Rug Emergency Services 24/7! Rug Moth Damage Repair and Restoration in Los Angeles

It was 7:00 am this morning (Saturday) and I was checking my e-mails. I received another early morning phone call from a gentleman who had moved his furniture and had noticed moth damage on his kilim, flat weave and wanted to know how much the cost of the moth damage repair would be! After a conversation, he said that he would bring in his flat weave for the repair tomorrow.

In an earlier post I mentioned that a lady called me last night at 2:00 am. Is it good to receive calls like this? Is it good to make money and take care of the customers' worries?

Khosrow Sobhe
Certified Rug specialist (CRS)
www.LosAngelesRugCleaning.com
310-770-9085

Strange Carpet Cleaning Customer in Los Angeles

I do not turn my cell phone off at all. It is connected to our rug gallery's alarm monitoring company and if something happens, the security alarm monitoring company will call me on my cell phone which is always on and with me.

It was 2:00 am this morning and I was dreaming to have a customer today, Saturday to walk into our rug gallery to buy several rugs and pay cash!! My cell phone rang and there was a lady on the other side of the line. She said we spilled wine on our carpet; can you take care of the stain removal. I said mam do you realize what time it is now? She did not answer and said can you remove the stain as soon as possible? I said yes please give me your address and phone number. I will contact you in the morning to send our carpet cleaning expert to your house to take care of the matter. Ben and his crew who work with us are excellent carpet cleaners and provide our customers with high quality carpet cleaning services.

Sometimes people get nervous when they realize there is a damage on their carpets and rugs. They react right away and look on the Internet and find us. They do not care what time it is.

Is it good to receive calls like these late at night or early in the morning?

Khosrow Sobhe
Certified Rug Specialist (CRS)
www.LosAngelesRugCleaning.com
310-770-9085

Obama Rug, Obama Carpet?!

Several visitors found my rug blog when they searched for "Obama Rug"! I had a post few weeks ago on if by coming President Obama to the office the rug market gets any better. Why should people search for "Obama Rug"? Is it just out of curiosity?

The former president George Bush joked while ago that the first decision of any new president is what kind of carpet he wants. So what kind of rug did Barack Obama choose? I searched for this and I found out that the new president did not change his desk and his Oval Office's rug. When there are so many other crucial and important matters, why should a new president care about the rug in his office unless he does not go by priorities!

Khosrow Sobhe
Certified Rug Specialist (CRS)
www.RugIdea.com
310-770-9085

Carpet Concert and Persian Rugs in Los Angeles

Yesterday, I was busy with a carpet concert at the Craft and Folk Art Museum (CAFAM) on 5814 Wilshire Blvd. Los Angeles, CA 90036. Rowan Storm, an American lady who took a 3-month trip to Iran in 2006, was the lady who played frame drum (daff) and dayereh, Robyn Friend another American lady who performed wonderful folk Persian and Tatjik dances along with Niel Siegle who played Tar, a guitar like Persian music instrument and Faraz an Iranian artist who played santur performed a remarkable performance. In her last dance, she taught how people could do Qashqai dance.

The music was so fascinating and enchanting that you could mediate and relax with it and feel weightless if you paid attention with your heart and soul and not the ears. I was blown away for minutes. The music and the whole event touched my heart.

It was a Persian style shoes-off concert. The participants were provided with beautiful fabric custom-made bags to put their shoes in. It was an evening of Persian music from different parts of Iran accompanied by some talks by Rowan on different cultural, historical and artistic aspects of the Iranian life with presenting many pictures Rowan had taken during her recent visit to different parts of Iran including Kurdistan.

I had provided the hand knotted Persian carpets on which people sat. We also had a loom and some hand spun yarns and rug literature. Cheri Hunter of the Textile Museum Associates of Southern California had lent the event a wonderful Suzani, hand embroidered in Uzbekistan to be mounted on the wall behind the players. The attendance was very good and actually better than expected. Since participants were allowed to bring in their kids, many children attended the programs which were presented in two parts.

Thanks to the hard work of the museum director, staff, and volunteers. Special thank to Holly Jeger the head of the Public relations who had worked so hard and selflessly for weeks to make this extravaganza possible.

