
00:03:48
Speaker
That's a great question.
00:03:50
Speaker
I'm often picking up rugs at estate sales and it truly breaks my heart when I flip over a corner of a rug and somebody's kept the original sales tag and a rug that I think would
00:04:04
Speaker
sell reasonably for $1,000 to $2,000.
00:04:07
Speaker
I'll flip it over and see the tag that it was originally bought for and it might be at the $40,000 to $50,000 price point.
00:04:14
Speaker
So, you know, there's, it's, as your listeners will know, this is the world of vintage and antique rugs.
00:04:22
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And so it's not an outlier, that story, right?
00:04:26
Speaker
It's pretty common.
00:04:28
Speaker
What city has the most interesting rug shops?
00:04:32
Speaker
Good question.
00:04:33
Speaker
You're in New York City, and I'm not just trying to play favorites here, but I think New York City, but also it's hard to beat Istanbul, you know, the collections and museums.
00:04:44
Speaker
And I mean, it's a different experience, but New York has some great rugs, you know, just by nature of the museums.
Rug Collecting and Resources
00:04:52
Speaker
Rugs that will gladly be shown to you, you know, in a gallery with a high end dealer, you, you might have to prove your worth to get to the very expensive rugs.
00:05:01
Speaker
But in New York, you can walk over to the Met and see what they have on display.
00:05:06
Speaker
And that's, that's really a gift.
00:05:09
Speaker
Who's the most eccentric rug dealer you've met?
00:05:12
Speaker
I feel like I shouldn't answer that.
00:05:15
Speaker
And what I should say, actually, maybe this will cause the rug dealers to laugh, is that every rug dealer is eccentric in an unexpected way.
00:05:25
Speaker
You think you know the type and you have a handle on what to expect, but...
00:05:31
Speaker
There are a lot of odd rug dealers out there, myself included, in my own ways, but that's the fun of it.
00:05:39
Speaker
Great individuals and overall a great market.
00:05:42
Speaker
All right.
00:05:43
Speaker
Well, we'll leave it up to listeners to figure out exactly in what way you are... The political answer there.
00:05:48
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Yeah.
00:05:50
Speaker
What's the first book that a budding new rug enthusiast should read?
00:05:54
Speaker
Yeah.
00:05:56
Speaker
I think that a great balance of informational but readable is aptly titled Oriental Rugs, A Complete Guide.
00:06:07
Speaker
And that's by an expert, Murray Island.
00:06:11
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Actually, two of them.
00:06:12
Speaker
There's a junior and a senior.
00:06:13
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But, you know,
00:06:16
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He traveled to these regions, has firsthand accounts, but displays it in a relatable way from what makes RUG in terms of structure and materials, and then gets into the specifics of regions and tribes and villages.
00:06:33
Speaker
And so that's typically what I'll recommend to the beginning RUG aficionado.
00:06:43
Speaker
What's been your single most exciting find so far?
00:06:48
Speaker
Oh, these are rapid fire questions thinking on the spot here.
00:06:52
Speaker
I have a soft spot for prayer rugs.
00:06:55
Speaker
They're unique and there's that embedded spirituality, right?
00:07:03
Speaker
And on top of that, I think the Caucasus are another soft spot for rug origins for myself.
00:07:10
Speaker
And so
00:07:11
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They're probably not rugs that you'd write home about, but the simplicity, the relatability, and the divine aspect or the transcendental nature of these rugs, I've just found that I
Personal Connection with Rugs
00:07:30
Speaker
truly connect with those.
00:07:31
Speaker
So likely a Caucasian prayer rug from modern Armenia.
00:07:36
Speaker
I like that you're gravitating towards something that's sort of a personal connection rather than the thing that's the, you know, jackpot, you know, treasure discovery.
00:07:48
Speaker
Yeah.
00:07:48
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Yeah.
00:07:48
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And that's a lot about how you relate to rugs.
00:07:51
Speaker
Right.
00:07:51
Speaker
And that's part of my mission, my ethos.
00:07:54
Speaker
I think we'll get into that in the discussion is that what you personally are drawn to and appreciate is a value, right?
00:08:02
Speaker
There's an inherent value of a rug, but
00:08:04
Speaker
let's face it, it will be in your home.
00:08:07
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You'll live with it day in and day out for decades.
00:08:10
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And so it should be something that inspires awe and joy and that you personally enjoy.
00:08:17
Speaker
So that's something I always encourage customers to look at and consider.
00:08:20
Speaker
And if they don't know that yet, it's kind of funny when I send a list of rugs or they look through my website and send a few options that they are interested in, I'll find a comment thread of, you know, these are all from this region of the world or in
00:08:33
Speaker
And they don't even know that they're making that connection.
00:08:35
Speaker
But whether it's geometric or curvilinear, loose weave or fine weave or certain colors, I think we all have a type of rug that we're drawn to.
00:08:44
Speaker
And that's a valid consideration to get into when looking at rugs.
00:08:50
Speaker
Yeah, we have a lot to talk about there.
00:08:53
Speaker
Last rapid fire question for you.
00:08:54
Speaker
What rug would you choose to be buried with?
00:08:58
Speaker
Oh, this is a great question.
00:09:01
Speaker
And I would, again, play a political answer, but a very true one in
Listener Engagement and Online Presence
00:09:06
Speaker
that I don't think I've found it yet.
00:09:09
Speaker
And that's the joy of being a rug dealer.
00:09:12
Speaker
And I think that eccentrism that many of us have is we are all driven by the chase to find the next rug.
00:09:20
Speaker
And, you know, every rug being unique and individual, you know,
00:09:24
Speaker
it could just be around the next corner, that incredible piece.
00:09:30
Speaker
I think there are some rugs that I might choose, but I would rather they live on in existence and pass it on to my kids or family or friend rather than be buried with it.
00:09:41
Speaker
I think the beauty of rugs is that they're meant to be used and lived with.
00:09:46
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The caveat there is that the oldest existent rug was buried in a tomb in Egypt.
00:09:56
Speaker
Russia and froze over.
00:09:57
Speaker
And so thanks to someone being buried with a rug, we have the earliest example in the Paziric carpet.
00:10:04
Speaker
People can Google oldest rug and they'll find more on that history.
00:10:08
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But I'm glad somebody was buried with a rug.
