Motivational Sales Video: My Best Video of 2011

I watched this video over and over. This is very motivational and those who are in sales can benefit from it. Alec Baldwin has done a nice job playing it. You can also show it to your sales team to become motivated. There are some lessons to be taken. I do not like part of the language he uses, but whether you like it or not it is a very powerful sales motivational video.

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

Patchwork Rugs, Collage Carpets

Patchwork rugs, patchwork carpets also referred to as Collage Carpets/Collage Rugs are new products and some of them look really nice and decorative. In the past few weeks, we have received few of them, kilims and pile rugs for cleaning. They came out real nice after wet washing and hose-down cleaning.

In some samples there were several pieces of rug and kilims stitched or sewn together by hand. In other cases the sewing and stitches were done by machine. They all had canvas or fabric backing just like tufted rugs. Personally, I do not think patchwork rugs and carpets become very hot like the shag rugs of 60's and 70's, but there are designers and customers who like this type of artistic carpets. Some of the designers have referred to these rugs as collage carpets.

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

Rugs and Carpets Liquid Protection - Protect Your Rugs and Carpets from Liquid Spills

Our company Rug Ideas and Los Angeles Rug Cleaning have tested its latest and most advanced product and is now ready to share it with its customers. Trust your rugs with us and take advantage of our newest service, Rugs and Carpets Liquid Protector. With this new service you can enjoy your rug with peace of mind knowing that your rug is protected against any liquid spills. This liquid protector will give you just enough time to run into the kitchen and grab a towel to remove the liquid from the surface of your rugs. Prevention is better than cure. With our most affordable prices, enjoy your rugs and carpets worry free. Call us now at 310-770-9085

You can also take advantage of our other services such as Rug Cleaning, Oriental Rug Repair, Pet Urine Stain Removal, Cat Scratch Removal, Appraisal, etc.

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

Does Your Rug Bleed? How Bad Does It?

DYES: The good, the bad, and the ugly.  Lisa Wagner is an expert in Oriental and area rug cleaning, care and maintenance field. She has an excellent rug buying tips on her blog. Anybody who wants to buy rugs should visit her blog and read her posts. In one part of her tips, she talks about dyes and color run/bleeding. She has a well worth watching video on how to simply do a dye test to see if a rug has good, bad or ugly dye. Click here to read her article or click on the video here on top to watch the video.

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

How Could You?

Rug cleaning and maintenance protects our investment. Neglecting it is like throwing money away from the window of your car. Besides, it has a direct affect on our health. We breath what we walk on. There is so much dust, dirt, soil and allergens deposited in the pile of our rugs. When we walk on these rugs, these particles are released floating in the air and we inhale and breath them.

This was one of the dirtiest rugs we received for cleaning in 2011. It was a very fine hand knotted Persian Tabriz carpet with a very high knot count with knot per square inch of over 400 with silk foundation. How could you walk, eat, or sit on this rug? This rug is worth thousands of Dollars. Shouldn't the owner invest 5% of the value of the rug in its cleaning?

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

Rug Ideas and Gifts

During the past few days, we have been partly busy with e-mail and mail greetings and holiday season messages and cards. We have also done gift wrappings and delivery by couple of our personnel. Receiving and giving gifts is always a joy and making people happy is an art.

We mailed hundreds of cards to the clients who have bought Oriental, Persian or area rugs from our company or have given us the jobs of rug cleaning, repair or appraisal in the past few years. Without their support, we could not have expanded our activities. In a separate post, I will write how 2011 has been for us. Overall, it has been tough but good.

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

The Most Expensive Rug Ever: A Kerman Persian Carpet

The most expensive carpet ever was this hand knotted super antique rug from Kerman, Iran. This piece of art, a Kerman vase carpet from mid-17th century in the size of 5' x 11' 1" was sold by Christy's in London on April 15th, 2010 for a record of only $9.6 Million!

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

Polonaise Persian Carpets of Iran

Polonaise Carpets are made with silk and metal threads of gold and silver coating in Isfahan, Iran in the early Safavid era.They were often presented as precious gifts of the royal court of Persia to the European rulers and religious dignitaries. Since some of these carpets have the Polish coat of arms and were ordered by the Polish king of the time, they are referred to as the "Polonaise Carpets". This carpet was given as a gift by Shah Abbas of Iran to the dodge of Venice in 1603. This treasure is being kept in Calouste Gulbankian in Lisbon, Portugal. I had the pleasure of seeing it when it was on display in Los Angeles County Museum of Art  LACMA on loan from the Gulbankian Museum along with the Ardabil carpet few months ago.

This magnificent silk carpet also from the Polonaise collection is in Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York. The size of this great and big carpet is 13' 10" x 5' 6". In 1878 when a similar carpet was displayed in a Paris exhibition, it was thought to be woven in Poland and that was because of the Polish coats of arms. It was later realized that this group of carpets made with silk pile and metalic brocading of silver and gold were made in Isfahan, Iran during and after the reign of Shah Abbas I, in late 16th and early 17th century.

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

Rug Cleaning and Rug Repair: Schedule Your Pickup Online

Rug cleaning and rug repair can be scheduled on line on our website LosAngelesRugCleaning.com

Some of our customers are high tech and do not contact us by e-mail or telephone. They just go online and visit our website and schedule the pick up online. They click on the related link on the homepage of our website and after they are immediately directed to this page, fill out a simple form with the desired date and time. We are informed right away and call them to confirm the pick up.

We have had this form since 2009 on our website and it has worked pretty well for us as well as for our customers who have used this service.

