Rug Master

Securing Your Rug

2012-01-30T17:08:00.000-08:00

Securing your rug is an important part of keeping it in it's best shape for years to come and is sometimes overlooked. Take a look at the pic above and notice how the fringes are slowly unraveling into the foundation of the rug. This unraveling is just like a cavity, where at first glance it doesn't seem too bad... until one day the cavity gets too deep, the rug's appearance get worse while the ends continue to unravel.

This next pic is of the same rug after securing has been done to prevent any further inward damage to the rug. The work is done completely by hand and each knot done provides strength to the foundation where the fringes and rug pattern meet. This rug now has the strength it needs to endure many more years of use.

If you have a rug that is slowly starting to unravel at the ends, come see us so we can help secure your rug and get that "cavity" taken care of!

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

Rugs, Carpets and Medallions

2012-01-29T12:06:00.000-08:00

Medallions are decorative parts of many rugs and their designs. They come in all shapes and sizes and in some cases we may see a combination of several medallions and shapes in one rug. They may be square, octagon, pentagon, hexagon, heptagon, polygons, rectangle, triangle, circle, lozenge, diamond or in some strange shapes for which there maybe no names.

In some rugs, medallions are quartered into four corners of the rugs. Sometimes these corners follow the same patterns and designs and in some cases these corners have no dissemblance to the medallions at all. I did a little bit of research but found no specific definitions and descriptions of rugs and carpets medallions. However I had heard from a rug researcher about 15 years ago that medallions in old Persian rug designs stand for the universe and the center of the universe which is unity and eternal God. This makes sense.

here I am posting several pictures of different types of medallions of Persian rugs. I mention the origin of each rug for those who may want to do some research and add to the very little knowledge which is available on the history, mystery and definition of "medallions".

A unique medallion in a multi-medallion Qaradjeh runner, north west Iran

A diamond shape medallion in an antique Sarab runner, north west Iran

Turtle/crab shape medallion on a Hamedan carpet from north west Iran

A colorful octagon shape medallion from Sarab carpet of north west Iran

A lozenge shape medallion of a Nahavand kallegi on Hamedan provine, north west Iran

Octagon shape medallion inside a rectangular medallion on an Ardabil rug from north west Iran

Square medallion on a Qaradjeh rug from north west Iran

Lozenge diamond shape medallion on a Roodbar runner from the province of Hameda, north west Iran

Hexagon shape medallion on a Qaradjeh carpet from north west Iran

A kind of hexagon shape medallion on a Meshkin carpet from north west Iran, province of Ardabil

Lozenge shape medallion, Sarouk carpet made by Iran Carpet Company with natural dye

A circle round medallion of a Kashan rug

Circular round medallion of an antique Hadji Jalili rug from Tabriz north west Iran

A hexagonal shape medallion of a Malayer runner from the province of Hamedan north west Iran

A geometric polygonal medallion of a Hamedan runner from north west Iran

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

Rug and Kilim Repair Los Angeles

2012-01-29T08:19:00.000-08:00

A customer brought in two pieces of 4' x 6' kilims, pile-less rugs and wanted us to sew them together and make them a one piece of 6' x 8'. I said this would be ready in 3 days. He said then forget it. He was travelling back to Australia and had no time to wait for three days. I did not want to lose the repair job. I said how about tomorrow and he said sure. He asked if we could deliver the kilims to his hotel in Westwood, here in Los Angeles around 10 miles from our rug store and I said yes we could.

Right after he left, I assigned one of our on-site repairmen to start working on these two kilims. It took us five hours to finish the job. I called the customer and told him that his kilim which he called tapestries was ready. He was so happy that we finished the job in one day so he should not wait to get it back until the last minutes of his travel. One of our employees delivered the kilim to the hotel where this client was staying at.

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

Rug Repair Carpet Restoration Los Angeles

2012-01-28T09:30:00.000-08:00

Rug repair and tapestry/kilim restoration is part of the services we offer to our customers. To do the repair we have to have a wide range and variety of wool and yarn. We have a good stock of yarn in different qualities and color shades to match the original color of the rugs we repair.

For stocking and also decoration purposes, we have allocated a part of our rug store to these yarns and call it Yarn Corner. We are always on the hunt for good yarns and supplies.

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

Persian Runners on Our Wall: A Little Re-decoration

2012-01-27T20:08:00.000-08:00

For the past few weeks we had some tapestries on one of our walls in our rug gallery here in Los Angeles. Today, we decided to re-decorate that wall so we replaced the tapestries with 14 unique hand knotted Persian runner rugs. These are all rural, tribal antique one of a kind pieces from Iran and regions such as Sarab, Qaradjeh, Meshkin, Hamedan, Malayer, and Nahavand. Several of them are around 100 years old and they still look pretty and decorate any part of the home they are used in.

I tried to use different designs and different color palettes on the wall so two or more red background runners are not displayed side by side. Since many of these runners are rural and tribal pieces, they have geometrical designs with broken-line motifs.

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

Who Is the Real Artist?

2012-01-27T06:51:00.000-08:00

Who is the real artist. Pablo or Neda? Pablo painted and Neda weaves. Pablo used brushes and canvases. Neda uses yarn, knots and looms.

This painting was sold in Christie's of New York in May 2010 for $106 million. Would it sell even a $million if the painter was not Pablo Picasso? Then if we consider good rugs as art which they really are, why rugs aren't that expensive at all?

A 91-year old signed Persian Tabriz carpet 12' x 16' 4"

A hand knotted Persian Mashad Saber carpet 9' x 12' with 9,000,000 knots. The foundation is natural silk and the pile is combination of pure natural silk and baby lamb's wool. It took 2 weavers 4 years to make this masterpiece.

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

Finding Great Grand Father's Rug After 91 Years

2012-01-22T22:30:00.000-08:00

Few months ago, we picked up a big 12' x 16' 4" hand knotted Persian Tabriz carpet from house of a client in Long Beach, 35 miles south of Los Angeles. Although this rug looked very old to me, it was almost in perfect condition. It needed a good hand wash and securing the ends to make sure knots at the ends do not come off. The owner of the rug had no idea of the rug, its origin, age or the value. This rug had a signature in Farsi which read" Fabric Seyed Eskandani". I knew that there was another Seyed Eskandani rug, a small piece around 4' x 6' which was sold in Sotheby's auction in 2009 for almost $,8000. This rug had come from the same workshop in Tabriz north west Iran. This rug must be something extraordinary. Why? Because of its age, huge size, signature, great condition, and amazing non-repetitive asymmetrical animal combat design which dated back to the paintings of Agha Mirak, a master artist and painter in the Safavid Dynasty courts of the early 1500s.

We took the rug to our rug gallery and did the cleaning and restoration. This magnificent carpet was then delivered to its owner. I did an extensive research about all aspects of this rug, and guess what? I found the third and fourth generation of the producer. The family lives here in Los Angeles. I made the arrangements with the owner of the rug and the family of the producer of this rug. The owner brought the rug to out store yesterday Saturday around 12:00 p.m. The Seyed Eskandani family came in around 1:00 pm,with the father named Mustafa, the grand son of the producer. Mustafa is 67 years old and his father Mir Ali was the master weaver of this rug in Tabriz. The design of this rug called cartoon was drawn by Mustafa's uncle.

When Mustafa, his son, and his daughter came into our rug store and saw the rug with the signature of Mustafa's grand father, it was a scene of tears, and joy. Mustafa asked the owner if he could kiss the rug which was woven 91 years ago by his father in his grand father's workshop in Tabriz. Permission was granted and Mustafa now in tears kissed the signature and another part of the rug. It was very touchy moments and scene captured by our photo and movie cameras. Mustafa inspected the rug inch by inch and his son and daughter were amazed at what their great grand father had produced some 91 years ago. The owner of the rug left our store and told me he wanted Mustafa and his family be left alone with the rug. They stayed for another hour taking pictures and videos themselves from the rug. They were overwhelmed.

Owner of the rug second from left, Mustafa second from right

Mustaf grand son of the producer is kissing the rug

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

Ashkan Sobhe, IT Chair and Online Marketing

2012-01-21T09:50:00.000-08:00

Ashkan Sobhe is my older son and his company IT Chair does online marketing and Search Engine Optimization. He has written a book on the Internet Marketing. I went to see him in his Wilshire office after the hours a couple of nights ago. His employees had gone home so Ashkan and I chatted for half an hour. His company does our online marketing and we are very happy with what he and his staff do to promote our rug sales, rug cleaning, rug repair, stain removal, and appraisal services.

