Textile Musem Associate of Southern California TMA/SC

Today, we had a board meeting for the Textile Museum Associates of Southern California. The vice president hosted the meeting in her house. I carpooled two of the board members who drove to my work and parked their car in our parking lot. It look us roughly 45 minutes to get there. We started at 10:00 am and finished by 1:00 pm. There were many items on the agenda which were all taken care of. There were ten of us present and a few were absent. Few outgoing and few incoming board members attended the meeting. The board meets each quarter, four times a year. It is an interesting group which has a monthly general meeting with one speaker who talks about textile or rug with slide shows or video clips. They are all fun, educational and informative. The speakers are invited from all over the world. I do not know why rug dealers in Los Angeles do not appreciate this group to attend their meetings. The membership is only $45/year. Maybe they know much more than I and others know and there is nothing left to be learned. If this is the case, they can then present lectures and teach others!

Khosrow Sobhe
www.RugIdea.com

A Freind From Hamburg & Sarouk Rugs

Today, Mr. Mousa Karimzadeh, a friend of the 80's from Hamburg came to visit me in our rug gallery in Los Angeles. Mr. Karimzadeh lives in New York now. Many of our friends from Hamburg have moved to the United States and most of them live in New York. Mr. Karimzadeh had a rug warehouse in the free port of Hamburg (Freihafen) and was our neighbor for a few years. He still deals and works with Persian and Oriental rugs, but this time more as a hobby than a real business. He stayed for more than one hour with us and we talked and reviewed good old memories of the 80's when the rug market was so good and everybody was busy buying and selling.

I took photos of about 40 Sarouk rugs today from different angles to be edited and posted on our website: www.RugIdea.com. We received these rugs recently from Tehran. My helper and later my two sons helped me do this. We were all tired at the end of the day when we were going home. Our repairman is still busy with the Pakistani rug which is damaged by moth.

Khosrow Sobhe
www.RugIdea.com

Area Rugs and a friend who passed away in New York City

Today, a gentleman came into our rug gallery with his wife looking for an area rug. The husband and the wife had different ideas about the rug they were going to buy . They argued several times before they could reach an agreement. When they found a red 10x7 feet (ca. 6 m2) area rug from Kashan, the husband said that he did not have his new credit card for which he would get some points and benefits. The wife asked her husband to go home and bring it and she wanted us to cover their rug with another rug so no one could see it. The husband did not bargain but the wife said "Please give us a better price and we will give you cash". I said regardless of the means of payment, whether it is cash, check or credit card, you would have to pay sales tax which is 8.25%. They asked our working hours and I said that we would be working until 6:00 pm. They left and said they might comeback today.

Right after they left, another couple came in looking for an 8x11 feet (240x340 cm) area rug in deep dark red (Burgundy). I showed them few rugs and they liked one of them. They had a very quiet 9 months old cute son. The man said that they had a limited budget and the wife mentioned that with Christmas approaching, they would have so many other expenses to take care of. The wife liked the carpet very much and I could not see them leave without having the area rug they liked. I accepted their offer. They paid part of the price in cash and the rest with a debit card. I gave them a couple of gifts, a heart shape key chain for the lady and a fine pen to the gentleman. They were happy and left with smile. They also need a rug for their son's room and they will come back later when the husband receives his new check.

The first customer called me to make sure that I would stay until he gets to our rug gallery. I assured him that I would. He came in around 5:30 pm and bought the rug they wanted with a rug pad (underlay). He asked me not to charge his new credit card for a few days, probably seven business days until this new card is activated. I agreed and trusted him so he took the rug and the rug pad home. I wrote down the credit card information.

My helper and I had to pack few bales to be sent to another state for another customer. We finished the packing around 6:00 pm. Our repairman said he would stay up to 8:00 pm to take care of a Pakistani rug we have for repair and weaving. This 10x14 rug (ca. 12 m2) is severely damaged by moth. It has taken few days of our time to repair it. We had to do the warping and wefting to be able to weave the damaged parts.

Today, I learned that a friend who was an importer of rugs passed away in New Jersey. Mr. Amin, from Iran was a fine gentleman who died a couple of days ago. I sent an e-mail and faxed a letter of condolences to his sons Mikel and David who run their rug import business in New Jersey. They are very well-known and correct rug dealers living in New York City.