00:10:10
Speaker
But personally, I would pass it on to somebody.
00:10:13
Speaker
Fair enough.
00:10:13
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Well, we'll be right back with Jordan Harris for a crash course on buying rugs and a conversation about this very interesting rug that he has to tell us about today's curious object.
00:10:25
Speaker
You can see pictures of that at themagazineantiques.com slash podcast.
00:10:30
Speaker
And you can see many more of Jordan's rugs at weftandwool.com or on their Instagram at weftandwool.
00:10:36
Speaker
If you'd like to get in touch with me, I'd really enjoy that.
00:10:39
Speaker
I'm on Instagram at Objective Interest, or you can email me at curiousobjectspodcast at gmail.com.
00:10:46
Speaker
And if you'd like to help me out, I'd so appreciate it.
00:10:49
Speaker
If you tell a friend or a parent or a grandparent about the podcast, maybe you can help them figure out how to listen to a podcast.
00:10:56
Speaker
And of course, it's terrific when you leave a five star rating on Apple podcasts or write a review there.
00:11:03
Speaker
Someone recently wrote, I am enjoying everything about the show.
00:11:06
Speaker
The conversations are clearly structured so that the listener learns a good deal about a fascinating topic.
00:11:11
Speaker
Thank you so much for those kind words.
00:11:13
Speaker
I love hearing what you think about the show.
00:11:15
Speaker
And those reviews also help new listeners to find their way to
Rug Categories and Weaving Evolution
00:11:19
Speaker
curious objects.
00:11:19
Speaker
So keep them coming.
00:11:24
Speaker
Now, Jordan, tell me right off the bat, why shouldn't I buy a cheap mass produced rug?
00:11:32
Speaker
Yeah, that's a question that I get often.
00:11:37
Speaker
And I don't want to be accused of elitism or something here, but there are conditions or situations where that might be the right rug for you.
00:11:49
Speaker
Yeah.
00:11:51
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There are certain uses in the home.
00:11:52
Speaker
But what I will say in making my case for a quality handmade rug is, you know, there's the topics of sustainability.
00:12:01
Speaker
Many of these cheap rugs are mass produced.
00:12:04
Speaker
They're machine made with fibers other than wool.
00:12:08
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Usually it's a
00:12:10
Speaker
rayon or some other synthetic material that ages quickly ends up in a landfill.
00:12:18
Speaker
And so when you're buying a handmade rug, you're buying quality over quantity.
00:12:22
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So, you know, if you're early on in your very first apartment, you might not have the budget for handmade rug.
00:12:29
Speaker
You might need a stopgap quick one year rug.
00:12:32
Speaker
But the fact is many of these rugs, I don't know if you've had this experience, maybe your listeners have, if you buy a cheap machine made rug,
00:12:40
Speaker
The corners will start to curl up in the next year or two.
00:12:43
Speaker
Stains will settle in and be difficult to wash out.
00:12:49
Speaker
And they just start to wear.
00:12:51
Speaker
And the quality difference is evident.
00:12:53
Speaker
So when you buy a handmade rug, you're investing in one rug over the course of two, three decades rather than 10 or 20 rugs over that time.
00:13:03
Speaker
So it actually ends up being competitive, if not even more competitive.
00:13:10
Speaker
effective to purchase a handmade rug.
00:13:14
Speaker
And then thirdly, the draw of these rugs is that they are works of art.
00:13:22
Speaker
You know, the imperfections, the expression of motifs, these all are reflections of nature.
00:13:30
Speaker
The weavers take on life and they might have meaning, they might not, but there's something
00:13:37
Speaker
for your floor that you can connect with and that inspires us to appreciate beauty more.
00:13:43
Speaker
So sustainability, you're not contributing to landfills.
00:13:47
Speaker
These rugs are completely sustainable materials, either wool or cotton or even goat hair.
00:13:55
Speaker
And then quality over quantity.
00:13:57
Speaker
And then thirdly, you're enjoying something beautiful.
00:14:01
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It's art for your floor.
00:14:03
Speaker
Okay, so let's talk about taxonomy for a minute, because I want to understand the general categories of rugs that are out there.
00:14:10
Speaker
So help me out.
00:14:11
Speaker
How should we break this down?
00:14:12
Speaker
There are different regions, you know, whether it's Tabriz or Isfahan, there are nomadic rugs versus city rugs, there are different age categories.
00:14:24
Speaker
What other ways can we break this down?
00:14:28
Speaker
Yeah, I think starting at the, you know, 30,000 foot view, there's Persian, Turkish, Caucasian, Moroccan, you know, North African and Caucasian.
00:14:43
Speaker
India and Pakistan as well.
00:14:44
Speaker
But generally, the most helpful differentiation I find for clients and even for myself is nomadic being one, village being another, and then workshop slash city being the third.
00:15:00
Speaker
And your viewers are probably more familiar with this than they give themselves credit for.
00:15:06
Speaker
If you think of a rug that's very detailed and ornate, finely knotted, usually a larger format, that's likely a workshop or a city rug.
00:15:17
Speaker
And that makes sense if we think about the evolution of weaving as production increased.
00:15:23
Speaker
You know, this is something...
00:15:25
Speaker
even to the Ottoman Empire before that, where workshops and cities were hubs that enabled more possibilities with textiles in terms of size, of a loom, in terms of a budget for wool and what dyes could be used.
00:15:42
Speaker
And then also these workshops slash city rugs were drawn from a planned design.
00:15:50
Speaker
Historically, this might have been...
00:15:53
Speaker
you know, a drawn out cartoon or map.
00:15:57
Speaker
We also have examples of these samplers that were woven by an expert and then used to produce these consistent designs that were then sold at market or exported.
00:16:12
Speaker
So workshop and city rugs, they tend to be finely knotted, more curvilinear.
00:16:18
Speaker
So you have floral designs,
00:16:21
Speaker
The edges are not geometric or harsh.
00:16:24
Speaker
It's very gentle on the eye.
00:16:27
Speaker
Designs are more botanical.
00:16:29
Speaker
And then you have village carpets, which typically those were woven by women working at home in their spare time.
00:16:36
Speaker
So, you know, historically, a family might have had some some sheep, sheep, sheep,
00:16:43
Speaker
had or gone to market for wool.