Ashkan was the head of IT in several non-profit organizations that is why he has chosen IT Chair as the name of his company. He is a very dedicated serious and knowledgeable young entrepreneur. I am proud of him.

Yes you got it right, A big Turtle Tank!

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

Association of Rug care Specialists ARCS

2012-01-20T10:31:00.000-08:00

We are a member of ARCS, Association of Rug care Specialists. This association was formed by influential members of the rug care community with the goal of advancing the art and science of rug care, educating rug care professionals, raising consumer awareness about quality rug care, and cultivating relationships with leaders in rug care-related industries.

The ARCS officers and board develop educational curriculum that addresses key issues such as rug identification, cleaning techniques and business management courses. The technical courses are taught by some of the most experienced rug cleaners in the industry. ARCS members are experienced professionals committed to the highest levels of customer service, technical knowledge and business management in the rug cleaning industry.

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

Rug Cleaning and White Knots

2012-01-16T23:24:00.000-08:00

Rug cleaning may cause some white knots to show up in a cleaned and washed hand made carpet. The foundation of a rug can be made of cotton, wool or silk. This foundation is a collection of vertical strands called warps.Sometimes strands are not long enough to go multiple times from one end of the rug to the other end and weavers have to tie knots to make a longer strand. These knots called the "white knots" if not trimmed may show up after the pile is worn out and may make the rug look ugly. Sometimes when a rug is dirty, these white knots do not show up but when we clean the rug, the white knots show up. There are two ways by which we can get rid of these white knots. One is to dye and re-touch them. This is an easy fix but if the rug is in use, the touch up may fade away so the white knots would show up again. Second, white knots are usually cotton and ordinary color markers cannot dye cotton or the color of the marker may not match the color of the pile of the rug.

Another fix is to cut and clip the white knots from the base and this is what we prefer and usually do. Of course this should be done by an experienced rug repair person otherwise by removing and clipping the white knots, you may create some holes in the rug which would make it look very ugly. I recently took care of the white knots on an Indian rug we cleaned. There were many white knots showing in the pile of this rug after we did the cleaning. I used a special type of rug weaving and repair sharp scissors to clip the base of the white knots. If I could not remove the base completely, then I would push the base of the trimmed white knots to the back of the rug by using a special type of hook.

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

Rug Cleaning the Professional Way

2012-01-15T09:12:00.000-08:00

The best method of rug cleaning is wet washing and hosing down the rug and this should be after the rug is dusted and soil is removed from the pile of the rug. Of course this is not something that a customer can do at home. It has to be done by an experienced professional in a rug cleaning plant and facility. Extracting water after the rug is rinsed is also an important part of professional rug cleaning. Drying rug under the sun and using a heating chamber is also necessary to make sure the rug is completely dry when it is delivered to customer otherwise the rug would smell. The whole process of professional rug cleaning should take between five to seven days.

Detailing and removing the stains and bleeding from fringes

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

A Relatively Busy Saturday at Work

2012-01-15T08:34:00.000-08:00

Yesterday was Saturday and we were at work from 12:00 to 5:30 pm. Our Saturday working hours is 12:00-4:00 pm but a client who is a designer called late and wanted to bring in a Turkish Oushak rug for cleaning and repair after 4:00 pm or on Monday. We decided to stay open until she got there. Few clients brought in their rugs for cleaning and repair and a couple of other customers picked up their rugs which were cleaned and repaired. We also sold one 5' x 8' tufted rug and a 4' x 6' hand knotted Persian Gabbeh rug.

Some of our customers who live in neighboring cities drive to Los Angeles on Saturdays and can visit us and this is one big reason why we open on Saturdays.

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

Rug Imports and the U.S. Market

2012-01-15T07:47:00.000-08:00

WASHINGTON, DC -- The value of U.S. imports of wool and man made fiber carpets and rugs rose 19% in 2010 compared to 2009, according to recently released figures from the U.S. Department of Commerce International Trade Administration office of Textiles and Apparel.

Total shipments of both wool and man made fiber rugs and carpets amounted to $1.39 billion in 2010, compared to $1.169 billion in 2009. The increase of 19% indicates a significant come-back for the category after several years of recession.

Total imports to the U.S. of wool carpets and rugs amounted to $616.8 million in 2010, compared to $562.7 million in 2009, an increase of 9.6%

2010 imports of rugs and carpets made of man-made fibers were especially robust. This category amounted to $776 million in world-wide imports compared to $607 million in 2009, an increase of nearly 28%

India was the largest source of wool carpets and rugs, amounting to $250.1 million in 2010, compared to $216.5 million in 2009, an increase of 15.5%.

China was the leading exporter to the U.S. of man-made fiber rugs and carpets. In 2010, this amounted to $239.8 million, compared to 182.6 million in 2009, an increase of 31%.

The top ten countries exporting carpets and rugs to the U.S. are:

WOOL RUG AND CARPET EXPORTS TO U.S.
TOP 10 EXPORTING COUNTRIES
(millions of dollars)

Country 2010 2009 % Change
------------------------------------------------------------
India $250.179 $216.522 +15.5%
------------------------------------------------------------
China $87.739 $82.339 +6.5%
------------------------------------------------------------
Iran $71.403 $43.417 +6.4%
------------------------------------------------------------
Pakistan $51.211 $56.452 -9%
------------------------------------------------------------
Turkey $22.487 $22.689 -1%
------------------------------------------------------------
Nepal $18.627 $21.222 -12%
------------------------------------------------------------
Thailand $15.070 $15.885 -5%
------------------------------------------------------------
United Kingdom $11.016 $14.071 -22%
------------------------------------------------------------
Portugal $8.500 $8.957 -0.5%
------------------------------------------------------------
Belgium $8.243 $7.390 -0.2%
------------------------------------------------------------

MAN-MADE FIBER RUG AND CARPET
EXPORTS TO U.S.
TOP 10 EXPORTING COUNTRIES
(millions of dollars)

Country 2010 2009 % Change
-------------------------------------------
China $239.814 $182.674 +31%
-------------------------------------------
Egypt $111.833 $92.099 +21%
-------------------------------------------
Canada $98.397 $96.104 +2%
-------------------------------------------
Turkey $92.185 $49.342 +87%
-------------------------------------------
Belgium $70.970 $51.300 +38%
-------------------------------------------
Korean Republic $28.306 $14.279 +98%
-------------------------------------------
Netherlands $27.306 $32.511 +16%
-------------------------------------------
India $19.343 $16.751 +16%
-------------------------------------------
Indonesia $14.270 $9.934 +44%
-------------------------------------------
Mexico $9.142 $4.702 +94%
-------------------------------------------

The above import figures include all types, sizes and constructions of carpets and rugs, including bath and accent rugs. Imports of cotton rugs and carpets are not included in any carpet and rug categories.

Cotton rugs and carpet are included in the category for imports of "other" cotton products, (non-towels and bedding and non-apparel). In 2010, worldwide US imports of cotton products in this "other" category amounted to $3.067 billion, compared to $2.606 billion in 2009, an increase of nearly 46%. Source: Rug News and the U.S. Dept. of Commerce

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

Tapestry Cleaning, Tapestry Stain Removal Los Angeles

2012-01-11T00:10:00.000-08:00

Rug and tapestry cleaning, repair and stain removal is another service that we provide for our clients. We received this tapestry from a client from Alabama. It was water damaged by a severe leak from the roof over the wall it was hung on . We cleaned it first and then did stain removal in several steps and phases. It worked out great. Tapestry stain removal is much harder than rug stain removal. Rugs have pile and we can apply different type of stain removal stuff to the pile. Tapestries have no pile and they are very delicate and this makes the stain removal more difficult than carpet of even kilim stain removal.

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

Rug Moth Proofing Los Angeles

2012-01-10T23:46:00.000-08:00

Rugs are usually made of wool pile. Wool is protein and this is a good and tasty food for moth. The larvae and eggs of moths are in the pile of rugs and if the rug is in a dark and humid place with no disturbances, the eggs and larvae become active and infest the rug. They ruin the rug rapidly without you noticing them. It is like having termites in a wooden building.

We offer many rug related services such as professional deep cleaning, repair, stain removal and appraisal. We also offer moth proofing. We use a safe type of solution which is a kind of iron sulfate and gives a bitter taste to the wool which repels moths.