I guess I wrote enough for today.

Khosrow Sobhe
www.RugIdea.com

Cutting a runner into half

A customer came into our rug gallery today with his wife. First they looked for a round rug, but then they changed their mind. They saw a runner that they liked but it was a bit long. They asked if I could cut the runner and make it in a size they wanted. I said it would be possible if they pay for it. They did and we cut the runner into two pieces, a longer piece and a shorter piece. Our repairman on site fixed and secured the ends. They also bought a 4x6 feet rug. They were happy when they left. They bought two pieces and took three pieces home!!

Today around noon I met with a friend who is an Oriental carpet importer and whole seller. Her establishment is in Portland, Oregon and her husband has been in carpet business for a long time as his grand father and great uncle were also involved in Persian carpet production and trade from early 1900. They had office and carpet workshops in Kerman, Iran prior to the Revolution in Iran in 1978. They are very fine people.

Rug Repair

This morning at 10:00 we delivered 3 rugs which were picked up while ago for cleaning and repair. The customer wanted to check one of them which was an Indian silk rug measuring 10x7 feet, roughly 6m2. She liked the shine, cleanness and the softness of the rug. Both selvages were also replaced. She did not want to check the other two pieces which were Chinese wool rugs. The floor was hardwood so she needed a rug pad as well to protect the rug and the floor. I said we would deliver the underlay (the rug pad) later. She was so happy with the customized service and the quality of the job we provided her with. She said "I am glad that I found you".

We had repaired a Persian Silk Qum carpet with the size of 9x6 feet, roughly 270x180 cm for a customer. It was torn in few sections as much as 6 inches about 15 linear centimeters. We had to do a fine wefting one by one. It took us nearly a week to fix this high knot silk rug. The client came to our rug gallery this afternoon and picked up the rug. He was a friend and did not want to check the rug to see how the repair was done.

To visit our rug cleaning and repair section, please visit this link:

http://www.rugidea.com/services.html

Green Rugs in Los Angeles

Our Dine & Learn event was held in our Persian & Oriental rug gallery in the Los Angeles showroom between 6:00 to 9:00 pm on Oct. 18, 2007. Many designers, Industry Partners and student members of the American Society of Interior Designers ( ASID ), plus few other friends and guest participated in our event. Persian and Italian food was served followed by a 12-minute video clip presentation on how Green Rugs are made with hand spun wool and vegetable dye by the nomadic Qashqai weavers, all of whom are ladies who live in south west Iran, around the city of Shiraz. This presentation was followed by a question and answer session which was addressed by the host, Dr. Khosrow Sobhe.

Two dancers then performed Iranian folk dance with Persian music. This part of the event was the most entertaining and all the participants enjoyed it. At the end of the program, raffles were drawn. Maria Dallman, the former president of ASID of the Los Angeles Chapter was the first winner who won a Persian prayer rug. Donna was the second winner who also won a Persian prayer rug. Bill McWhorter, the 2006-2007 president of the American Society of Interior Designers ( ASID ) LA Chapter, was the luckiest winner and won a beautiful Persian Green Rug with a light green color background. Bill definitely deserves such a present for all his hard work and enthusiasm.

Every body received a gift and a free "Carpet Cleaning Tips for Dummies" booklet.
Other literature such as:

1- Rug Storage Tips
2- Rug Buying Tips
3- Rug/Carpet Vacuum Cleaning Tips & FAQ's

were also given to those who were interested. If you have not received yours, please contact us and we will gladly give you one. We had a live Iranian rug weaving section and our weaver showed how a rug is made. There were many who watched the process and familiarized themselves with how a rug is made and how a knot is tied around two warps.

This program was educational, entertaining and fun. To see the photos, please visit the link below:

http://www.rugidea.com/green_rugs_persian_qashqai_carpets.html

Being a blogger

It feels good to be a blogger. I am a rug lover and rug is my passion. I could not sleep well last night. So I got up at around 4:00 am and checked my e-mails. Then I browsed the Internet and checked few web blogs and found many other bloggers who are interested in rugs of some kind, from Australia, to India, Philippines, New Zealand and all over the world. We are fortunate to have the Internet if we know how to use it safely and wisely.

Khosrow
Los Angeles