00:16:45
Speaker
But as a family was engaged in other activities, agricultural or whatever else, many of the women would be at home working on rugs.
00:16:59
Speaker
And so these tend to be
00:17:02
Speaker
highly creative because they combined tribal influences or nomadic influences with the sophistication of trying to satisfy a market.
00:17:13
Speaker
So these weavers and villages would have been aware of
00:17:16
Speaker
what was sold in the cities, what was desirable.
00:17:20
Speaker
And so they would have known what designs were popular, but they also wouldn't have been influenced by an overlord or somebody who, or some might've been, but generally they had freedom in expressing their individuality.
00:17:34
Speaker
And so they would,
00:17:36
Speaker
There's a wide range of rugs in this category because it might be a traditional design, it might be a newer design, but the individual weaver would spend their own take on that.
00:17:49
Speaker
And so it sounds like you're saying it's not that city rugs are just better than pneumatic rugs.
00:17:55
Speaker
They have different pros and cons.
00:17:57
Speaker
Yeah, definitely.
00:17:57
Speaker
And I'll get into that.
00:17:58
Speaker
I'll actually make the opposite case in my, this is again, when we get into personal tastes, I am very much more for the nomadic or village rugs.
00:18:08
Speaker
And so the third category there, the first was city slash workshop.
00:18:12
Speaker
The second was village where women would be at home stationary working on, on rugs.
00:18:17
Speaker
And third nomadic rugs would, as the name implies, be woven by nomads.
00:18:23
Speaker
So these were woven completely by memory.
00:18:26
Speaker
Um,
00:18:27
Speaker
a tradition passed from mother to daughter, and many of them were made for personal use rather than for sale.
00:18:34
Speaker
You'll usually find they have skinnier widths and smaller size formats generally because these looms had to be packed up and moved around.
00:18:46
Speaker
And usually also these rugs were used, the materials they used would be a slightly coarser wool,
00:18:56
Speaker
rich in lanolin and durable, but the wool itself would typically be coarser and so the knots would be larger.
00:19:09
Speaker
So lower knot count than city rugs.
00:19:13
Speaker
Village rugs would probably be in the middle in terms of knot count.
00:19:17
Speaker
And then these nomadic rugs, the majority of the time would be geometric in design.
00:19:27
Speaker
Again, I think your viewers might have a handle on this, or if they take this information and go look at a wide range of rugs, they'll have these categories of nomadic village and city to kind of screen out what...
00:19:44
Speaker
draws them what they're interested in, you know, geometric or linear, loosely knotted or finely knotted.
00:19:52
Speaker
But your point there about, I think, historically, city or workshop rugs were touted as, you know, these are the best, they're what you want.
00:20:04
Speaker
And part of that would be the rug salesman would be an integral part of
00:20:10
Speaker
the exporting and sale of these rugs.
00:20:13
Speaker
And so they would be upsold, whereas the village nomadic rugs that were
00:20:20
Speaker
typically just limited to local markets or in the home, were looked down upon for a time.
00:20:26
Speaker
But what's fascinating and I think beautiful now is the market has shifted to where the simple rugs, the crude rugs, are what is most appreciated now because they maintained the individuality of weavers, that unique design that doesn't match any other rug.
00:20:47
Speaker
Whereas a workshop or a city rug, while it might be the
00:20:51
Speaker
most finely knotted and technically the most durable.
00:20:54
Speaker
Um, it might be one of a hundred or one of 200 or even more designs.
00:21:01
Speaker
And so, um,
00:21:03
Speaker
Um, personally I'm, I'm drawn to nomadic and village rugs because they are, um, just fascinating.
00:21:09
Speaker
They pose so many questions.
00:21:11
Speaker
And again, like we talked about earlier, there's a connection, um, that at least personally I'm able to make with these rugs and wondering about the story behind it, the incredible artists behind it that we'll never know.
00:21:25
Speaker
Well, you're making me feel pretty good right now.
00:21:27
Speaker
Cause I'm sitting on top of a nomadic rug as we speak.
00:21:30
Speaker
Oh, great.
00:21:30
Speaker
You'll have to send me a picture later.
00:21:32
Speaker
Oh, I'm embarrassed about it.
00:21:34
Speaker
I'd be happy to give my opinion on age and specific origin and whatnot.
00:21:41
Speaker
Maybe I'll work up the curtain.
00:21:44
Speaker
But you had a particular rug you wanted to tell us about that you've acquired.
00:21:50
Speaker
I mentioned it's a rug from Karaja.
00:21:53
Speaker
And you've dated it to circa 1900.
00:21:56
Speaker
What does this rug look like?
00:21:57
Speaker
And how does it fit into these categories that you've just described for us?
00:22:01
Speaker
Yeah, so Karaja is a village, or these rugs are village rugs in terms of those categories that we spoke about.
00:22:10
Speaker
And near to Karaja and with similar designs is Hariz, which many listeners might be familiar with there.
00:22:19
Speaker
similar to Karajah, but a bit more refined and there's less individuality expressed in those Hariz rugs.
00:22:33
Speaker
And so what's unique about this rug that, so actually I should take a step back here.
00:22:38
Speaker
So Karajah is about 35 miles northeast of Tabriz in Azerbaijan province.
00:22:44
Speaker
So northwest Iran, just south of the Caucasus mountains.
00:22:49
Speaker
And they're distinguished from Haris by use of a single weft, so that horizontal structure holding the knots in place.
00:22:57
Speaker
And so what's also unique about these rugs is the colors are a bit more subdued than Haris rugs.
00:23:03
Speaker
They tend to
00:23:06
Speaker
they tend toward Caucasian in their color palette of more blues and greens.
00:23:12
Speaker
And it's beautiful as in the case of this rug, this rusty orange terracotta,
00:23:20
Speaker
that comes from the matter red.
00:23:23
Speaker
And so what's fascinating about this rug, this Karaja, is that being from right around 1900, the turn of the century, it benefits from the advances that had taken place in rug weaving in the late 1800s.
00:23:38
Speaker
And so what you have there is really beautiful designs that borrowed from
00:23:45
Speaker
other regions and a structure of the rug that's incredibly durable and hard wearing.
00:23:51
Speaker
So this rug would be, while it's 120 years old, it would be perfectly well used in a living or dining room and has decades more to give, if not a century.