We receive many rugs for cleaning and some of them have been in storage for a long time. These rugs are damaged by moth. We deep clean these rugs and moth proof them to make sure moths do not come back.

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

A Busy Saturday at Our Rug Store and Very Happy Customers

2012-01-09T07:57:00.000-08:00

We were very busy this past Saturday. We received few rugs from two different customers for cleaning and repair. We also sold one hand knotted Persian Tabriz rug. The couple who bought the rug were very happy with the rug they bought. The husband, a real gentleman called me in about an hour after they left and mentioned how happy they were. The wife wrote a very good review on Yelp. I am copying their review here:

Today my husband & I made a visit to Dr. Kay's rug store on La Cienega. It turned out to be a very happy & rewarding experience. We spent over an hour in the store, Dr. Kay & his son Kash pulled out rug after rug with nary a complaint (its a lot of work pulling out those rugs & displaying them on the floor)

We looked at a huge variety of rugs, and in particular our eye was drawn to the array of beautiful Persian rugs Dr. Kay carries. Absolutely beautiful, handmade, handwoven, unique designs, I could go on and on, such is the extreme pleasure I get as I sit here writing & looking at the second hand Persian rug we purchased today, woven some 50 years ago, I can only imagine the secrets it holds.

It is exquisite & brightens up our apartment no end.

Highly recommended rug store in our book, everything is fairly priced, don't be afraid to bargain & the personal service is as good as it gets.

We are two very happy customers and this is actually our second purchase from Dr. Kay's. We bought a rug some 4 years ago from him & it's still going strong. Not a Persian that time but it is standing the test of time & still looks great & feels good underfoot.

As the dude says "the rug really ties the room together!"

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

Goodbye 2011 Hello 2012

2012-01-09T07:50:00.000-08:00

2011 was a very tough and challenging year but overall it was a good year for me, my family and my business. I like challenges and putting myself at test. We expanded our activities. Everyday was full of actions and stories. I did several good court appearances among which Judge Judy's Show and court was the highlight. I did many insurance rug appraisals. We sold many rugs and did hundreds of rug cleanings and repairs.

Kash my 19-year old second son officially joined our team and he is now our sales manager. Paul our assistant sales manager came on board. We worked on several big projects and gained many good experiences. I learned a lot from my customers and experts in the field. I rate 2011 a good year. I always tell to myself Diamonds are created under extreme pressure.

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

Motivational Sales Video: My Best Video of 2011

2011-12-28T22:12:00.000-08:00

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

2011-12-28T22:09:00.000-08:00

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

2011-12-24T16:13:00.000-08:00

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?

2011-12-24T12:50:00.000-08:00

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?

2011-12-24T05:24:00.000-08:00

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

2011-12-24T04:58:00.000-08:00

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

2011-12-21T05:29:00.000-08:00

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

2011-12-21T05:07:00.000-08:00

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

2011-12-20T22:17:00.000-08:00

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

2011-12-20T21:46:00.000-08:00

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

2011-12-19T07:41:00.000-08:00

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

2011-12-18T22:19:00.000-08:00

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

2011-12-17T10:27:00.000-08:00

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

2011-12-16T11:57:00.000-08:00

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

2011-12-15T23:47:00.000-08:00

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

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

2011-12-15T11:29:00.000-08:00

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

2011-12-15T06:44:00.000-08:00

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

Sarab Runner North West Iran Serab Carpets Rugs

2011-12-13T10:29:00.000-08:00

Sarab is a very small town 61 miles 100 kilometers south west of Ardabil in north west Iran close to the border of Russia. Sarab is also 66 miles 112 kilometers south east of Tabriz. Sarab carpets are rare and have double corded flat selvages. They have symmetrical knots and old ones come with wool foundation. This particular runner was made in early 20th century and it is in harvest gold color with the size of 3' 6" x 11' 4". The motives are great with paisley (boteh), star and goat abstractions. As the designs of other rugs of the region, Sarab rugs (mostly runners) have geometric designs. A big difference between Sarab and other rugs of the region is in the foundation. Heriz, Tabriz, Qaradjeh, Ardabil (newer ones), Marand, Goravan (Gerevan), and Bakhshayesh rugs all have cotton foundations while Sarab and Meshkin carpets have wool foundations.

This charming 100-year old antique Sarab runner is priced $1,950 with a free top of the line rug pad and free shipping in the U.S. continent.

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

Orietal Rugs Persian Carpets: Art on the Floor

2011-12-11T19:01:00.000-08:00

We have a miniature loom in our rug gallery in Los Angeles. For those customers who are interested (most are), we do a couple of minutes presentation and show them how a rug is made. We show the foundation of a rug on the loom (warps and wefts), the design depicted on graph paper called cartoon, different color yarns, and the metal comb by which the weaver pounds down the knots after each row of knotting is complete. Each little square (one by one millimeter) on the graph paper stands for one knot on the loom. This is a labor of love and a rug is art on the floor. We should learn more about it, value and appreciate it.

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

Oriental Rugs Oriental Carpets Designs

2011-12-09T07:13:00.000-08:00

In the not very distant past, there were only two general rug designs, medallion and overall (floral) designs. Now, there are endless designs some of which have no clear definitions such as contemporary, transitional, or modern designs. Here I am posting some sample pictures from different types of Oriental and Persian carpet designs.

Typical corner central medallion design from Kashan, Iran.

Typical corner central medallion design from Kerman, Iran.

Overall floral design from Nain, Iran with repeating motives.

Overall floral design from Kashan, Iran with repeating motives.

Tribal Gabbeh design rug made with hand spun wool and natural dye from province of Fars, Iran with relaxed and open field design. Red comes from the root of madder with blue from indigo.

Tribal Gabbeh design rug made with hand spun wool and natural dye from province of Fars, Iran.

Animal combat design, antique early 20th century signed 12' x 16' Tabriz carpet from Iran.

Royal hunting design.

Royal hunting design from Kashan, Iran, semi-antique 5' 1" x 7' 2"

Bokhara Turkmen Gul design.

Corner central medallion Heriz design from north west Iran. Although this is a sub-category of medallion design but because of its unique geometric design, it can be identified as Heriz design.

One version of tree of life design from Kashan, Iran.

Multi-medallion design, Hamedan runner from a very small town in north west Iran, called Zagheh.

Multi-panel garden design Bakhtair Persian carpet from province of Isfahan, Iran.

Pictorial designs with human figures.

Boteh Paisley design.

Prayer Mehrab niche design.

There are many more categories that I will try to add later to have a more competed coverage of carpet designs.

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

Hand Knotted Rugs Machine Made Area Rugs

2011-12-08T22:56:00.000-08:00

You see a rug or you want to buy a rug and you do not know if that is hand made or not. What do you do? Let me mention three characteristics of each group:

1- Take a look at the selvages or bindings at the sides. If the rug is hand made (hand knotted), the bindings or selvages are done by hand. It maybe thinner in one part and thicker on the other parts. There maybe some inconsistencies along the way. The selvages may not be perfectly straight as it is done by hand.If the rug is machine made, the selvages and bindings are done by machine. You may see the consistent and perfect stitches done by a machine. In this case, the selvages are straight.

Area rug machine made rug. The binding is done by a machine. Stitches are visible.

Hand knotted rug. The selvages (bindings) is done by hand.

If a rug is machine made, fringes (tassels)are not part of the foundation and are prefabricated attached or sewn to the rug. This can be seen if you flip the rug and take a look at the back. If a rug is hand knotted, fringes are part of the foundation and are not sewn or attached to the body of the rug.

Machine made rug with fringes sewn to the body of the rug.

Hand knotted rug. Fringes are the foundation and part of the rug.

If a rug is machine made area rug, there are no knots in the back. You can not see the knots and cannot pull the knots out with a needle or sharp knife. If a rug is hand knotted, you can see the actual knots. Some of the knots maybe smaller and some bigger. You may see the inconsistencies. The rows of the knots are not perfectly straight.

Machine made rug. You do not see actual knots.

