We've been spending the last several months giving the rugs a deep washing and attending to many needed repairs. One example is a runner from the Lobby. The corner at one end was badly damaged. We recreated the design and stabilized the fringe (photos below) in addition to hand wrapping both edges of the rug with new wool.
If you visit the historic club, check out the competed runner along with the many other beautiful rugs scattered throughout the rooms.
Damaged Corner Before
After Repair
Repaired runner on Left - Image: Berkeley City Club
Noah Harms
"I have a rug from a client's house that really needs cleaning."
Our friend, Noah Harms, former owner of Something to Sell About (pictured right with partner Richelle Lieberman) brought us a client's gorgeous 1930's Persian Kerman rug to clean .
What's so unusual about that? Well, for starters, the rug hadn't been cleaned in many years, in fact, maybe ever. The end result was dramatic.
Jennifer Bowles
"I have a really threadbare rug...is there is any way to save it?"
Center section had many holes
We've had the pleasure of working with various members of the Bowles family for many years.
Jennifer brought in a rug that had been in her husband's family for three generations prior to being handed down to them. Nearly a century of use had taken its toll and the large 7' x 14' rug was quite threadbare down the center.
But Jennifer was determined to save it.
After transforming to a runner
The decorative side borders looked as though they had never been walked on.
Jennifer mentioned she needed a 3' wide runner for her home so we came up with the idea of putting the borders together to create a new rug.
We removed the borders along with a narrow section of the center rug design. After carefully lining up the patterns, we stitched everything together and the once large rug was transformed into a charming runner.
Original size (L) and reconstructed (R)
Kitty Margolis
"Remember the big Oushak rug you cleaned for me...? I am wondering if we might use the remnant to make a small area rug."
We love working with Jazz artist Kitty Margolis, so when she approached us with the question above, we were thrilled to help. She had an odd shaped, narrow remnant (below) cut from a large Turkish Oushak that had been in her family home. Being able to preserve a piece of her childhood meant a lot to Kitty, so we began to brainstorm.
Kitty's vision was to design a rug for an intimate sitting area. To achieve this, we removed the borders and cut the narrow remnant in half. Next we lined up the two cut pieces (one above the other) and stitched them together. Fringing the ends and wrapping the edges in a complimentary color (inset) completed the rug.
Success! The end result was a 5' x 8' fun lively rug that not only suited the room, but Kitty's exuberant, artistic personality.