00:24:04
Speaker
And what I love about this rug, and if people are looking at it, that's probably the best way to explain it, but I'll do my best for audio only listeners.
00:24:16
Speaker
There's a freedom and spontaneity to the design.
Golden Age of Weaving and Dyes
00:24:21
Speaker
And that's really what
00:24:24
Speaker
as we talked about nomadic and village carpets, that's what in many ways gives a rug value is there's a weaver behind it, there's imperfections, there's a story behind the rug.
00:24:36
Speaker
So if you look at this rug, you'll see that to the left of the medallion and to the right of the medallion, the distribution of smaller motifs
00:24:48
Speaker
is completely inconsistent.
00:24:50
Speaker
And even the spacing is slightly different.
00:24:53
Speaker
And the reason for this would be a rug this size, it's about nine by 12, I think it is.
00:25:00
Speaker
Weavers would work in about three foot sections on a larger loom.
00:25:04
Speaker
And they would each be working up the rug and coordinating what motifs are where and how the rug is spaced.
00:25:13
Speaker
And they might make a mistake
00:25:16
Speaker
but they would overcome that by this free distribution of motifs of on the wider side.
00:25:23
Speaker
On the left, the motifs are skinnier and tightly packed.
00:25:28
Speaker
On the right, where it's tighter, they use larger motifs.
00:25:31
Speaker
And so the weavers were really artists and understood how to manipulate the eye of a viewer.
00:25:39
Speaker
And so on first glance,
00:25:41
Speaker
you might not notice these inconsistencies, but on further inspection, you'll see it and that tells a story in itself and is really beautiful because you just get these motifs that are woven by a weaver and placed in a specific spot
00:26:04
Speaker
And that planning was done freely rather than from a grid that was mapped out and planned.
00:26:15
Speaker
And so when I talk about the Golden Age, just to take a step back, there's that period of weavers being equipped with more materials, a broader market, more income, and
00:26:27
Speaker
but then the advances in dyes.
00:26:32
Speaker
But that started to die out as industrialization really took hold and more and more rugs were planned.
00:26:40
Speaker
Synthetic dyes were integrated starting in the early 1900s, but really by the 1940s and 50s, synthetic dyes were kind of standard.
00:26:50
Speaker
So if you look at this rug, when you look at a blue or a green,
00:26:54
Speaker
it's not a singular color there's so much depth and variety you know for green for example it's it's a yellow dye that would be then over dyed with an indigo and so you see variation within it of competing yellow and blue and and there's life to it um
00:27:15
Speaker
So, yeah, the golden age, again, by the 30s, 40s, rugs were really standardized, used synthetic dyes.
00:27:24
Speaker
And as people moved to cities and wove less, the transmission of generational knowledge and how to weave was in many ways lost.
00:27:33
Speaker
There are people who are trying to revive it, but when you think of centuries of...
00:27:37
Speaker
of rug weaving wisdom and knowledge passed down generationally.
00:27:42
Speaker
That's a difficult ask to regain that.
00:27:46
Speaker
So this Karaja rug is from circa 1900.
00:27:50
Speaker
Technically, it's an antique, it's over 100 years old.
Shopping Tips and Legalities
00:27:53
Speaker
But what are the sort of different age categories that rugs fit into?
00:27:58
Speaker
That's an important point.
00:27:59
Speaker
So there are three general categories of vintage, semi-antique, and antique, I guess four, with modern being another one.
00:28:07
Speaker
But vintage, and these are always moving a little bit, but vintage is usually around the 30 to 50 year mark, semi-antique 60 to 80 or 90, depending who you ask.
00:28:19
Speaker
And now that we're in 2024, time keeps moving, antique is typically 90 to 100 plus years old.
00:28:29
Speaker
So that's an important category for listeners to consider what condition usually corresponds, as does rarity, with the age of a rug.
00:28:40
Speaker
So that's an important thing to consider as we're looking at rugs.
00:28:44
Speaker
In your mind, is older generally better?
00:28:47
Speaker
Yes and no.
00:28:49
Speaker
So generally, I think, you know, nine times out of 10 antique rugs will be better.
00:28:53
Speaker
But semi-antique offers some unique, you know, great price points.
00:28:58
Speaker
Certain regions still use natural dyes or a blend of synthetic and natural, still had individual expression by the weavers.
00:29:07
Speaker
So there are some great deals to be had in the semi-antique space and great condition as well.
00:29:12
Speaker
Vintage, there are interesting things that happened in that time period.
00:29:17
Speaker
Unique rugs.
00:29:18
Speaker
That sounds like a euphemism.
00:29:20
Speaker
Well, yeah.
00:29:21
Speaker
I mean, the bounds of rug weaving were really pushed right in that time period as they are in modern rugs.
00:29:28
Speaker
So if you love a rug from that period, it's likely in great condition, might have some crazy colors and fun designs.
00:29:36
Speaker
And if it's for you, great.
00:29:37
Speaker
Yeah.
00:29:39
Speaker
But generally, antique rugs, that's my personal preference and where you'll find the most interesting rugs.
00:29:47
Speaker
Yes.
00:29:48
Speaker
Hola Miami!
00:29:49
Speaker
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00:29:51
Speaker
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Speaker
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Speaker
Visit BigDealEvent.com for more details.
00:30:15
Speaker
So with all these different categories and styles and approaches, I mean, it can easily be overwhelming for someone like me with a small brain.
00:30:27
Speaker
How do I go about, like, how should I think about finding a rug or identifying a style of rug that I could fall in love with?
00:30:37
Speaker
And that's going to work in my space.
00:30:40
Speaker
Yeah, that's a great question and an important one that we're here to answer today, or at least try.
00:30:45
Speaker
And I think it's an exciting time to be a buyer.
00:30:48
Speaker
I would give that encouragement.
00:30:50
Speaker
There's plenty of opportunity.
00:30:52
Speaker
And, you know, with the internet, there is democratization and more fair pricing.
00:30:59
Speaker
But with that, it's also overwhelming, right?
00:31:01
Speaker
So,
00:31:02
Speaker
I think I would encourage listeners to consider what route is most comfortable for them.
00:31:08
Speaker
Is in-person shopping the way they want to go or online?
00:31:14
Speaker
Either way, I think if you go online, you should at minimum require a return policy and you should...
