Let Us Say Goodbye to Ardabil Carpet

My beloved Ardabil carpet has been on display for a few weeks at Los Angeles County Museum of Art LACMA as part of  Gifts of the Sultan exhibition. This will end on Monday September 5, 2011. If you can, pay this wonder carpet a visit before it is put back into it's permanent bed (tube!) in the basement.

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

TMASC Lecture Series: Embroideries From the Mediterranean Sea

Looking Behind the Veil. Reading Between the Lines

Last Saturday, August 29, 2011 we had an interesting program in our Textile Museum Associates of Southern California. Christian Erber a German scholar who is an authority in the field of Mediterranean embroideries delivered a well attended speech which was followed by a show and tell section.

Here, I am posting some pictures from this program.

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

Rug Inspection: A Before Delivery Process

Before we do rug cleaning, we inspect each rug individually. If securing is needed, we do it to make sure the rug is not damaged in the process of cleaning. After we do the cleaning and before we deliver the rug, we go through another process of inspection to see if cleaning is perfectly done and make sure it is ready to be delivered to our customer. If the rug does not pass the before-delivery test, we take correctional actions to make sure the rug is in its best condition when we deliver it.

Here, I am posting pictures of  a Flokati rug which is being inspected to make sure it is perfectly cleaned.

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

Cosmetic Rug Repair

     Cosmetic Rug Repair is one of the great services we provide to our clients to restore their rugs to a more authentic original condition. The pictures above show a pictorial Isfahan rug that has been restored with new fringes (the before pics can be seen below). This rug is a beautiful piece in great condition and the old fringes needed to be redone to match the rest of it.
     Our Master Weaver had to remove the damaged areas followed by securing the rug to get it ready for the fringe implants. Great care was taken with this Persian rug as the foundation is silk.
     With the new fringes in place this great pictorial Isfahan now has a new lease on life and is ready to be enjoyed hung on a wall or to decorate a great space on the floor; and with proper care and maintenance as this one has received this piece will last for many more years.

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

Securing Rugs Before Cleaning

Dealing with old and antique rugs means that sometimes we are handling fragile items or areas of the rug that have been damaged from wear and tear as well as by pets, furniture, water and moths. 
We examine each rug individually before we do the cleaning. If needed, we secure the damaged areas to prevent more harm to the rug as well as to maintain its structure during the cleaning process.
The Sarouk rug in the pictures shown are from a customer drop off this week. Once the rug was inspected it was determined that extra care would have to be taken to prevent further damage to the rug as some area had deteriorated. We had the problem areas secured to strengthen the foundation while it is being cleaned. Taking these extra steps is what sets this family business apart from our competitors... steps to ensure customer satisfaction and to keep your rugs lasting many years to come.


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

Rug Fact of The Day: Antique Pakistani Rugs? No Way!

If Someone wants to sell you a rug as an antique Pakistani rug, what would you do? Usually antiques of any kind including rugs and carpets should be not less than a years old. Pakistan became into existence and received its independence from Britain in August 1947; so there is no way that a Pakistani rug can be around or more that 100 years old.

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

Rug Tip of the Day: Indian, Pakistani, and Chinese Carpets and Rugs

Have you ever wondered where your rug came from? Do you want to know the origin of your rug? If it has wool foundation (if the fringes are wool) there is almost a very high chance that your rug is not from India, Pakistan, or China. In these three mentioned countries, the weavers use cotton for the foundation.

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

Rug Repair Carpet Repair When I Don't Feel Like Working!

This past Saturday I was at work at my rug store from 11:00 am to 4:00 pm. I did not feel like sitting behind my desk and doing regular office work. So I repaired some parts of the selvage of an old and antique Persian hand knotted Sarab carpet runner. This type of Sarab carpets are rare and have double corded flat selvages. They come in beautiful harvest gold color. They have symmetrical knots with wool foundation. This particular runner was made in early 20th century. 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.

My repairmen always complain about this kind of selvages and mention it is difficult to repair and re-weave the selvages when they are double corded. My repair was not difficult and was rather fun.

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

Wild Week of Old & Antique Rugs

Within these past few days gold has been at a record high while the stock market has been dropping. In these tough economic times it's good to know that there are investments that don't fluctuate so much and not only that steadily appreciate over time. Enter the world of antique, semi antique and old rugs.

These types of rugs appreciate in value no matter how unstable the stock market is and provide something that many other investments don't... they can be enjoyed while you own them. These rugs are art, contain culture, history and have a story behind them.

If you do already have antique, semi antique and old rugs having them cleaned, repaired and maintained is your best best to make your sure your rugs keep appreciating over the years. If you have any old rugs make sure to get them appraised to know the value for trusts/estates and insurance purposes. 

If you don't have any rugs yet you can easily get started with only a few hundred dollars of investment. They provide a touch of class to any home and can be enjoyed for many years to come.

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

Dirtiest Rug of the Month

Yesterday a customer brought in a Turkish Kilim for Cleaning. The rug was the dirtiest rug we have seen this month. The rug is a beautiful handmade piece with vibrant colors that has been covered by a layer of dust, grease & pet stains. The rug pad was even dirtier than the rug itself.

Fortunately the customer brought their Kilim to the right place. We have to first fully dust the rug to get all dust and dirt contaminants out of the rug. This Turkish Kilim has to be professionally deep cleaned. We will have to wash this rug several times in order to bring back the colors and the health of the rug to make up for all the years it hasn't been cleaned. After the rug is professionally cleaned and repaired with possible stain removal procedures the rug will be in great condition and will be ready to be used for many more years to come.

Many people think that they are saving money by not cleaning their rugs regularly. Cleaning your rugs regularly is protecting your investments. The more you wait the more your rug will absorb stains, dust & dirt and the costlier it will be to take care of your rug.

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