Hand knotted rug. You can see the actual knots and the inconsistencies.
Dr. Khosrow Sobhe (Dr. Kay)
Certified Rug Specialist (CRS)
www.LosAngelesRugCleaning.com
www.RugIdea.com
Tel. 310-770-9085

Beautiful Antique Malayer Rug

2011-12-07T02:58:00.000-08:00

Beautiful antique hand knotted Persian Malayer rug 3' 5" x 4' 9" pre-1900. This unique rug has symmetrical knots, cotton foundation and lamb's wool pile. It is single-wefted with floral design. The small town of Malayer is in the province of Hamedan in north west Iran with a good history of rug making. There is almost no rug production any more in this town. So this is a vanishing art. It is very rare to see a Malayer rug with this beautiful harvest gold color background and deep burgundy borders. The sale price of this piece of art is only $950.

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

How We Keep Rugs From Curling

2011-12-05T00:10:00.000-08:00

We iron the edges by using a damp cotton cloth and then sew leather strips by hand to the edges on the back of the rug. This will take care of the problem. Usually machine made area rugs and new hand knotted rugs do not have curling problem. Curling happens when the rugs are not used on the floor properly with a good rug pad under them. In some cases shrinking of the wefts may cause curling. Whatever the cause maybe, sewing leather strips to the edges would take care of the curling problems and rugs stay flat on the floors.

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

Rugmaster.blogspot.com

2011-12-04T11:00:00.000-08:00

20,463 Visits

17,655 Unique Visitors

31,310 Page view

These are the statistics of my blog for the past 12 months. The visits for the previous year was 14,549. So this year, the number of visits has increased by 40% compared with the last year. 61% of the visitors came from the U.S., 7% from U.K. and 5% from Canada. That is exciting. It shows regardless of the slow rug market, the interest to read and learn about rugs is there. You just have to feed it. I sat up my blog in October 2007 and have had 770 posts so far. My goal for the blog is having richer contents with good, exclusive (my pictures not borrowed form the Internet) and relevant pictures. I will have 1,000 posts by the end of June 2012.

Being able to communicate with your readers from around the world and sharing your ideas and real rug stories feels so good. For me, the glass is always half full.

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

Balouch Rugs

2011-12-04T00:58:00.000-08:00

Balouch rugs are made mostly in the province of Khorassan in north east Iran. They are entry level rugs for those who want to start buying/collecting rugs. Balouch rugs have the following characteristics:
1- They are small and below the size of 5' x 8'. Some people refer to them as prayer rugs.
2- Tribal pieces with geometric designs and stylized animals and birds. There are some elements of Turkmen rug designs in them.
3- Limited color palettes with dark colors and corrosive brown dye.
4- Low knot density.
5- Affordable prices starting from a couple of hundred dollars.
6- Wool foundation in older pieces with goat black hair selvages and bindings on the sides.
7- Asymmetrical knots and single wefted.
8- Made on horizontal ground looms.
9- Soft handle and easily pliable.

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

Securing Fringes at the End of Rugs

2011-12-02T23:30:00.000-08:00

By using rugs and carpets on the floor and vacuuming them, tassels or fringes at the ends get damaged and unravel. This may lead to losing the design of the rug if the problem is not properly taken care of. There may be several options in dealing with this problem. One is securing the fringes as seen on the above posted pictures above.

The second option is overcasting and we do this if fringes are too short and unraveling may damage the design. Below, I am posting pictures of an overcasting job for an antique Isfahan rug. The quality of the jobs posted here is very high that one may think these are done by machine. One of our repair masters who has been in rug restoration for over 40 years, has done the securing and overcasting of these two rugs.

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

Kerman Rug Kerman Carpet Restoration

2011-12-02T07:24:00.000-08:00

We received a huge 12' x 23' severely hand knotted Persian Kerman carpet for cleaning and restoration. It was dirty, full of dust and also glue on the back. Probably it was thought that glue could save the rug and protect it from falling apart. We washed, cleaned and sanitized the rug first and one of our master weavers started the process by making the foundation based on which he could tie the knots. To re-weave the damaged areas we had to use the other healthy corner of the rug as a model and sample to follow the design which was very detailed in this particular Kerman rug.

It took us 45 days to restore the rug and our customer was overwhelmed when he saw the rug in our store. I loved that moment when he was smiling and trying unsuccessfully to identify the restored corner. That is why I love my job. I love to see happy customers who appreciate what we do for them and for their rugs.

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

Moroccan Rugs and Kilims Cleaning Los Angeles

2011-12-01T00:06:00.000-08:00

We sometimes receive Moroccan kilims and rugs for cleaning and repair. If these pieces are not washed by a professional, some colors may run and bleed. We had a customer few weeks ago who had washed her Moroccan kilim in her bathtub to save money. She messed the colors up and learned it the hard way. When she brought her kilim in, it was full of dye bleeding and bubbles. We corrected that for her. Many of these Moroccan flat weaves and kilims need repair and securing the fringes at least on one end. The wefts become lose after using the kilims on the floor and vacuuming them; therefore they need to be secured so the knots do not come off.

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

Hand Knotted Persian Varamin Rugs and Carpets

2011-11-28T23:49:00.000-08:00

In our Rug Tent Sale, we sold several hand knotted Persian rugs, two of which were Varamin carpets from our own looms and productions. Two different customers bought these pieces separately. Varamin is a small town 25 miles south east Tehran with a rich history of rug weaving. These beautiful and collectible rugs are made with hand spun wool and natural dye. Each piece was unique with overall design. The red one had "Camel Foot" design and the ivory one had Shah Abbassi design.

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

Rug Tent Sale Rug Sale Los Angeles

2011-11-28T23:27:00.000-08:00

Our Rug Tent Sale on Black Friday and Saturday, November 25, and 26, 2011 was a success. We received several rugs for cleaning, repair and appraisal. We sold several area rugs and runners. We also sold few hand knotted Persian carpets. Even today with our tent sale over, one of our returning customers who had seen a Persian Varamin rug on Friday returned and bought that rug. I called this tent-sale after shock. This was our 5th rug tent sale.

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

Rug Sale Rug Tent Sale Los Angeles 2011

2011-11-26T11:46:00.000-08:00

Yesterday was the first day of our 2-day Rug Tent Sale in our Los Angeles parking lot and showroom. We started to set up the tent at 9:00 am. We were busy the whole day specially around 12:00 pm and afterwards. We received several rugs for cleaning and repair from new and return customers who wanted to take advantages of our specials. We also sold several area rugs to different customers.

A client who had bought an area rug couple of weeks ago and was happy with her carpet and our services, came in with her husband and bought two 9' x 12' hand knotted Persian signed Mashad carpets. Overall, the first day was a good and busy day. We went home around 7:00 pm. Although me and my team worked very hard and had to move and open/close many rugs, I was not tired at all when I got home

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

Cat Scratch Pet Scratch Rugs Restoration

2011-11-24T12:15:00.000-08:00

Dogs scratch the ground and cats scratch the rugs. Cats mark their territories with scratching and this can be a work out, stretching and yoga for them as well. It gives them pleasure and it feels good to scratch. You can get your cat a scratching pole (sisal is recommended), but she still may scratch you rugs. That is why we have "Cat Scratch Restoration" services for your rugs.

Here I am posting few pictures of a tufted rug with cat scratches. We did the cleaning first and one of our technicians is restoring the rug and taking care of the scratches with our special shearing machine.

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

Rug Sale Rug Big Tent Sale Los Angeles 50% Off

2011-11-24T10:10:00.000-08:00

We had a very busy day yesterday getting ready for Black Friday's huge Rug Tent Sale. Four fraternity students hand delivered almost 1,000 postcards to houses in our neighboring Beverly Hills and Hancock Park here in Los Angeles. Hundreds of e-mails were sent to our clients. Social Media Marketing was done by a team of experts. Signs were put up on the front of the store on La Cienega Blvd. Last minute cleaning was done and every thing looked fine and ready for tomorrow.

I just checked our online ranking for "Rug Sale Los Angeles". Number one, three, four and five belonged to us. So on our part, everything looks fine.

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

Rug Cleaning Carpet Cleaning Los Angeles: A Personal Service and Final Touch

2011-11-22T20:21:00.000-08:00

We receive many Oriental, Persian and area rugs for cleaning, repair and stain removal. After we are done with the job and before we deliver them to our clients or their pick ups, we inspect them one by one to make sure they look their best. We hand vacuum them and do final inspections. Our customers deserve to receive the best possible services and this is what sets us apart from our competitors. We're not the cheapest, but we are not the most expensive rug care and service provider either. But we can claim to be one of the best in greater Los Angles area. We pay attention to details.