00:31:21
Speaker
You should really look for a seller with photos that clearly display the rug because it's something you need to see in person in your space and know how it feels, how you connect with it.
00:31:35
Speaker
But if you're looking in person, find a reputable gallery near you and use that opportunity to ask a lot of questions.
00:31:44
Speaker
You want a seller who doesn't just spin tails and exaggerate.
00:31:49
Speaker
But you want somebody who will get into the details of what makes this rug unique, where is it from, or who at the very least will flip through a pile of 100 rugs to help you decide what sort of style you're drawn to.
00:32:06
Speaker
Personally, as an online seller, I'm a proponent for that method.
00:32:12
Speaker
The benefits there is lower prices.
00:32:15
Speaker
more options.
00:32:17
Speaker
Um, you know, as an online shop, my overhead is quite minimal.
00:32:20
Speaker
I have a studio and I do local showings, but, uh, for online sales, people can easily scroll through a website.
00:32:27
Speaker
Um, and, and,
00:32:30
Speaker
cursory glance, really maybe get an idea of, of what sort of rug they're looking for.
00:32:37
Speaker
Um, but really shop around.
00:32:39
Speaker
Uh, I've, I've really embraced the truth that I might not have the perfect rug for you by the nature of rugs being individual and hand knotted and so widely varied in design and color.
00:32:53
Speaker
Um, and so, you know, if you're shopping online, I might have the rug for you.
00:32:57
Speaker
I might not,
00:32:59
Speaker
One caveat here, I would say if you're looking international, so some people buy on Etsy and other platforms, it is illegal to import Persian rugs, even if they were woven before the current...
00:33:12
Speaker
the current leadership of Iran, you know, the sanctions between countries do prohibit importing of rugs.
00:33:20
Speaker
But there is an abundant quantity of rugs in the U.S. You know, they've been importing since, you know, 1800s.
00:33:30
Speaker
And so great rugs are already here.
00:33:33
Speaker
Good.
00:33:33
Speaker
Okay.
00:33:33
Speaker
Yeah, I don't want my listeners to end up in prison.
00:33:37
Speaker
Thanks to this episode.
00:33:38
Speaker
So I appreciate that.
00:33:39
Speaker
We did a good deal today.
00:33:40
Speaker
Yeah.
00:33:42
Speaker
What are some of the basic criteria of quality that I should be looking for, whether it's in person or online?
00:33:49
Speaker
We've talked about not count.
00:33:51
Speaker
I mean, what other attributes are there to keep an eye out for?
Evaluating Rug Quality
00:33:55
Speaker
Yeah.
00:33:56
Speaker
So a good seller, a rug dealer will help you determine the right use of the right rug.
00:34:03
Speaker
So I often have a rug that somebody loves, you know, a Caucasian piece and Caucasian rugs, they fell into that.
00:34:11
Speaker
village category or sometimes nomadic where they're loosely knotted.
00:34:15
Speaker
And so let's say I have a three by eight runner.
00:34:19
Speaker
Somebody wants to put it in their kitchen and I'll typically try to steer them away from something like that because a rug that's more loosely knotted and might have some wear would be better used in
00:34:32
Speaker
a bedroom or a seating nook, somewhere without traffic or without as much traffic.
00:34:38
Speaker
And so condition again is, it depends where you're placing a rug in the home.
00:34:44
Speaker
something like this antique carja here is very durable.
00:34:49
Speaker
It has thick, a thick foundation that that's holding all the knots in place.
00:34:55
Speaker
There is some scattered wear in areas just due to use kind of a, maybe considered a patina, but there's no areas of knots missing.
00:35:04
Speaker
And so this again, in a living room or dining room would
00:35:08
Speaker
I would have no concerns.
00:35:09
Speaker
So condition, you really have to decide what you're comfortable with.
00:35:14
Speaker
There are varying levels of condition from somewhere to the pile to you can see the foundation to the extreme of there are holes in this rug.
00:35:26
Speaker
I'm not above that.
00:35:27
Speaker
Uh, I, many buyers want those rugs.
00:35:30
Speaker
Uh, I think younger buyers tend to, they want a rug that looks older.
00:35:34
Speaker
And, um, the benefit there too, is the price point is much more affordable.
00:35:39
Speaker
Um, as, as condition goes down, your price should go down as well.
00:35:43
Speaker
Uh, generally, unless you have an incredibly rare rug, but, um, you, what you usually want is, uh,
00:35:50
Speaker
ends and sides to be straight.
00:35:52
Speaker
You want them to be secured and not unraveling.
00:35:57
Speaker
And so it's determining what you're comfortable with, but that corresponds with price as well.
00:36:04
Speaker
Okay, there are a couple of specifics that I want to ask you about because, you know, there are ways you could be deceived, right?
00:36:13
Speaker
And so, for example, you know, I've seen rugs that have been re-dyed.
00:36:19
Speaker
And I understand that that's seen as a bad thing.
00:36:24
Speaker
So, you know, how should I keep an eye out for that?
00:36:29
Speaker
Yeah, I think as a starting point, it would behoove listeners to know that or accept that rugs woven in most of the world, with the exception of maybe some Moroccan rugs, most Persian, Turkish, Caucasian rugs were woven with
00:36:51
Speaker
plenty of color.
00:36:52
Speaker
And so if you're looking at a rug that's monochromatic or devoid of any color, odds are that that is a rug that has been altered or is a modern rug that has been made to look old.
00:37:04
Speaker
You know, red was very much a
00:37:08
Speaker
and still is a popular color in persia so most rugs in persia will have reds um my example rug here the karajah is is closer to the caucuses where you have more orange blue green um and deep indigos so there there are options out there but yeah i uh as any instagram followers will know i am um
00:37:33
Speaker
On a crusade, or maybe there's a better word, I am against the current trend of chemical washing and bleaching rugs.
00:37:42
Speaker
Mostly in Turkey, they're doing this operation where they'll take an old rug and strip it in an acid wash.
00:37:49
Speaker
and the resulting rug often is very brittle, but it meets the current market.
00:37:57
Speaker
There's a trend that people see online or in magazines, and they want their home to look just like everyone else's.
00:38:03
Speaker
And often the rug is an afterthought.
00:38:05
Speaker
It's just kind of a bland beige floor covering.
