Expert Rug Making Programs for Entrepreneurs and Hobbyists

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 →]

By Mark Hunter

Sales is all about closing the deal, and in order to achieve that goal, a purchase price must be agreed upon. All salespeople, at one time or another, have had their price challenged. What do you do when that situation arises? As much as everyone in sales would like to consider themselves “great closers”, in reality, many are sissies when it comes to this important skill. They often boast about never discounting their product, but when they’re suddenly confronted on price, they fold faster than a cheap umbrella on a windy day. [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 →]

Why make average rugs, when you can make unique rugs that stand out from the crowd?

This is one of the many benefits that you will be offering to your clients. That is, having the ability to integrate a design into any unique shape. Think about it, how cool would it be to make a rug that features a unique shape that most people have never seen before? These shapes can range from the more common shapes like oval, round, and octagonal to the more uncommon free-form or organic shapes. It can be as simple as this example of a Palm leaf breaking out of the standard rectangular shape (center version).

Or as elaborate as a unique geometrical-like shape that you rarely see in a rug design. Something like this design below. [Read more →]

I’ve written a couple of articles on ‘wall to wall insetting’ here and here and I wanted to expand on this because there’s more to say on this subject. Here I’ll discuss a few points that haven’t been covered yet. The first point that comes to mind:Is this a revenue stream that you are interested in pursuing?

It doesn’t have to be on your list of business services that are offered. There are plenty of other avenues to make money in custom rug making. So you need to ask yourself… “Is this for me? Do I want to be tackling the added challenges inherent to this service?”. It may or may not be ‘for you’. If it’s not, that’s fine, you’re better off focusing your attention on areas that interest you - maybe you would rather produce Fine Art Tapestries or focus on the Logo Rug Market or just make smaller scale area rugs that reflect a popular theme. [Read more →]

We recently produced this extraordinary logo rug for a client. Can you guess where he worked? Yep, you guessed right. While I’m not a big fan of enormous military budgets and our current definition of foreign policy, I’ll do what I can to boost our troops moral. Anyway I look at it as a way to get some of my tax money back from the government! How warped is that?

This was one of two commissioned rugs for this client. We used a top quality commercial grade carpet that was heavy enough in weight 36-38oz so we could bevel and sculpt some of the details. The rug size was 8′ diameter. We also captured video footage of this project being produced. We will be uploading the videos in our secret online vault for trainees to study - this is for trainees only. Within the vault you’ll find some excellent ‘real time’ video footage that gives a clear perspective on how we tackle projects like this one.

UPDATE: Here are the links uploaded over at youtube - you can even select to view the demos in ‘high quality’ mode.

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

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

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As a Custom Rug-Maker, I have operated out of my garage as well as a light industrial workshop (pictured here). Let’s take a closer inside look at working from home.

Ok, first things first: it’s time to clear out that garage and have a garage sale. The hour has come to rid yourself of all those dusty treasures that you’ve been stashing away for years.

Here’s the logic: Why not generate some income with this space?

If you just worked part-time as a custom rug-maker and you really focused your efforts you can easily earn enough income from a 2 car garage space (usually 20×20 in size) to cover your mortgage / rent payments. If Hewlett and Packard could start an empire from their garage, then so can you!

Now that the garage is cleared and neatly organized, it’s time to build a few work tables. If you don’t have the tools, then call up a friend who does and get some help. You can always negotiate a trade, because the rugs you’ll be making will certainly be on everyone’s wish list, you’ll have to trust me on this last statement. Of course, you can buy prefabricated tables too; it’s just going to cost you more money. [Read more →]

By Russell Webb

Broadloom Tapestry
“Ancient Buddha”

Size: 48″ x 132″

Colors: 13

Estimated Value: $33,000

We all know that tapestries are rich in history, but did you know that tapestries date back as far as 3rd century BC in Greece? This form of textile art has a modern counterpart in the form of Carpet Sculpture. With recent advances in technology Carpet Sculpture has emerged as an attractive option for tapestry collectors and admirers.

Unlike woven tapestries, the medium of a carpet sculptor is broadloom carpet. The differences between the two methods are akin to a comparison between a flat 2 dimensional plane and a depth oriented 3 dimensional plane.

The common two dimensional tapestries are produced on vertical looms, whereas the three dimensional broadloom tapestries are produced through a sophisticated inlay process on horizontal table-top surfaces.

The 3-D effect is only established when the details of the tapestry are carved and beveled by a well trained carpet sculptor who uses a special high speed carving tool. This carving style can reflect simple clean lines or more advanced bas-relief like effects.

There are numerous carpet styles that can be integrated into a broadloom tapestry, these range from short dense pile heights to the thicker plush styles. Furthermore the style can have a loop element or even a patterned design. Often a tapestry will reflect a few broadloom styles within the whole composition. [Read more →]