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

Rug Sale Los Angels Rug Tent Sale Los Angeles

2011-11-22T12:41:00.000-08:00

We are getting ready for our big event, the Rug Tent Sale. This is going to be on Black Friday November 25 and on Saturday November 26, 2011. We have mailed 1,000 postcards to our customers and hand delivered 1,500 postcards in a few good neighborhoods in Los Angeles. We have had e-mails sent to our clients as well. The entire inventory will be 50% half off. We will have free rug appraisals for our customers who bring in their rugs. We will tell all the technical details including today's market value of the rugs.

We have had this tent sale for the past five years and we have been very successful with that. It is a good opportunity for our customers who want to buy rugs with discounted prices.

The hours will be from 10:00 am to 6:00 pm. For more information, please visit www.RugTentSale.com

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

Hadji Jalili Carpets Haji Jalili Rugs of Tabriz

2011-11-21T22:18:00.000-08:00

We had a very busy and hectic day today. We started at 8:30 am by going to a clients home in Beverly Hills. He had few rugs for cleaning. Three of his six rugs were Hadji Jalili Tabriz carpets. They needed some repair and securing the ends. Two of these were 4' x 6' and one carpet was a big 9' x 13' Haji Jalili. This client had a very good taste and had a couple of other beautiful Kerman Ravar rug and a Malayer Kurdish runner. They all needed cleaning and repair. We picked them all up.

We then went to another client's home to give estimate for her five rugs for cleaning and repair. One antique 100-year old Kashan, two Romanian rugs, and a couple of other pieces. I had quoted her over the phone. She called in and said she had received lower prices than ours. I had to go to her house myself to convince her that she should not go by the price but the quality of the work. We picked up all her rugs.

Our third stop today was an appraisal project for 14 rugs for insurance purposes with selling three big rug pads. We measured each rug, took notes and pictures. When I feel that I should go to my customers' homes to give estimate to get the jobs, I go there myself and come back with the rugs.

I had my lunch around 5:00 pm and got home around 7:00 pm.

Dr. Khosrow Sobhe (Dr. Kay)
Certified Rug Specialist (CRS)
www.LosAngelesRugCleaning.com
www.RugIdea.com

Tel. 310-770-9085

Karadjeh, Qaradjeh, Gharadjeh, Gharajeh Rugs and Carpets

2011-11-19T20:10:00.000-08:00

Karadjeh also spelled Karajeh, Qaradjeh, Gharadjeh, Gharajeh is a very small village north east of Tabriz in north west Iran very close to the border of the Republic of Azerbaijan and republic of Armenia. The weavers in this area produce beautiful hand knotted carpets mostly small sizes and runners. The design is geometrical multi-medallion in red. Occasionally we see dark blue and ivory backgrounds in Karadjeh rugs. The knots are symmetrical with flat double corded selvages on the sides. Using deep blue, sky blue and turquoise is also very common in the area. As you can see on the map, Karadjeh is to the north west of Heriz.

Here, I am posting few pictures of an antique old Karadjeh runner with the size of 2' 8" x 10' 10", early 20th century with beautiful 5-medallion design in red. It is in a very good condition and we have priced it for $2,950.

We also have few new Karadjeh runners in red and ivory background with birds and geometric designs. The newer versions of Karadjeh rugs have strong colors of turquoise, orange, and pink. These new pieces are priced $1,950. Sizes are 2' 6" x 10'.

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

Malayer Rugs Malayer Capets

2011-11-17T03:49:00.000-08:00

An antique early 20th Malayer rug 4' 2 X 6' 6" $4.950

Malayer is a small town located in the province of Hamedan in north west Iran, 55 miles (90 km) south east of Hamedan city and 250 miles (400 km) south west of Tehran.

Malayer rugs are usually small, although in few cases I have seen big 12’ x 18’ antique Malayer carpets. Making runners is also common. Many of the designs are geometrical; using Herati (Fish, Mahi) or paisley (Boteh) designs. Malayer rugs are single-wefted symmetrically knotted. Generally speaking, Malayer rugs have cotton foundation. In some very older pieces made by Kurds in Malayer, foundations are ivory colored wool. The weave in Malayer rugs is finer than in Hamedan rugs.

A short but very informative video on Malayer rugs courtesy of Barry O'Connell

Antique rare 12' x 18' inscribed Malayer carpet

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

Hadji Jalili Rugs Haji Jalili Carpets of Tabriz

2011-11-14T23:34:00.000-08:00

Some groups of Persian carpets have mysteries associated with them. Although they do not go back to hundreds of years, so little is known about them. Among these groups, I would like to mention Mohtasham carpets, and Hadji (Haji) Jalili carpets/rugs. Mohtasham rugs were made in the famous city of Kashan. Hadji Jalili rugs were made in the famous city of Marand, 40 miles north west of Tabriz, in east Azerbaijan in north west Iran. Both groups were woven in the fourth quarter of the 19th century.

It is not clear that Hadji Jalili was a weaver or producer who commissioned the rugs to other weavers. But what is clear is that this type of rugs were made for the elite and noblemen. Their foundation is cotton and the pile is made of high quality lamb's wool. Contrary to other Persian rugs, the selvages of Hadji Jalili rugs are made of cotton. Rarely, I have seen few pieces of silk Hadji Jalili all silk rugs. They come in all sizes including small 4' x 6' to room sizes of 10' x 14' or even bigger.

Here I am posting few pictures of a 4' x 5' 11" Hadji Jalili rug we have on sale for $4,900. Like many other rugs from the similar collection, this cute little piece also has a kind of Orange Salmon red background.

We also did a cleaning and color restoration of a big 10' x 14' Hadji Jalili rug with Herati Fish (Mahi) design. Like the other piece this one had cotton selvages on the sides. I am posting some pictures of this beautiful rug.

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

Rug Ideas Los Angeles

2011-11-13T09:45:00.000-08:00

We were busy yesterday which was Saturday. It was cool and cloudy here in Los Angeles and our store was open from 12:00 to 4:00 pm. One happy returning customer brought in three Turkish Hereke silk rugs for cleaning. One of them was a very cute little piece with black background, silk on silk. We are going to sew a pocket on the back so they can use a rod to hang it on a wall in their house.

Another returning customer who picked up her cleaned 9' x 12' tapestry, brought in a big 10' x 15' hand knotted Indian carpet for cleaning. We also sold a hand knotted Hamedan runner to a couple.

I was also busy finishing up 16 rug appraisals I should do for a customer who wants to sell her rugs. I had done part of it on Friday and finished the project yesterday before the end of the store hours. I saved all the rug pictures on a CD which accompanies the 16 signed and highlighted sealed individual certificates.

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

Rug Sale Los Angeles

2011-11-13T09:16:00.000-08:00

What is going on:

We are going to have the biggest 2-day Rug Tent Sale starting on Black Friday, November 25th & Saturday November 26th, 2011 from 10am to 6pm. This is a one-time in a year event. There will be huge discounts on Persian Carpets, Oriental and Area Rugs, Rug Cleaning, Repair, Pet Urine Stain Removal, appraisal and much more! Visitors will receive free books on rug cleaning and gifts.

Who we are:

We are third generation experts in th rug business, since 1953. We do not buy rugs from dealers or importers. We either produce our rugs or import them directly from the source. Therefore there is no middle man involved. This means:

BIG SAVINGS FOR YOU!
HALF (50%) OFF Everything!

We will have free rug appraisal!

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

Rug Ideas and Gifts

2011-11-12T10:01:00.001-08:00

We are getting close and closer to the holiday seasons and Christmas time. It is good to give/receive gifts and we like to celebrate with our customers. We give free of charge gifts to those who visit our store these days. They don't have to buy anything or give us business. We just want them to leave our rug gallery happy with smile. We give everybody two books called "The Mystique of Oriental Rugs" and "Carpet Cleaning Tips For Dummies". We would like to have educated customers. These two books are very informative and educational. Easy to read and follow too. Our visitors love the title of the yellow book!!