00:38:11
Speaker
And that's not what these rugs were intended to be.
00:38:14
Speaker
They were intended to be full of life and color,
00:38:16
Speaker
And so I think that process of bleaching and chemical washing a rug is, one, disrespectful to the artist and the art, but two, again, it's a trend.
00:38:27
Speaker
I don't think those rugs will hold their value in the long run.
00:38:30
Speaker
If I was selling you a 100-year-old rug that had gone through this process, you wouldn't want to collect it, right, because it's been altered from its original state.
00:38:40
Speaker
Mm-hmm.
00:38:42
Speaker
So, yeah, but I would say, too, that washing has been a process with rug weaving for centuries.
00:38:50
Speaker
You know, there were tea washes.
00:38:53
Speaker
There's the general wash after a rug was woven or even before to soften some colors.
00:39:00
Speaker
Many American sarukes were woven, and then they were...
00:39:08
Speaker
painted essentially, you know, paint markers were used on the pile to give even more color or to create a rug that was more palatable to Western or American markets.
00:39:22
Speaker
So that's a very familiar rug style to Americans because in the 40s and 50s, many of these were imported and sold very well.
00:39:30
Speaker
But if you look at the back of the rug, the color is substantially different from the front.
00:39:35
Speaker
And so, yeah, again, this process has been around for a long time.
00:39:38
Speaker
In my mind, that process is different than a chemical or acid wash because the chemicals used now are stripping all the color, but also damaging the fibers of the rug.
00:39:53
Speaker
Yeah.
00:39:53
Speaker
Amazing how that trend sort of vacillates from wanting the more vibrant color to sort of create these extra vibrant colors to wanting to destroy the color salts together.
00:40:04
Speaker
And I was told once by a rug dealer that if you take a wet napkin and rub it across the surface of a rug, that if it pulls up color with it, that that's a sign that it's been tampered with.
00:40:17
Speaker
Is that right?
00:40:18
Speaker
It could be, or it could be, you know, red is a color that often bleeds.
00:40:23
Speaker
There were many below drugs in East Iran and Afghanistan and Pakistan that were woven with dyes that bled a little bit.
00:40:31
Speaker
So it's not across the board true.
00:40:33
Speaker
And those dyes might be natural, but, or a synthetic might be red and bleed.
00:40:40
Speaker
So,
00:40:42
Speaker
If it comes back one color across most of the rug, it probably has been tempered with.
00:40:48
Speaker
If it comes back with any color, I would try to steer you away from that rug generally because you'll have to have your rug washed at some point.
00:40:59
Speaker
And while bleeding rugs can be washed correctly, it can get very complicated and...
00:41:10
Speaker
A minimal amount of dye bleed is acceptable, but if you have enough to the point where you're wiping a napkin or a towel on the rug and the color is coming up, that's probably not something suitable for the home.
00:41:29
Speaker
Whether or not it's authentic, it's not worth bothering with.
00:41:33
Speaker
Correct.
00:41:34
Speaker
What about fringe?
00:41:35
Speaker
What should I be looking for there?
00:41:38
Speaker
Um, yeah, I don't think that it's
00:41:41
Speaker
I would say that a straight fringe is generally a good sign.
00:41:45
Speaker
And if you look at the reverse, it should be stitched and secured if the original flat weave or something is not attached.
00:41:53
Speaker
There are artificial fringes that are often woven or stitched on top of the rug.
00:42:00
Speaker
I usually remove those.
00:42:02
Speaker
I don't like the look of it, and it's not original to the rug, but to each their own.
00:42:07
Speaker
So fringe, I think, is...
00:42:10
Speaker
Not really too important when you're considering a rug, other than, you know, back to that condition point, it might be a good indicator of, has this rug been cared for?
Pricing and Sales Tactics
00:42:20
Speaker
Is it going to slowly unravel over time?
00:42:24
Speaker
Okay, let's talk about price because this is the, for me, the really thorny thing that I have so much trouble wrapping my head around.
00:42:34
Speaker
I mean, obviously one answer is you should find a dealer you trust and rely on their judgment.
00:42:42
Speaker
But if I'm buying something online, you know, maybe from a dealer I've never met,
00:42:48
Speaker
Um, or if I'm, you know, at a marketplace somewhere and just looking at rugs and I don't have someone to, to lean on for advice, what should I be thinking about in terms of price and value?
00:43:01
Speaker
And frankly, you know, by the same token, like, should I be thinking about a rug as, as an investment?
00:43:10
Speaker
Yeah, man, this is where the real meat of the conversation will be, I think, for listeners, because everyone is familiar with the overpriced rug, right?
00:43:21
Speaker
And the spinning of tails and the exaggerated stories about a rug.
00:43:26
Speaker
Yeah.
00:43:27
Speaker
Yeah.
00:43:28
Speaker
Right.
00:43:29
Speaker
Every person who has swindled on an overpriced rug trusted their dealer at some point.
00:43:34
Speaker
That's right.
00:43:35
Speaker
So that advice is, well, there are some established dealers who have been around for a long time and have connections in your community.
00:43:43
Speaker
That's usually a good indication that that is a reliable dealer.
00:43:46
Speaker
I always tell people to never buy from the going out of business sales that...
00:43:53
Speaker
move around.
00:43:54
Speaker
If you look, you'll see these signs all the time, you know, 70% off a rug or all rugs, closing sale.
00:44:01
Speaker
Yeah.
00:44:02
Speaker
I really wanted to ask you about that because this seems so ubiquitous.
00:44:06
Speaker
Right.
00:44:06
Speaker
And maybe we'll circle back to that later.
00:44:09
Speaker
Yeah.
00:44:09
Speaker
Yeah.
00:44:10
Speaker
So, so what I'd say is unless you really know what you're looking at and looking for.
00:44:15
Speaker
So if you've invested that time in reading,
00:44:18
Speaker
plenty of books in spending time with rugs at a gallery or elsewhere.
00:44:24
Speaker
Um, you know, if, if you know what you're looking at and you're confident, it's, you can find incredible rugs and know what you're looking for and get great deals.
00:44:35
Speaker
Um, if you don't know, and most people just don't have the time or bandwidth or interest maybe in, in going that deep in rugs, um, looking online.