Khosrow Sobhe
Certified Rug Specialist (CRS)
www.RugIdea.com
310-770-9085

Rug Water Damage Restoration Los Angeles

Few weeks ago, a young lady walked into our rug store with a very beautiful Persian hand knotted Tabriz rug. Her rug was damaged by water and flood. We told her what it would cost to restore the colors. We did the job, but she could not get her money and the lost value of the rug from her insurance company. We gave her a 25% discount in spite of the signed contract we had with her. This made her happy. All the color run and the bleeding were removed. This e-mail is what she has sent us. It is priceless!!

"First of all I love SOBCO International! From the moment I walked in Khosrow and his son made me feel comfortable. I had my handmade Persian carpet damaged in a flood at my apartment...I thought it was completely unrepairable...but thanks to the knowledge and hard work of the team of experts at SOBCO International my Persian carpet was fully restored. I could not be happier with the service I received from them! " Sahrzad. K.

What else do we need from a customer?

Khosrow Sobhe
Certified Rug Specialist (CRS)
www.LosAngelesRugCleaning.com
310-770-9085

Valentine's Day, Rain and Rugs in Los Angeles

Today is the valentine's day and it is supposed to rain here in Los Angeles. We have had rainy days for the past few days. I proposed to my wife last night to go for a breakfast this morning to a nearby Panini restaurant. We have no intention of taking our two sons with us. She said OK, but you never know if we go or not; ladies change their minds so often.

Anyway, it is early morning here in Los Angeles and I thought I could say "Happy valentine's day" to those who celebrate this lovely day. A little touch of love can make a great difference. If a cook prepares a dish with love and passion, the taste is different. If a composer produces a music with love and passion, it sounds different and goes to the heart. Even when a weaver makes a rug with love and passion it is different and much better than a rug which is merely produced for the market.

I will go to work today at 12:00 pm and will stay in my rug gallery until 5:00 pm. I have appointments with three customers today.

Khosrow Sobhe
Certified Rug Specialist (CRS)
www.LosAngelesRugCleaning.com
310-770-9085

Rug Market Will Never Die!

Rug Market Will Never Die

Because of the present world economic situation, some rug dealers or those who are somehow involved in one of the many aspects of rug industry might think that this is the end of the rug industry. Rugs of different types have been in existence for millenniums. Mankind needs a kind of floor covering regardless of its name, construction, country of origin and other aspects which may come and go.

There have been many changes in the recent decades in the rug industry and its channels of distribution. Chain and department stores, catalog sales, Internet retailers and virtual auction houses, interior designers, television and satellite sellers, and rug blogs were never part of the game. The construction of rugs has gone under different changes as well as the designs. Rugs which were considered luxury items and investment, are now a consumer product.

Regardless of all these changes which have come into play, people are still using rugs. The players and rules have changed, but the market is still there and will stay there. Whatever role we play in this game, we should never lose hope. We should master the rules of the game and try to learn more about what we do. If we love what we do and if we do what we love, and if rug is our love and passion, then we will enjoy the game and we will play it right. The rug market will never die.


Khosrow Sobhe
Certified Rug Specialist (CRS)
www.LosAngelesRugCleaning.com
310-770-9085

Navajo Rug and Blanket Cleaning Los Angeles

Navajo blankets and rugs (these are not pile rugs, but rather flat weave and kilims) are highly regarded and have been sought after for the past 200 years. Weaving Navajo blankets and rugs has always been an important part of the Navajo economy. These pieces were originally utilitarian and were produced for the use of the Navajo families and not for the market. As we get closer to the end of the 19th century, we see the shift towards the market and the customers.


The designs of the Navajo rugs and blankets have always been geometrical with broken lines. The Navajo weavers are mostly women and use vertical (upright) wooden looms.

This morning we picked up four Navajo rugs for cleaning and repair. One of them was a big rug (almost 10 x 12) which is an unusual size for a Navajo rug. They were all damaged and we should take care of the repair to restore and save them. Cleaning Navajo rugs and blankets need special care as some of the red colors and dyes usually bleed.