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

Western Carpet Companies and " Ziegler & Co." in Iran

2011-11-12T08:10:00.000-08:00

In the fourth quarter of the 19th century, a huge market was created for Persian carpets in Europe and in the U.S. Many companies and merchants imported the old and antique Persian rugs from allover Iran. They used the city of Tabriz in northwest Iran to export these antiques to Europe via Arzerum in Turkey. Some merchants also used the southern ports on the Persian Gulf to export Persian rugs to the U.S. by ship which was way cheaper than the land and then sea transportation via Europe . By the later decades of the nineteenth century, the supply of these fine antique rugs from Persia was on the low side. Beside, the existing Persian carpets did not match the western sizes and the taste of color and design. Westerners want everything their ways! Therefore, many of the merchants from Tabriz close to the Turkish borders decided to establish workshops in Sultanabad to produce rugs based on the western demand. The Sultanabad region had a fine carpet weaving tradition and was a perfect place to set up looms and rug workshops. Sarouk, is a village located 30 miles north of the city of Sultanabad (today called Arak). Sarouk is famous for weaving very heavy body carpets. Workshops and looms were sat up in the region.

To meet and fulfil the rising demand in the west for Persian rugs, the British-Switzerland company of “Ziegler & Co.” opened its office in Tabriz in 1878 and in Sultanabad in 1883. The first World Oriental Carpet Exhibition of 1891 in Vien and another one London in 1892, created a rising demand for Persian rugs in the west and other foreign companies such as British-Italian “Nearco Castelli Brothers” in Tabriz, and “Eastern Rug Trading Company" of New York established their branches in 1909 in Tabriz and later in Kerman. Atiyeh Brothers of Portland, Oregon, also established their weaving facilities in Kerman after the turn of the century.

Of these cities, Sultanabad and surrounding towns and villages such as Sarouk, Farahan, Lilian and few others were the most famous in the U.S. After establishing the offices and branches of foreign companies, the designs were created based on the customers tastes and demand and a new types or Persian rugs were produced. The kind of rugs today called Ziegler, or Sultanabad were produced from the end of the 19th century to probably before the beginning of the WWII with the designs and color combination that Europeans Americans liked. Muted softer colors and floral latticed patters. What we see today in the market called "Ziegler" or "Sultanabad" is either new productions or old pieces with muted colors and big flowers and floral designs without central medallions. And no one can prove or dis-prove that they are made by or for "Ziegler & Co." in Iran during the 50 years that they were active. Ziegler or Sultanabad carpets are good quality Mahal rugs with easily pliable and soft handle.

One later group of these rugs is called "American Sarouk" with deep burgundy background color with no medallions in the center.

Antique Sultanabad Carpet from the estate of Sigmund Freud Courtesy of Nazmyal, New York

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

No Matter What, Our Core Values Remain the Same: Good Customer Service

2011-11-12T06:20:00.000-08:00

We cleaned and restored a 300-year old 18th century French tapestry for a customer. We installed a new backing to it by hand sewing for more and extra support. We installed the tapestry on the wall. They were happy but after a couple of weeks they called in and said there were some wrinkles and bubbles on the tapestry. Usually when you have a new backing on the tapestry and you hang it, this happens. I went to their house with one of our repair crew and did some alterations and the tapestry looked good and we left. We received another e-mail saying that the tapestry still had some wrinkles and bubbles on one side. I took one of our master repairmen yesterday and went to the client's house. We had to remove one entire part of the backing while the tapestry was hanging on the wall and re-sew it by hand. It took us two hours to do this. We do whatever it takes to deliver first class jobs and services to make our customers happy. That is the core value of our company. Did I mention that our company was established by our father in 1953? We will celebrate our company's 60th birthday on November 18, 2013.

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

Nain Rugs Carpets: How Authentic Is The Signature?

2011-11-05T07:38:00.000-07:00

The city of Nain (splled Naeen, Naein) has an area of 35,000 square kilometer and is located in Isfahan province with almost 200 miles distance from Tehran to south east. It is located in the central plateau of Iran with hot and dry climate. Nain has many famous villages and wells.

Nain has old antiquity and is a relic of pre-Islamic era. The indigenous architecture and the life in this desert community is very unique and astonishing. Nain is famous in the world for its magnificent carpets. The history of fine woolen men's cloak and cloth making dates back to centuries, but carpet making is relatively new and little more than a century old.

Nain rugs have asymmetrical (Persian) knots, woven on vertical looms with fine wool pile and cotton warps. They are closely clipped for better and finer look. In some instances silk warps are used. In higher and finer knotted rugs, kork (baby lamb wool) is used for pile. Using touch of silk around the flowers and arabesques is also very common. It is not a surprise to see Nain rugs with more than 900 knots per square inch. Making very big Nain rugs especially for Arab customers is a common practice in Nain. Todeshk is the name of a very small town close to Nain that made very high quality densely knotted 4-La (4-ply) Nain rugs. There is no more weaver in Todeshk to weave rugs anymore.

Fatollah Hibibian in his home in Nain, Isfahan province, Iran

Master artist Fatollah Habibian a personal friend of mine who died few years ago at the age of 92 was one of the pioneers of Nain carpets. His Nain rugs had his signature (Iran, Nain, Habibian) and many producers and weavers now a days copy and forge his signature which is now a brand on their carpets and this has become a controversy over Nain carpets in the past several years. Of course, when you want to buy a Persian Nain rug, you should not be obsessed with the signature as the quality of the rug, the balance in the design, the consistency of the knots are few more important factors than the signature itself. The quality should match the signature if the rug is signed Iran, Nain Habibian.

Fake Habibian signature

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

Heriz Rug Cleaning: Crime Against Art!

2011-11-05T07:11:00.000-07:00

Yesterday, we picked up a 9' x 12' hand knotted antique Persian Heriz carpet for cleaning from a very good and repeat customer (a client who gives us business repeatedly or frequently). This beautiful Heriz rug has been in their family for almost 40 years. One RED flag. The selvages and bindings on the sides which act like walls to keep the roof intact, were done by machine and not by hand! I asked our client about who had done this poor repair job and he replied it was like this when we got this carpet some forty years ago. That is a shame. This is what happens if a want-to-be a repairmen does the repair on Oriental or Persian carpets because he looks at rugs as floor coverings and wall to wall carpeting. He does not know the origins, the construction, the age, and of course today's market value of the carpets he receives for cleaning and repair. That is what I call Crime Against Art!

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

Rug Care and Maintenance

2011-11-04T06:07:00.000-07:00

You have beautiful handmade Oriental or Persian rugs at home but you do not maintain and care for them properly. You expose them to direct sunlight and this is what happens. The colors fade away and this cannot be fixed. You can prevent these kinds of damages by using the curtain/draperies properly or simply by covering the rug and protecting it from sunlight by a piece of fabric. When damaged by sun, the pile cannot be over-dyed and this causes a permanent damage to the rug. It looks ugly and reduces the value drastically.

Just take a look at the first picture. Our lovely customer has covered the table (worth $2,000) with fabric and plastic but has left this beautiful handknotted Persian Habibian Nain carpet 12' x 20' with 20,000,000 knots worth $50,000 uncovered and unprotected under the sun. That is bad.

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

Navajo Rugs/Blankets/Kilims

2011-11-03T16:46:00.000-07:00

Navajo rugs and blankets are textiles produced by Navajo people of the Four Corners area of the United States. Navajo textiles are highly regarded and have been sought after as trade items for over 150 years. Commercial production of handwoven blankets and rugs has been an important element of the Navajo economy. As one expert expresses it, "Classic Navajo serapes at their finest equal the delicacy and sophistication of any pre-mechanical loom-woven textile in the world."

Navajo textiles were originally blankets for use as cloaks, dresses, saddle blankets, and similar purposes. Toward the end of the 19th century, weavers began to make rugs for tourism and export. Typical Navajo textiles have strong geometric patterns. They are a flat tapestry-woven textile produced in a fashion similar to kilims of Eastern Europe and Western Asia, but with some notable differences. In Navajo weaving, the slit weave technique common in kilims is not used, and the warp is one continuous length of yarn, not extending beyond the weaving as fringe. Traders from the late 19th and early 20th century encouraged adoption of some kilim motifs into Navajo designs.

Along with Persian & Oriental rugs we also do cleaning and repair for Navajo rugs and blankets. All the pics shown in today's blog are customer rugs that have come in for cleaning or repair. So if you have these types of rugs in your collection and they need repair or cleaning come talk with us as we can help you get them deep cleaned/sanitized and repaired from the ravages that time, wear/tear or your pets have taken out on them.

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

Rug Court Cases: What Can We All Learn From Them?

