Category — Home Based Business

Making custom rugs is as easy as seven steps. That’s right. 7 Steps. We teach you each step in detail. Some steps require a little more practice than others.

Are you looking for an opportunity to work from home? Do you like working with your hands? Do you need more creative expression in your life? Learning how to make custom rugs or sculptured rugs can be a solution for you.

Anything is possible when you learn the skills of custom rug fabrication. For example: Logo Rugs are a very big market. In the last several years we have produced hundreds of logo rugs for companies big and small.

There’s plenty of room for more rug fabricators in the marketplace.

You can learn how to make logo rugs just like the one that we made for a special cadillac event. See below.

Learning how to make rugs like this can be satisfying and lucrative.

Our online vault is a resource center for all trainees who pass through our doors. It’s an organic, evolving, resource center that features video clips, marketing strategies, and new techniques in rug fabrication.

Once in awhile we will capture video of a rug in production. Unlike our video demos on YouTube, we narrate these video clips. We explain what we’re doing and why we’re doing it.

This is a rugmaking classroom environment that you can return to over and over again. Maybe you are stumped on a technique that we haven’t covered in our training? Maybe you need a quick demonstration of HOW to solve a problem? Thanks to recent advances in technology we can easily create a quick demo for you and upload to the vault. Usually within 24 hrs! How’s that for Support!

The rug making trade is just like any other. You start with baby steps, you learn how to use the tools and naturally you expand on what you’ve learned. In my early stages in the trade, I started by making a few small rugs. I new absolutely nothing about rug design. In fact, I was pretty damned nervous about what I was getting myself into, including the first time I met with a prospective client. It does get easier with a little practice. In truth, I am convinced that the key is to face those fears by shrugging them off… look the other way, make fun of the fear voices and don’t take those doubts too seriously. It worked for me.

Let’s take a look at rug design.

Rug design can be viewed in the same way, by taking small steps. Start with simple designs, then explore different styles, themes, and cultural influences. Rug designs can originate from core themes. Nature is a core theme that inspires most textile design in some way or another.

Flowers, plants, animal prints, and landscapes can all be integrated into a rug design. Another inspiration in rug design is architecture. Modern design is especially suited for this style of rug making that is also known as custom rug fabrication. Clean simple lines found in modern art or abstract art and architechture are easy to replicate in a custom rug.

Rug design gets tricky when you begin to focus on complex design themes. A typical Persian rug design has layers of complexity and pattern repeats. These complex layers are difficult to replicate in custom rug fabrication. As the complexity levels increase, so does the price of the rug. It’s not unusual to see a production timeline of 6-9 months for a Persian rug. This is not a realistic timeline if you expect to make a living from rug making. Instead you are better off producing a rug in one week, or better yet, three days. Can it be done? Sure it can.

In my experience, I have learned to compromise by finding a comfortable middle ground in rug design. I do enjoy stretching my skills by pursing some of the more detailed designs that I find, however, I must also be mindful of my clients budget. While the design might be striking in it’s original context, or the first draft, it’s always best to have a backup strategy in your design layouts. Try to think in terms of Good - Better - Best when you are creating a design. If you take this advise to heart when you meet with your clients then you will have a few options, at different price points with ‘Best’ being the most expensive. This is the smart way to go about selling your services.

I will discuss more of these steps in future posts. You can always subscribe to this feed by clicking on the Orange Button at the top of this page.

As Always,

Russell Webb

I am walking around my work table with a sense of relief and a small dose of pride - I like to think that I’ve learned to keep the ego in check. As I stare down at one of our latest creations, I can’t help but wonder what led me down this path to Rug Making. Long story short - I was already in the carpet trade and it was a natural evolution, plain and simple. While this meager explanation doesn’t really touch on the mystery behind why we choose our different career paths, I like to think there’s some purpose to it all… In my case, maybe I was just meant to be a rug maker? Who knows, maybe it’s your calling as well?

Years of training and practice have culminated into this beautiful creation - see pics below. This was a custom rug that required so much of our time and energy… was it worth it?

Absolutely.

Most people are surprised that rugs like these are being produced in America, let alone in small workshops and garages. This fine craft of rug making is alive and well in America.

I wouldn’t recommend this level of complexity for beginners. Repeat patterns like these can test your sanity. However, on the flip side, it can be a wonderful meditative process where you get lost in the work and time flies by like the wind.

We actually made two of these rugs for the same home. This client had just built their home. The layout of the home featured two similar spaces within a great room. One space had a formal dining table and chairs and the other space had a lounging area with two sofas.

We captured some video of this rug in production. This rug had very little carving and sculpting. The client requested a designer style look and feel with no carving, invisible edge binding, and the look and feel of a tufted wool rug. This is not hard to do in custom rug fabrication. We have a precise method that we follow to achieve this look. After the inlay, we did extensive clean-up, then top-sheared the rug carefully.

This first picture is the final version of the artwork. In this case we used the computer to generate the renderings we needed. This is advanced level stuff, not to be confused with beginning levels. It takes time to get to this stage. For example the artwork that you create can be hand drawn and very basic. This is how I got started as well. All of my earlier artwork was created by hand.