Those who usually have Navajo rugs are the type of people who appreciate art. Many of our customers who have had such rugs and kilims are musicians, designers, artists or work in the entertainment industry.

Khosrow Sobhe
Certified Rug Specialist
www.LosAngelesRugCleaning.com
310-770-9085

Rug Cleaning and Moth Damage

If you leave your rug without having it cleaned in a dark and humid storage for four years, this is going to happen. Moths would have parties and invite their friends over at your expense! How could they be so heartless?!

Invest in your rug and save it from damages like this. Have your rug cleaned by a professional in your area before storing it. Rug cleaning is not that expensive compared with what you may lose if you store your rug without having it cleaned.















Khosrow Sobhe
Certified Rug Specialist
www.LosAngelesRugCleaning.com
319-770-9085

Rug Water Damage Restoration Los Angeles

It has been raining in Los Angeles for the past few days. We have received several rugs from different customers for water damage restoration. First we wash and clean the rugs to take as much as the color run and bleeding out of the rugs. Then we dry the rugs. After this, we start removing the colors mostly red and dark blue (that usually cause the bleeding) which have entered the ivory or lighter parts of the background.











Khosrow Sobhe
Certified Rug Specialist
www.LosAngelesRugCleaning.com
310-770-9085

Animal Blankets

Animal blanket is a kind of flat woven textile to keep the animals mostly horse, donkey or camel warm. In some instances animal blankets are very decorative and ornamented with colorful strips and motives. The foundation (warps and wefts) of the blankets are mostly wool. However in some pieces cotton maybe used. Some of the blankets have straps that buckle in front or underneath the belly of the animal. It is not uncommon to see colorful fabric knots as tassels added to the blankets for wish or prayer.

Here I am posting photos from two Kurdish animal blankets, one with wool and another with cotton foundation. Each piece is on sale for $295.

Khosrow Sobhe
Certified Rug Specialist
www.RugIdea.com
310-770-9085

A History of Gabbeh: Where Does Gabbeh Come From?

WHERE DOES GABBEH COME FROM?

The oldest document that refers to Gabbehs dates back to the sixteen Century. It is a decree of Shah Tahmasp , The Safavid ruller (1524-1576 ), ordering a reception to be held for Humayun, The Mugal emperor of India, who had sought refuge in Iran in 1540, one year after the famous Ardabil carpets were made.

In setting out detailed instructions for Humayun’s reception, the decree reads :

And we have ordered
a silk tent to be set up for the kitchen near
the royal pavilion and the private quarters,
covering the ground with silken carpets from
Khorasan , with Gabbehs, with felts from Jam,
and with suzanis ( embroideries).

Shah Tahmasp’s decree in which he orders the floor of Humayun’s pavilion to be covered with silk carpets from Khorasan, and with fine felts from jam, and embroideries and Gabbeh , proves that in the distant past the Gabbeh was a valued and aristocratic floor covering comparable with embroideries and silk.
The short reference to Gabbehs which is found in the above decree suffices to discredit in some of the theories that have been advanced about the Gabbeh , such as being a floor covering of poor people , or its being new product and phenomenon of the last couple of centuries.

Khosrow Sobhe
Certified Rug Specialist
www.RugIdea.com
310-770-9085

Rug Cleaning: The Old Style Way

There was a place 25 miles south of Tehran called Cheshmeh ALi (Ali Spring). A hill with a spring. In 1933-6 Cheshmeh Ali hill was excavated by archaeologists from the Boston Fine Arts Museum and the University Museum at the University of Pennsylvania headed by Dr. Erich Schmidt, which resulted in the discovery of 7,000-year-old artifacts. Some of the discovered objects are displayed at museums in Iran, Chicago, and Philadelphia.

The hill, which is now entirely leveled out and most artifacts unrecoverable due to real estate expansion in the 1980s and 1990s, was the home of Aryans about 6,000 years ago. The nearby city of Ray was used as a recreation center due to its beautiful attractions under the reign of the Qajar dynasty that ruled Iran between 1794 to 1925.