2011-11-01T07:49:00.000-07:00

In the past few months, I have done some court appearances for rug related cases and have done some legal consultations and appraisals. The readers of my blog should have the privilege of using my experience with these cases. These are very valuable lessons that I like to share with you. Document every thing. Whatever goes on between you and the other party (parties). I said he said is not accepted by the court. The judge wants to see the proof. Pictures, e-mails, videos, letters, etc. can be of great help and make you win the case if well prepared and presented. Be careful with the contradictions. Judges ask many questions, some of which may seem irrelevant or even stupid (forgive my language), but they are smart and professional. We may have a couple of court cases in our life time. A judg has several cases everyday. So he is a professional and knows what he is doing. He is looking for contradictions and the truth. He may find that by asking different and too many questions. Do not volunteer to give out information. Be clear and specific. Talking too much and giving out too much information may work to your disadvantage. Do not mess around with judges. Do not try to proof you're tough and smart. Tell the truth and be calm and relax. I have seen defendants or plaintiffs arguing with judges nervously or impolitely and at the end, they lost their cases. Don't take risks in the courtrooms. I am not saying the a judge takes revenge if you mess with him and make him angry, but if you do not act properly, you cannot present yourself and forget why you are in the court. You're there to win your case. Some of these people who are in the courtrooms for rug case, have black/white pictures of their rugs or low resolution color copies of their rugs. OMG! Were you trying to save ink when you printed these images?

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

Wall Street Occupation in Los Angeles

2011-10-31T21:24:00.000-07:00

In my previous post I mentioned that I attended a court as an Expert Witness for a water damaged Persian rug case. During the lunch break, I went cross the street from the Los Angeles Superior Court and took these pictures from the City Hall and the mayor's office. Protesters of the financial institutions were very calm and peaceful.

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

Tabriz Rug Water Damage Case and Me As An Expert Witness in Court

2011-10-31T21:12:00.000-07:00

I was in court all day today from 8:00 am to almost 4:00 pm. There was a Persian Tabriz rug 7' x 10' water damage case and I was there as an Expert Witness. The judge was amazingly polite, smart and detailist. I was there as an Expert Witness and mentioned that this rug could be saved and the colors could be restored to some extent. I also questioned the appraisal the plaintiff had gotten for this rug. It was a very long and lengthy court. The judge was asking very detailed questions looking for contradictions to find out the truth. I liked his approach. Very smart and thoughtful.

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

I Spend Money When I Cannot Earn Money!

2011-10-30T23:36:00.000-07:00

It was Sunday today and our store was closed. I went to my rug gallery for an hour to prepare a report and take some documents for a Small Claims Court appearance as an "Expert Witness" for a client. I have to be at the court tomorrow at 8:00 am.

Among other things like going to barbershop to get haircut and shopping at Costco, I went to an auction and bought few rugs and kilims. I am very excited about a unique decorative Mexican Kilim Tapestry. I will mark this kilim to sell it for only $195. This can be a great Christmas gift.

Sometimes, I spend money when I cannot make money!

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

Chinese Rug: Deal of the Day

2011-10-29T12:14:00.000-07:00

It is Saturday 11:45 am. On my way to work an hour ago, I passed by a garage sale and I noticed a rug on the side walk. I parked and got off the car. I inspected the rug. It was a hand knotted Chinese rug with cotton foundation and fine wool pile. I asked for the price. The lady said $25 and I said $10. We agreed upon $15. She was happy to get rid of the rug and getting $15 cash. I was happy to have this rug for $15.00. I paid and took the rug to my car. I have it now in my rug store. It is a lovely piece and is worth at least $100.

If you want to buy or sell something, do a little homework and find out what it is. I was ready to pay up to $50 for this rug. The lady did not know if this was a machine or hand made rug.

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

Rug Sale Rug Tent Sale Los Angeles

2011-10-28T16:50:00.000-07:00

We are planning to have our once in a year Black Friday rug sale with 50% off on all of our inventory. That will be for Friday November 25, and Saturday November 26, 2011. We will have an actual big tent set up in our parking lot next to our rug gallery. Our customers can bring in their rugs for free appraisal while we have the tent sale. For more information, you can visit: www.RugTentSale.com

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

Unique Pieces

2011-10-27T16:05:00.000-07:00

Besides the great selection of Persian and Oriental Rugs that are in our showroom we have some fantastic unique pieces as well. Some of these pieces are:

The above picture is of a traditional saddle cover. Saddle covers were a prominent product of tribal and rural weaving. Paintings of horses with saddle covers appear in Persian miniatures as early as the 14th century. Completely woven in pile, this cover would have provided a comfortable cushion for the rider. It can be used as a wall hanging or even as a center piece on a table.

Above is a Kyrgyz Animal Trapping from the early 20th century. It is wool on wool and was used primarily as decorations for horses, donkeys and camels; they were also used as head ornaments. They can be used as a hanging art piece in a modern home. What a conversation piece!

Probably the most familiar to Westerners are saddlebags with two decorated pouches (above). These were made in various sizes, with the smallest examples used on donkeys. Called heybe in Turkey, khorjin in Persia and the Caucasus, they appear in a wide variety of woven structures: tapestry, soumak, brocading, knotted pile, weft substitution, and even occasionally warp substitution. In western Anatolian Turkey, saddlebags were commonly made with a long center bridge with a slit down the center (below). Men sometimes slipped these over their shoulders to serve as convenient shopping bags when in the marketplace. Besides being used as a hanging in your home these pieces can be used at the ends of couches to hold magazines, remotes, etc.

Come check out our unique pieces at our showroom today!

Dr. Khosrow Sobhe (Dr. Kay)

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

San Francisco Antique Rug Show Round Up

2011-10-24T07:42:00.000-07:00

My trip to San Francisco to visit the antique rug show took three days. I drove there from Los Angeles. Weather was nice and I liked the show. It was fun to see some good rugs and kilims, meet few good old friends, learn more about different types of rugs, and chat with rug dealers and collectors. Organizers had done whatever they could to make the show successful and if some exhibitors did not sell or were not totally happy, no one was to blame but the slow market.

I saw a dealer/collector from Los Angeles who was there from Wednesday, two days before the show started and he had hunted what he was looking for. Several of the participants/dealers had bought some items they liked from other exhibitors. The benefit of visiting or exhibiting is not always to sell few items. It is to be there to make contacts and let others know who you are and what you do.

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

San Francisco Antique Rug Show My Second Day in Town

2011-10-23T00:07:00.000-07:00

I visited the San Francisco Antique Rug Show this morning. I loved it. Many good items were on display. I wish I had brought $1,000,000 with me to send all these rug collectors and carpet lovers from around the world home happy with big smiles. There were only 40 of them.

One of my favorites, was an antique Malayer rug in almost perfect condition exhibited by Owen Perry from London, England. I bought a Sarouk Farahan (Fereghan) from him last year. He was asking $5,800 for this beautiful piece of art. Although it was worth it, that seemed a little out of my budget. The picture of Owen holding the rug is at the bottom of this page.

As in any other rug show around the globe, some rug dealers were happy with the sales, some were not.

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

San Francisco Antique Rug Show

2011-10-22T09:29:00.000-07:00

Just got here to San Francisco last night around 8:00 pm. I will visit the San Francisco Antique Rug show later today and will have a good pictorial post for you. I liked this photo of the show from one of the pieces on display hanging from a balcony.

Woven flowers and real flowers. Which ones last longer? Which ones do you like to keep?

Photo taken by Seref Ozen.

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

Los Angeles Rug Tour

2011-10-20T20:42:00.001-07:00

Los Angeles Rug Tour

August 10-12, 2012

Enjoy learning more about rugs and impress your clients

Talks, Videos, Movies & Hands on Projects on:

· History

· Designs

· Dyeing process

· Weaving

· Pricing

· Appraisal

· Rug Weaving Centers of the World

· Rug ID

· Rug Cleaning & Related issues

· Rug Repair & Color Restoration

· Literature, Resources, Books & Websites

· Market Taste (What sells and what doesn't)

· Online & Social Media Marketing for Rug Industry

Renowned rug experts gather in Los Angeles to discuss rugs with you

and answer your questions on different historic, artistic, cultural, technical and

economic aspects of rugs

A good and fun workshop to learn more about rugs and network with other professionals in the field. This is a unique opportunity you don't want to miss

Sponsor: Rug Ideas^TM Dr. Khosrow Sobhe (Dr. Kay^TM )

This is a “By Invitation Only” event not open to public

Cost: $495.00/person only
Early birds register till March 31, 2012 pay $395.00. Second participant from the same company $295.00
That equals to two rug cleaning jobs!

