Rug Repair and Thimbles

Sometimes our repair personnel in our workshop use thimbles; specially when they want to fix and do the selvages or bindings on the sides of the carpets. We do the repair by hand and if the construction of the rug is very strong and stiff, the needle does not go through; so the repairman/repairwoman needs to use a thimble.

The history of using this protective metal shield which is worn on thumb or finger goes back to the first century AD. It was first used by Romans. Now we use it here in Los Angeles to repair bindings of rugs.

The first picture you see here on the top is from a 9-foot thimble on a stack of buttons from the Garment District of Toronto .

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

Textile Museum Associates of Southern California Kurdish Afreen Kilims

At The TMASC Meeting
TMASC had a wonderful and well received meeting on September 11, 2010. The speech was given by Yaser Al Saghrji, born and raised in Syria with a degree in English literature from Damascus University. Yaser has been a rug business owner since 1996 and has been traveling all over the Middle East collecting antique carpets and tribal rugs for his customers. It was about Kurdish flat weaves of Afreen, Syria.

The Kurds of Afreen
The Kurds of Afreen in the northwestern Syria have had a long history of being skillful kilim flat-weavers. These colorful kilims are woven with whimsical cicim-type decorations. The meeting went into further detail about how the life style of the Afreens lead them to weaving these kilims. The speech was educational and informative. We had a house full of participants for this event.

Many of clients bring kilims and flat weaves for cleaning and repair in Los Angeles. Kilims are pile less therefore are light and can be used as floor covering, wall hanging, mattress covers, table covers and etc. The design of kilims are more authentic than rugs. The design of rugs in many cases are changed by the market taste.

Dr. Khosrow Sobhe (Dr. Kay)
www.RugIdea.com
www.LosAngelesRugCleaning.com
310-770-9085

Whittal Anglo Rugs Los Angeles

Few days ago we picked up a Whittall Anglo area rug for cleaning and repair from a client’s house here in Los Angeles. The rug was quite dirty and had damage on its sides. We cleaned and repaired the Whittall Anglo area rug for it to last for many more years to come.

M. J. Whittall Associates was started by the Whittall family in the early 1880s and closed in 1956. They produced fine quality machine made rugs with wool pile. The company was so passionate about promoting the arts and the culture of rugs that they created the Whittall’s Anglo-Persians, a musical outfit during the 1920s and 1930s lead by Louis Katzman. The group was broadcasted on Boston radio. They recorded for the Brunswick and Vocalion lables.

Once in a while we have pickups of these Whittal Anglo Rugs in Los Angeles and from elsewhere. The owners tell us that they have had the rugs in their family for a few generations. If these rugs were able to talk, they would tell us about all the great times they have had all these years. They would also be happy that they are being taken care of by us so they can feel as healthy as when they were first made. The history and sentimental value of these rugs is priceless.

Dr. Khosrow Sobhe (Dr. Kay)
www.RugIdea.com
www.LosAngelesRugCleaning.com
310-770-9085

Rugs and Dogs

You have a rug. And then you have a dog. Your dog chews off your rug! Don't get mad. Just bring it to us and let us show you our artwork and our cosmetic repair and restoration! This is what we did to a hand knotted Pakistani rug which was badly damaged by a dog.

Dr. Khosrow Sobhe (Dr. Kay)
www.RugIdea.com
www.LosAngelesRugCleaning.com
310-770-9085

Thonet Chair with Kilim Cover

Recently, we have made some Thonet chairs with kilim covers. Michael Thonet invented this type of chair in 1850. Until 1930, more than 50 millions of this chair which is called Thonet #14 chair was sold world wide. We have made and sold few pieces so far to test the market. Our customers loved them. This is a type of cafe chair which is very light but strong.

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

Lambskin Sheepskin Cleaning San Diego

This past week, we received two lambskin sheepskin rugs from San Diego (120 miles south of Los Angeles) for cleaning. These two pieces were sent by two different customers. We recommend to our customers to use UPS or FedEx ground shipment for this type of packages. It is safe and price wise affordable.

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

Dirtiest Rug for Cleaning in Los Angeles

A customer brought in a tufted rug for cleaning. It was a 3' by 8' runner full of moths, and stains. You could see the larvae and the eggs all over the rug. Having and using this type of rug in a home is a health hazard for the people, the kids and the pets around it. One cannot save money by not cleaning rugs like this. We can save money when we protect our investments.

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

Rug Cleaning, Repair and Appraisal and YouTube For Business

I always read and write to improve my knowledge of the field. We sell rugs and at the same time we do professional rug cleaning, rug repair, water damage restoration, pet stain removal, and rug appraisal.

I try to keep up with the technology and update myself on what is happening out there. I started reading a very useful book called YouTube For Business. I finished this book over the long Labor Day weekend and enjoyed it. I hope other competitors of mine do not read this post or if they do, they do not have time to read this book and act upon it.

We will surely use some of the advices this great book had and will use them for our rug business. This will give us a good edge.

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

Sanction/Embargo on Persian Rugs While Changing the Carpets of the White House!

It was not nice to put sanction and embargo on the import of Persian rugs to the U.S., while the carpets of the White house was being replaced. This sanction will not put pressure on the Iranian government. It will hit the poorest of the poor, the Iranian weavers! It will make it much harder for them to make living. This will affect their health, education and the quality of their lives. That is so sad.

This is how Milton Cater, a rug expert and enthusiast from Australia views this sanction:

"How to shoot yourself in the foot: Brilliant American style:
Sanctions against Iran carpet imports. They hurt the weavers (the mums) and the grassroots dealers (the dads), as well as traditional pro-democrats (arts intelligentsia) and old money conservatives (the bazaaris). What's left? The clergy, and the cowboys."

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

Los Angeles Rug and Textile Meetup Group

I just founded Los Angeles Rug and Textile Group on www.meetup.com

Take a look if you have time: http://www.meetup.com/Los-Angeles-Rug-Textile-Group/

Meetup.com is a good website to find people with the same interests in your area. You can meet them and exchange news and views. It is too bad that we do not have a rug society or association here in Los Angeles.

I am hoping that this group will attract some members and we can meet once a month in our rug gallery.

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

Sheepskin Lambskin Cleaning Los Angeles

We receive Sheepskins also called Lambskins for cleaning very often. They are soft and cushioning and some of our customers love them. They are a kind of difficult to keep clean specially if you have pets. We take care of the cleaning. Here I am posting before and after cleaning pictures of a recent job we did.

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

Shaq Rug Repair Los Angeles

We received a 5' x 8' Shag rug. The customer wanted us to cut down and make a 4' x 6' rug out of it. These types of Shag rugs are new productions and many of our customers love them. We did everything by hand in our workshop adjacent tom our rug gallery which is on La Cienega Blvd. in Los Angeles.

We are expert in Shag rug cleaning and repair.

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

Rug Repair Los Angeles: Dogs & Rugs

Some dogs do not treat the rugs well. They play and chew off the rugs. We just received this hand knotted Pakistani rug for repair.

What we do first is to make foundation (warps and wefts) based on which we can tie the knots and reweave the rug. We have to follow the design and match the color.

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