Cheshmeh Ali was also a place to clean rugs in a very old style. First the professional cleaners of those days would spread the rugs faced down in the sun for a day or so for the dust to dry. Then they would beat the rolled rugs with sticks to dust them. After that, they placed the rugs on a slop where they could pour water and regular detergent (usually Tide) to brush and clean the rugs. Then rinsing would follow and spreading the rugs in the sun face up to dry naturally. If it was summer, in a couple of days, the rugs were ready for delivery!

Khosrow Sobhe
Certified Rug Specialist
www.RugIdea.com
310-770-9085

Carpet Concert

Interactive Carpet Concert with Rowan Storm & Friends.

Rowan Storm is an American lady who fell in love with Persian music many years ago. She pursued and mastered Daff a Persian frame drum instrument. Rowan traveled to Iran in 2006 by herself and stayed there for three months. She traveled freely to different cities and regions of Iran. She is going to play Persian music in an afternoon of fun and joy.

Saturday | February 21
A special event for families with children ages 3-12
1:30pm – First Performance
2:30pm – Second Performance
Free

Join us for an afternoon of traditional Persian music and be swept away on a magical treat. Kick off your shoes, sit on beautiful Persian carpets, and embark on an interactive journey – exploring music, instruments, and more! We will provide this one-of-a-kind event with beautiful hand knotted Persian rugs. This is going to be a Persian style shoes-off event!

This event will be presented in conjunction with an ongoing exhibition called:

Exploring the Other: Contemporary Iran
through the lens of Iason Athanasiadis
January 25 - March 29, 2009

This groundbreaking and highly relevant exhibit takes the focus off Iran's politicians and realigns it squarely on the country and its people. Exploring the Other challenges the conventional media narrative of Iran by offering rare and candid insight into this enigmatic country from the perspective of an embedded international journalist and photographer. Internationally recognized correspondent and 2008 Nieman Fellow Iason Athanasiadis, who has spent more time than almost any other Western journalist living and working in post-revolutionary Iran, shares his extraordinary experience in this must-see exhibit.

Craft and Folk Art Museum
5814 Wilshire Boulevard
Los Angeles, CA 90036
Tel. 323.937.4230
www.cafam.org
info@cafam.org

Please RSVP to 323.937.4230 x50 or email workshops@cafam.org

Khosrow Sobhe
Certified Rug Specialist
www.RugIdea.com
310-770-9085

Rug Weaving Workshop in Nowruz Celebration Party in Beverly Hilton Hotel

I am a board member of the Iranian American Parents Association, IAPA. This non-profit organization is planning to have a Persian new year (Nowruz) celebration on March 8, 2009. Below, you may find more information on this wonderful event:

IAPA celebrates NowRuz 1388, Spring 2009!

Sunday March 8, 2009 - 3 pm to 9 pm
International Ballroom, The Beverly Hilton
9876 Wilshire Blvd. Beverly Hills, CA 90210
Music, dance, Persian Cuisine, NowRuz displays and much more...
Entertainment by: Black Cats(New Cats on the block)
Featuring Firoozeh, new face of pop music & Nemsa, the only Persian female DJ

In organizing the IAPA NowRuz celebration our goal is: "To bring about greater harmony and understanding between the diverse cultures and people that make up this community."

We had a Persian Rug Weaving Workshop in the previous event. The reception was extraordinary and there were many people who wanted to make and tie few knots to see how rugs are made. I am posting few photos from that event. We will have another rug weaving free workshop this year as well.

Khosrow Sobhe
Certified Rug Specialist
www.RugIdea.com
310-770-9085

Does a Dirty Rug Mirror the Personality of the Customer?

For a long time, I have thought to myself to find a correlation between the mentality/personality of a customer and the cleanness/dirtiness of his/her rug. I am getting closer to the belief that a dirty rug shows that the owner of such a rug is a careless person who does not care about being clean and having a clean and neat home. This maybe stereotyping and not true, but I am almost accepting it as a conclusion of running into so many rugs and customers like this.

How can you be a neat and clean person and live on a rug this rug shown here in these pictures?
If you are a mess person, your driving, your dress, the way in which you talk and act and maybe your rug mirror and show this. What do you think?

Khosrow Sobhe
www.RugIdea.com
310-770-9085