In late 2007 we worked on a custom rug project for the Air Force. We recorded a ton of video footage for our online Vaultarea. We’ve clipped a few highlights from this footage and uploaded to Youtube.com.

This was an intricate project that required a lot of hours. We had a blast working on it too. Here are a couple of links to the videos:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uRSvCoMeCuk

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=a3EVQvWSKSU

As I have mentioned in earlier posts, the affluent market continues to buy high priced goods during recessive periods. The economic ‘hard times’ do not impact this demographic as hard as it does the middle-class segments.

At Mastercraft Carpet Makers we have been through a smaller scale recession during the early 90’s and sailed right through. As we gauge the current pulse of the carpet industry, we can see some nervous tension coming from carpet dealers throughout the country. Just as the housing market has come to a screeching halt, we have seen a direct impact on floorcovering sales and installations, with one clear exception: the affluent market.

This luxury market has grown since the early 90’s. For the last decade, the luxury category has grown anywhere from 20% - 32%. In the U.S. alone, luxury is a $400 billion market. Authorities estimate that it will grow at a rate of 15% a year and will become a $1 trillion market by 2010.

Tapping into this market isn’t difficult.
Yes - you need to be a professional stand-up operation.
Yes - you need to create a good quality product.
Yes - you need to present your products with confidence.
I’ve had a great time dealing with some of these wealthy clients, finding inspiration in their success, and learning HOW they did it. In fact, you will probably make some very important connections as you spin around in these higher finance orbits.

Just for the record, the floorcovering dealers that have diversified their service offerings are the ones who survive tough times like these. The smart ones establish alternative revenue streams. They invest in tools and equipment that will generate additional income. Starting a rug-binding business is one solution. Setting up a rug making workroom is another solution.

Our training programs are designed to accelerate these alternative business start-ups through the learning curve in 30-60 days. Once your rug-workroom foundation is built, then it’s time to start adding as many services as you think you can handle - here’s peek at some of the services that you can offer:

• wall to wall insetting
• corporate logo rugs
• fine art tapestries
• custom carpeted staircases
• custom area rugs
• fabric border rugs
• rug binding: cove base, rugs, etc…

I’ve covered most of these services in separate posts on this blog. I’ve written over 20 articles that are featured on my websites. I’ve created demonstration videos that teach you exactly how to make these amazing rugs. Check out our training programs and get started in an exciting and rewarding career. Call us today at 877-784-5646.

Here’s an insider’s peek at the myriad themes that are available to custom rug fabricators. These themes will always stand the test of time because they are, in essence, timeless. Any student of art history will recognize several recurring themes that are as strong today as they were a thousand years ago.

• Animal print designs

• Floral prints & designs

• Geometric patterns & designs

While these design themes may be timeless, they all have something in common, yes… our unforgettable connection with nature. Each of these design themes are supported by plenty of accessories, fabric selections, and art & sculpture. This makes it a whole lot easier to find or even create rug designs that tie-in with the theme. [Read more →]

Brand identity is integral to any marketing strategy. A classy looking rug with a corporate logo is another opportunity to create a valuable first impression of the corporate brand name.If you want to make a special statement, then an average logo mat won’t do. This is where the specialty of Custom Rug Fabrication enters the picture.

It’s really not too complicated. Typically the rugs are made from a high quality commercial grade carpet. The logo is then transferred onto a template. This template is then used to create the logo in carpet. The logo colors are carefully selected and then inlaid into the field carpet. If necessary, colors can be matched through the Pantone color matching system. [Read more →]

Excellent quality large scale tapestries can be produced easily using broadloom carpet. Carpet styles can range from lighter weight, commercial grades to heavier plush grades. Often these styles can be blended together to create a more textured tapestry. Here’s a closer look at what’s involved in producing a larger scale tapestry.

Top notch installation crew - Proud of their work

Step One: Design Concepts – The bigger the scale, the easier it is to capture details in a broadloom tapestry. The complexity factor will effect pricing. If there’s a tight budget, then reducing complexity is the easiest way to bring costs down. How many colors are involved? What materials will be used? Costs on large scale wall tapestries can range from several thousand to tens of thousands. [Read more →]

When I got started as a custom rug maker, I admit I was in it for the money and a much needed career change. Since then I’ve had decorative rugs featured in Designer Showcase Homes, Corporate Headquarters of numerous Fortune 500 Companies, and even a Generals office in the Pentagon. It’s been a great ride. But what if you don’t care about all that, maybe you don’t want a career change? What if you’re just looking for a creatively rewarding hobby that’ll blow the socks off your friends or family? Here’s a quick guide to decorative rug making in 5 easy steps.

Step One – Learn the Basics: What’s the best approach to learning how to make a rug? Do some research, identify the different techniques used for rug making. You’ll find basic teaching guides for latch-hook rug making kits that that will tickle Granny Smith’s fancy. If the antiquated latch hook rug-making techniques make you *yawn*, then keep your eyes open for more comprehensive custom rug fabrication programs that are designed for more serious hobbyists and entrepreneurs. [Read more →]