You will have fun and a lot of surprises!

Venue: Crown Plaza Hotel Beverly Hills for the workshop on Friday and Saturday

August 10 & 11, 2012

A customized tour of Los Angeles, Beverly Hills, and Hollywood is planned for Sunday August 12, 2012

For details call Tel. 310-860-0460 or send an e-mail to info@rugideas.com

Why August?

It is Summer; schools and colleges are closed and participants in the tour have more free time with no worries about their kids and their schools

Weather is nice in Los Angeles around 60 degrees Fahrenheit at night and 75 during the day time

It is few months away and this gives you enough time to plan ahead for a Summer of rug education and fun

There are a lot of attractions days/nights in Summer in LA!

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

Tapestry Repair and Restoration, 18th Century Tapestry

2011-10-18T17:11:00.000-07:00

We just finished restoration of big ca 8' x 10' 18th century French tapestry. We are going to deliver and install it on the wall tomorrow. We're all excited that we finished this very difficult job. This beautiful antique tapestry was falling apart when we picked it up from our customer's house. It has wool and silk face and silk parts were rotten and in the process of repair, the silk threads disintegrated and became like dust and powder. The wool parts were in better condition.

It was a delicate job and where ever we wanted o put the needles through to secure was weak and almost
un-repairable. But, we managed to finish it. Tapestry cleaning and repair is a good part of our service department and we have knowledgeable repair crew who do this with love and care.

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

San Francisco Antique Rug Show

2011-10-16T15:23:00.000-07:00

San Francisco Antique Rug & Textile show will be held for the 3rd year from October 20 to 23, 2011 in Motel Capri. I just returned from Rug Summit 4 in Ann Arbor Michigan and had no intention of visiting S. F. show this year. But I changed my mind last night and reserved a hotel to drive there from Los Angeles this coming Friday.

It is fun, and educational. Besides, you can see many good pieces from around the world as dealers who participate and exhibit will bring the best of their rugs there. It is not late yet to plan your trip. You don't have to buy anything (of course if you can resist). Just come and visit the show. Unlike any other exhibitions in halls, and hotels, this one is in Motel Capri in a kind of Oriental bazaar type of setting. This motel has 40 rooms and each exhibitor rents one room with one big bed in it. They open up their rugs on the beds, chairs and hang a few pieces on the walls. They also hang their best pieces from the rods in the balconies, and this creates a beautiful cottage and rural scene.

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

Boring Depressing Life

2011-10-14T07:13:00.000-07:00

Life is beautiful and exciting. It is like a mystery box. You never know what is in this box. You open it every day, every hour, and every minute. It surprises you all the time with something new and unexpected.

Have you ever thought if we had no color in life, what a boring and depressing life we would have?! Imagine if rather than a colorful life with thousands of shades of colors, we had everything in white, gray, or light brown. Could we stand that kind of life?

So let us celebrate life and enjoy it to the fullest extent. Let us do something good today to make someone happy. I promise to practice what I preach. I start from myself.

Dr. Khosrow Sobhe (Dr. Kay)
Certified Rug Specialist (CRS)
www.LosAngelesRugCleaning.com
www.RugIdea.com

Tel. 310-770-9085

Qashqai Blak Tent

2011-10-14T06:55:00.000-07:00

I took this picture from the inside of a Qashqai tent. Pure clear sky with no pollution. No traffic, no bills, no CNN to scare you to death with always breaking bad news, no stock market news and artificial ups and downs. Look at the tent decoration and Qashqai weavers' work of art. Qashqai hospitality in incomparable. If you pass by their black goat hair tent, they invite you inside and share with you lunch or breakfast. They always have milk, hot tea, organic yogurt, and freshly baked bread to offer. What a simple and stress-less life. I miss those trips. Really :-(

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

Rug Cleaning, Carpet Cleaning: The Traditional Way

2011-10-12T22:54:00.000-07:00

When I was a teenager in the mid and late 60's, I helped my dad in his carpet shop in Tehran. I remember one carpet cleaner with whom my father used to work. He had a chariot with two horses pulling the cart. He came to the store on odd days of Tuesday and Thursday to pick up and drop off rugs for cleaning. He took the rugs to a fountain in south east Tehran called Cheshmeh Ali for dusting (beating by sticks) and cleaning in the river. He did not use chemicals (Tide was introduced few years later) to wash the rugs with. Instead, he used a kind of soapy roof, amole, or the root of the soap plant.

After washing, rinsing and extracting water by hand squeezing they put the rugs on the rocks under the sun to dry out naturally. Everything was very simple but efficient. There was no dryer, no wringer, and no centrifuge machines, but the way they did it, worked pretty well. I miss those days. They passed so fast. Now our lives is full of chemicals and toxic materials. We cannot go to bed without checking our e-mails, text messages and visiting our facebook accounts. What a stress!!

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

Rugs, Carpets and Qashqai Men

2011-10-12T06:37:00.000-07:00

Qashqai tribe in the province of Fars has a long history of around 600 years. Qashqai tribe is consisted of six clans or sub-tribes such as Shesh Boluki, Large Kashkuli, Darreh Shuri, Amaleh, Farsi Madan, and Small Kashkuli. The tribe migrates around 300 miles twice a year. In the hot summer they go north to the foot of Zagros mountain. In the cold winter, they go south to get closer to the Persian Gulf in search of pastures for their herds. Qashqai's live in black tents made of goat hair which is oily and greasy which make the hair/tent waterproof in the rain and cold winters of the region. Many of the Qashqai's are settled and do not migrate anymore.

Qashgai weavers make beautiful Kashkuli and Gabbeh rugs. All these rugs/carpets are woven by talented Qashqai women who learn how to make rugs from their mothers. Men always seen in their felt hats in the tribe help with shearing and dyeing the wool. The weavers use ground or horizontal looms as this type of loom can be disassembled easily when they want to migrate. Dyeing is a secret not shared with the public and only few know how to create beautiful hues out of local herbs and plants. Walnut husk, pomegranate, and indigo are among the stuff they use for dyeing.

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

Rug Summit 4, Ann Arbor Michigan Second Day

2011-10-08T21:05:00.000-07:00

Today, Saturday October, 8, 2011 was the second day of the Rug Summit 4. Several speakers talked about the following matters:

- Armen Dohamian about Association of Rug Care Specialists (ARCS)
- Howard Morris on Using Media & Video to Sell Your Services
- Greg Turcotte on Equipment & Chemistry
- Panel on Rug ID

A good part of the program that I liked very much was asking several people from the audience to get up and express their opinions on different matters. I was also given a chance for a few minutes to talk about my appearance in Judge Judy's court. I liked Armen Dohamian's talk about a new professional organization, Association of Rug Care Specialists ARCS which specifically deals with rug care and not the general field of wall to wall carpet and broad field of mold, fire, restoration, and ... which does not directly deal with rugs. I filled the application to joint ARCS. I believe rug specialists and enthusiasts should support and join this association.

The Summit ended around 3:00 pm. Some of the participants left for the airport to return to their cities. Several went to Tom Monahan's rug washing studio for a test of few bleeding Afghan rugs cleaning.

Overall, I liked the Rug Summit and it was well worth to leave my work for a few days (four days) to attend it. I did not want to rush back to Los Angeles right after the Summit. I will go back tomorrow which is Sunday. I will be back at work on Monday morning. I have already missed my rug gallery.

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

Rug Summit 4, Ann Arbor Michigan

2011-10-07T20:40:00.000-07:00

I am in Ann Arbor Michigan now attending Rug Summit 4. I got here at 1:00 am this morning from Los Angeles. Registration began at 7:30 am followed by several presentations:

- Introduction and Welcome by Tom Monahan
- Making the Phone Ring Off the Hook by Bob Brewer
- ARMS, Software For Your Rug Business by Greg Turcotte & Randal Stopp
- How to Effectively Clean Sewage-Saturated Rugs by Michael Pinto
- Creating an Effective Website and Search Engine Optimization by Gary Arndt
- 30 Years of Rug Washing by Robert Mann
- Higher Level of Instruction by Aaron Groseclose

I enjoyed the talks as they were educational, informative and fun. I met several good old friends, few Internet and Facebook friends, and met many new ones. The program lasted until 4:00 pm and was followed by a tour of Centrum Force's facilities, and a dinner party. The program begins tomorrow Saturday at 8:00 am.

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