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

Rugs Carpets and Sunlight

Rugs and carpets should not be directly exposed to sunlight. Why? Because sun burns and fades the dye and would damage the rugs. We go to many homes to pick up Oriental or Persian rugs or even area rugs for cleaning or repair. Some of these rugs are in the rooms close to windows with direct sunlight. We tell our clients to either cover the windows or if they can't, cover the rugs with blankets or pieces of fabrics. We flip these rugs and show the back to the clients to see the difference between the color of the face which is faded and the back which is stronger due to not being exposed to the sunlight.

Like cars, teeth, skin, shoes and many more natural and man-made objects and items, rugs and carpets need good care and maintenance and proper usage and care will extent the life of our rugs.

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

Rug Repair Los Angeles: A Damaged Tabriz Rug

Rug repair not only saves the rugs, it adds to the beauty of them. We received a Tabriz rug made of un-dyed wood for cleaning. This type of production was very popular in the 1960's. These hand knotted Tabriz rugs had only 3-4 colors of white, brown, gray (silver) and black, all natural. The rug we got was severely damaged at the ends and fringes were loose and the knots were coming off. We proposed the repair and the owner did not want to spend money on the repair. After a brief explanation, she agreed and we first did the repair and then followed with professional deep cleaning of this Tabriz Persian carpet. This lady liked the repair and appearance of the rug when she picked up the rug.

I always ask the owners of the rugs we receive for cleaning, repair or appraisal to see for how long they have had the rugs and how much they know about their rugs. In many cases they do not know much about their rugs and love to receive information.

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

Afshars, Afshar Kilims, Afshar Carpets Rugs Black Tents

Afshars have a long history of presence in Iran which goes back to the 11th century. They share some traditions and culture with other tribes such as Qashqa'i tribe. They both have beautiful rug weaving traditions and live in black tents made of goat hair. Cotton and lamb's wool are not greasy and oily therefore these tribes use goat hair to make tents. Since goat hair is greasy, it is waterproof and ideal material to make tents out of.

Here, I am posting pictures of an Afshar black tent I took in a trip to Sirdjan, a town 110 miles south of Kerman in and around which many Afshars live. I am also posting pictures of an Afshar lady from whom we bought a couple of sumac bags in the same trip.

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

Cushion Pillow Cover Repair and Restoration Los Angeles

Cushion cover repair and restoration is another type of service we provide for some of our clients. Usually these cushions have been in the family for a long time and do not have monetary values. In many cases they have sentimental values and the owners would like us to do the restoration. They maybe small in sizes, but the jobs are usually big. In most of the cases the cushion cover is made of silk and wool. It in interesting to see that wool parts are intact in better condition than the silk parts which are rotten and become like dust and powder when we want to start the process of restoration. We have to remove the rotten and damaged area to begin with the foundation and re-weaving.

This type of job is very time consuming and we have to use very thin threads of wool, silk or cotton. Only master weavers can do this kind of restoration and those repairmen and women who do ordinary jobs such as fringes and selvages cannot do this kind of delicate restorations.
Dr. Khosrow Sobhe (Dr. Kay)
Certified Rug Specialist (CRS)
www.LosAngelesRugCleaning.com
www.RugIdea.com
Tel. 310-770-9085

Rug Repair Carpet Repair Replacing Fringes

Before repair. Fringes are worn out and missing.

Before repair.

Before repair. Fringes are worn out.

Fringes at the ends protect the rugs and also add to the beauty of the rugs. These pictures are from an area rug we repaired last week. Our client was very happy to see her cleaned and sanitized rug with a great look. Everything was done by hand in our workshop here adjacent to our rug gallery on La Cienega Blvd. in Los Angeles. Fringe damage is a very common problem which happens to Oriental and Persian carpets. Area rugs machine made rugs are no exception to this.

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

Rug Repair Oriental Carpet Restoration in Los Angeles

Rug repair and Oriental carpet restoration and cleaning is part of what we do besides selling all types of area and hand knotted rugs. Two weeks ago we received a Pakistani Bokhara rug for cleaning and repair. It was damaged on two areas. Before doing the cleaning, we temporarily secured the damaged areas to make sure they don't get bigger in the cleaning process. After cleaning, we did the repair and finished it this afternoon. The repair is perfect and there is no way that the owner can find the repaired areas. We matched the color, design and the weave/construction. I am sure our client will be very happy that he decided to invest in cleaning and repairing of this rug.

Before Repair

Before Repair

Before Repair

 After Repair

After Repair

After Repair

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

Rug Repair Carpet Repair Securing Fringes

Most of the rugs we receive for cleaning and repair are damaged on the fringes tassels at the ends. This happens because of using the rugs on the floor for a long time or improper vacuuming of the rugs. The fringes at the ends and selvages on the sides are like the walls which keep the roof intact. So if damaged, they have to be taken care of and repaired/secured. In this short video with slow motions we show how one of master weavers secures an end of an antique Lilian Lilihan carpet.

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

Rug Re-Sizing and Down Sizing

Some rugs are damaged and we cut the damaged areas and secure the rest of the rugs. Or sometimes they are big and customers move in to smaller homes and would like us the down size them and this is part of our rug repair jobs. Here I am posting few pictures from an 8' x 10' rug. Our client wanted to make it into two pieces of 5' x 1o' x 3' x 10' which we did. We marked the back of the rug and cut it into two pieces. It is easier to see and to cut a rug from the back as there is no pile on the back so you can mark it and cut it straight. Then our repairman secured it and did the sevlaging and binding by hand. The client was happy to see the downsized rug and the new cute baby runner.

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