00:44:45
Speaker
And I think again, um,
00:44:48
Speaker
Just like a local dealer would be reputable by community input and being in a place for a long time.
00:44:57
Speaker
I think online reviews go a long way.
00:45:00
Speaker
What other customers say, does this person provide knowledge freely to customers?
00:45:08
Speaker
Through my social media channels, I try to educate my buyers, whether they buy from me or not, or somebody sends me
00:45:15
Speaker
You know, if any of your listeners send me a picture of rugs that they have that they've inherited, I'm happy to give an opinion because I truly believe in this art form and want these rugs to be appreciated.
00:45:28
Speaker
And so I think...
00:45:29
Speaker
You know, if you're looking at buying rugs, you should find a seller or dealer who is passionate about it, is willing to educate you without making a sale, doesn't pressure you, allows a return policy.
00:45:46
Speaker
But again, I think with the advent of the internet and this whole world of new sellers and rugs,
00:45:57
Speaker
being accessible now, I encourage buyers to take their time to compare prices across shops, right?
00:46:07
Speaker
That's the benefit.
00:46:07
Speaker
If you go into a single gallery in person,
00:46:10
Speaker
your comparison on pricing is just what's in the store.
00:46:13
Speaker
If you're looking online at 9x12 rugs and you see my rug here that I'm showing, you see another seller.
00:46:20
Speaker
If somebody else has a better price, you should be able to ask me, why is yours priced higher or why is yours lower?
00:46:28
Speaker
And again, I don't know if we've boiled it down to this simple equation, but every rug, the price of each rug is really a function of...
00:46:40
Speaker
Well, supply and demand, but more specifically rarity, condition, the size, of course, the materials used.
00:46:49
Speaker
So natural dyes or synthetic dyes, how finely knotted is it?
00:46:55
Speaker
And then the design and desirability.
00:46:59
Speaker
There are some great deals to be had, in my opinion, of rugs that are less popular, but
00:47:04
Speaker
uh, less people want them, you know, because of a certain design style or colors used, but, um, that, you know, the, the opportunities there to get a great deal.
00:47:17
Speaker
If you have a style, it's a little bit different than other people.
00:47:19
Speaker
But, um, yeah, I think that design and desirability is, I encourage buyers to consider for themselves.
00:47:28
Speaker
What do they connect with?
00:47:29
Speaker
Right.
00:47:29
Speaker
It's, it's subjective.
00:47:32
Speaker
Um,
00:47:34
Speaker
What do you connect with?
00:47:35
Speaker
What do you find beautiful?
00:47:37
Speaker
What works in your home, in your region?
00:47:41
Speaker
But I guess there is also the objective there, right?
00:47:43
Speaker
Like every rug has an objective value based on that rarity.
00:47:48
Speaker
And is this design common?
00:47:51
Speaker
Is it not?
00:47:51
Speaker
Yeah.
00:47:53
Speaker
And so, yeah, I think that, I don't know if you asked that in this question, but, or a previous one, but the idea of an inherent value of rug versus that enjoyment you get from it.
00:48:06
Speaker
And I encourage people not to discount that.
00:48:09
Speaker
You know, if you have the rug that you're sitting on, that's a nomadic rug that you're ashamed to send me a picture of, but you enjoy it, there's value in that, right?
00:48:19
Speaker
And I will never tell people, like, your rug is terrible, you should throw it away.
00:48:23
Speaker
I'll encourage them and say, like, you know, objectively it's worth $200, but you should keep it because your parents gave it to you and your grandparents had it, or you picked it up at this place and you've had it on your wall through thick and thin through life.
00:48:39
Speaker
The rugs become a part of our stories and our lives because they're so integral to a room.
00:48:46
Speaker
They're lived art.
00:48:48
Speaker
That was kind of my introduction to rugs and what I connected with is it's accessible, it's lived, it's tactile.
00:48:56
Speaker
And so I wouldn't discount that subjective value that listeners have.
00:49:02
Speaker
Well, that's very kind of you.
00:49:04
Speaker
And my poor little rug here really appreciates those words.
00:49:09
Speaker
Thank you for that.
00:49:11
Speaker
Just help us protect ourselves here for
Rug Care and Maintenance
00:49:14
Speaker
a second.
00:49:14
Speaker
What are some of the most common mistakes or traps that buyers fall into?
00:49:19
Speaker
Yeah, I think if a dealer or seller is pressuring you, that's usually a red flag, right?
00:49:29
Speaker
If a rug is sold as a final sale,
00:49:33
Speaker
That's something I would steal, steer away from.
00:49:35
Speaker
Uh, you know, you want the opportunity to try a rug for a few days or a week, uh, and see if it works for you.
00:49:41
Speaker
If it, if it works in the home, if it is all that it's been chalked up to me.
00:49:47
Speaker
Um, I think another, um,
00:49:52
Speaker
misleading.
00:49:55
Speaker
If your listeners were around in the 70s and 80s and even 90s, they might be familiar with the heyday of the rug market where rugs that are now $5,000 or $10,000 might have been $20,000, $30,000, $40,000 and beyond.
00:50:06
Speaker
I think what happened there is 70s and 80s, I think many rugs were sold as an investment.
00:50:17
Speaker
And while that's true in some sense, maybe I'm preaching to the choir here as people here are interested in antiques and you're in the silver space, but while things are an investment, they also...
00:50:36
Speaker
They are meant to be used.
00:50:39
Speaker
Prices might go, I don't think they'll ever go down, but they won't appreciate in the way that many of these sellers were selling.
00:50:48
Speaker
If you buy this $40,000 rug in 20 years, it might be $100,000.
00:50:52
Speaker
That's a bit of a tall tale and, again, a pressure of sales tactic.
00:50:58
Speaker
Yeah.
00:51:00
Speaker
And so, yeah, I mean, if the dealer thinks that it's going to double in value pretty quickly, then why are they selling it to you?
00:51:09
Speaker
That's a good question.
00:51:11
Speaker
Yeah.
00:51:11
Speaker
And like I said, you should be able to ask these sort of questions to your dealer and have a discussion.
00:51:17
Speaker
And, you know, if they make the case, then that's convincing.
00:51:23
Speaker
There might be a case to be made, but generally, right, they would hold on to it in that scenario.
00:51:30
Speaker
What do I need to know about taking care of my rugs?
00:51:34
Speaker
Great question.
00:51:36
Speaker
The standard advice is having your rug washed every three to five years.
00:51:42
Speaker
So taking it to a rug cleaner.
00:51:45
Speaker
It's amazing what these rugs can put up with and how washing them can bring them back to life.
00:51:52
Speaker
But
00:51:53
Speaker
The things you can do at home, vacuuming a rug, you know, these are safe.
00:51:58
Speaker
They are meant, these can be safely vacuumed.
00:52:01
Speaker
They're meant to be used.
00:52:02
Speaker
I would just say avoid using a beater bar, right?
00:52:06
Speaker
That low setting that can suck up the fringe or the selvedge.
00:52:10
Speaker
Use suction across the rug, but vacuum it freely.
00:52:14
Speaker
And then one thing I find...
00:52:19
Speaker
the most effective thing that rug owners can do at home is taking a rug outside, or you can do this in the home if you want, but flipping it over and shaking it or vacuuming the back.
00:52:32
Speaker
And this is actually one step in the process at a rug washing facility where they'll vibrate a rug and release all of the dust and sand that gets trapped between the pile because that
00:52:47
Speaker
grit and sand will create friction and is actually what leads to wear in a rug.
00:52:53
Speaker
Um, so if you take your rug out, vacuum it, um, you'll, when you flip it over, you'll see that there's a bunch of dust left out.
00:52:59
Speaker
And so that will really prolong the life of your rug and, and do wonders, um, to, uh, taking care of it.
00:53:07
Speaker
But beyond that, if you have a stain, uh, you know, if you spill some wine or if you have a pet that, uh,
00:53:14
Speaker
uses your rug as a stopping point in their bathroom or aging journey, just blot it up quickly, remove as much of the stain or liquid as you can.
00:53:25
Speaker
So using rags or towels and remove as much as you can.
00:53:30
Speaker
And then
00:53:31
Speaker
flushing it out with a bit of water and then blotting that up.
00:53:36
Speaker
You can contact a local, you know, if you do have that reputable dealer or an online dealer, if clients ask me these questions, they should be able to guide you and how to do that.
00:53:47
Speaker
But lastly, if you do have a stain and the rug is wet, and if you flush it out, whatever it is, just make sure to lift it off the floor so that it's not sitting and wet for too long.
00:53:57
Speaker
But
00:53:59
Speaker
Wool rugs.
00:54:00
Speaker
Wool is an incredibly stain resistant and durable material.
00:54:03
Speaker
It's rich in lanolin.
00:54:05
Speaker
And so it's amazing what comes out of these rugs when they're washed and taken care of and spot cleaned as needed.
00:54:14
Speaker
If your rug starts to unravel on the sides or on the fringe, have it repaired either by a dealer or even, honestly, I might get in trouble for saying this, if you're handy with a needle and thread, you can do it yourself.
00:54:29
Speaker
A little DIY advice.
00:54:31
Speaker
Yeah, you'll never take a sewing machine to your rug, for the love of God, because you'll...
00:54:38
Speaker
essentially kind of cut your rug
Critique of Rug Industry Practices
00:54:40
Speaker
along that line.
00:54:40
Speaker
But if you have a needle and thread and you go between the foundation and secure an area that can always be undone when it comes time to repair a rug, but that's, that's a stopgap measure to, um, keep your rug safe in the meantime.
00:54:54
Speaker
Um, so people can, uh,
00:54:56
Speaker
ask me questions about that if they want and follow up or if they have problems with me giving that advice, they can submit those complaints.
00:55:04
Speaker
But I'm sure they will.
00:55:07
Speaker
Most things done by hand can be undone.
00:55:10
Speaker
Okay, last question.
00:55:12
Speaker
What is the deal with all of these rug stores that are constantly advertising going out of business sales?
00:55:20
Speaker
Oh, I feel like somebody should write a book on this or maybe it's material for a dissertation because it's kind of obscure.
00:55:27
Speaker
But I imagine that it has to do with the history of rug sellers in the U.S., right?
00:55:32
Speaker
With many... Well, we won't go down that rabbit hole, but as sellers had...
00:55:43
Speaker
I think Americans love a deal, right?
00:55:45
Speaker
And they love a sale, but they don't, we aren't trained.
00:55:50
Speaker
We're trained so much to look for a deal, but we don't step back and think,
00:55:55
Speaker
were these prices inflated to begin with or before the sale did the did the seller increase their prices and so that's usually what's happening here and so these going out of business sales it's just a tactic to hit on that american temptation toward buying everything at a sale price and so 70 off
00:56:18
Speaker
takes you down to their actual price point.
00:56:20
Speaker
And so you think you're getting a deal and they're going out of business, but they're just going to pop up shop in another part of town or city.
00:56:28
Speaker
As their lease goes up, they find a new space and do this sale and then move to the next spot.
00:56:34
Speaker
And seemingly it's a very effective tactic, but I don't imagine that many of these sellers had returned customers.
Conclusion and Listener Encouragement
00:56:43
Speaker
or that the buyers got great deals in the end, even though they got 70% off.
00:56:50
Speaker
It's amazing how you can be going out of business for decades.
00:56:53
Speaker
Yeah.
00:56:56
Speaker
Well, Jordan Harris, thank you so much for your very helpful advice.
00:57:02
Speaker
I really appreciate your insight into this field.
00:57:05
Speaker
And thanks for sharing this wonderful Karaja rug with us.
00:57:11
Speaker
Again, I hope listeners will take a look at that online or on your Instagram.
00:57:16
Speaker
That, again, is at weftandwool.
00:57:19
Speaker
And I'm sure you wouldn't mind hearing from people who have questions or rugs they want to share with you there.
00:57:25
Speaker
Of course.
00:57:26
Speaker
Yeah.
00:57:27
Speaker
Terrific.
00:57:29
Speaker
Well, thank you very much.
00:57:30
Speaker
And listeners, best of luck in your rug hunting adventures.
00:57:36
Speaker
Today's episode was edited and produced by Sammy Delati with social media and web support by Sarah Bellotta.
00:57:41
Speaker
Sierra Holt is our digital media and editorial associate.
00:57:45
Speaker
Our music is by Trap Rabbit and I'm Ben Miller.
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Speaker
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