Hand woven rugs, a dying art form in a changing world

The one thing you can say with certainty about the world today is that it is changing so quickly that very little is truly certain. The last hundred years have seen significant changes in nearly every industry. Modernization happens fast and with it comes great benefit to our society. Unfortunately, this benefit is often coupled with the loss of skilled labor, hand crafted goods, and traditional techniques. As sad as we at Serafian’s are to say it, weaving is proving to be no exception to this.

Right now, the question is not “Will traditional hand-weaving die off?” so much as it is “When and how will hand-weaving die off?” In the last ten years alone, we have seen significant dropoff in production from China, Persia (Iran), and India. The internet has changed the game of retail in ways few could have predicted. The impact of globalization is being felt keenly by the weaving industry. War, politics, and economics have created vast changes and challenges and there is little doubt that weaving has been heavily impacted by these factors. By far, the biggest factor in this change is the blooming and modernizing economies of the Middle and Far East.

Woman working at the loom. Oriental Muslim national crafts. Focus on the fabric. — Hand weaving is one of the most time consuming and labor intensive art forms on the planet..

Economic realities change fast. This is doubly true for countries with emerging economies. As an art form, weaving is very time consuming. Rugs are built literally one knot at a time, each thoughtfully placed and tied in by hand. A large hand woven rug can easily take over a year to make. By contrast, that same rug may only ever command a top price of a few thousand dollars. When you take into account the markups of various retailers and wholesalers, for an entire year’s worth of work, a skilled weaver may end up taking home less than one thousand dollars. It becomes easy to see how in a burgeoning economy the job of weaving eventually makes less and less sense.

Dyed Wool - 02.jpg — Every step in the weaving process takes both time and skill. Even the “simple” act of dyeing wool is an art form in and of itself.

On the other side of the coin, but equally devastating to the hand weaving industry, are machine woven rugs. A large machine woven rug can be finished in a matter of hours instead of months or years. A machine woven rug will easily cost a third or less the price of a similarly sized hand woven rug. While the quality is not the same, their rapid, repetitive, and commoditized production actually lends itself to our modern internet driven marketplace. This creates even further pressure on the hand weaving industry, forcing many weavers to look elsewhere for employment.

While it is difficult to predict exactly when hand weaving will die out, it is easy to see its end on the horizon. There aren’t many art forms out there that are as time consuming and labor intensive and weaving. With so much time and effort behind the weaving industry, modernization, simplification, and change become inevitable. While it will be sad to see these treasures of the middle East disappear, it is easy to understand the forces behind this change. Time keeps moving forward, the world keeps changing, and one thing that is certain certain is that the weaving industry will change with it.

By Matt Gabel

Matt Gabel is the Retail Manager at Serafian’s Oriental Rugs. He has been working closely with rugs for over 25 years. Serafian’s offers free pick up and delivery in the Albuquerque metro area. For more information, call (505) 504-RUGS or go to serafians.com

Know your fibers! – What to look for and be aware of when shopping for your ideal rug.

When you are looking to buy an oriental rug, is your first thought, “What material is this rug made out of?”. If not, it probably should be. For centuries, the standard has been to weave rugs out of wool or silk. Both of which are great fibers. Here at Serafian’s, we have seen how the industry has been changing in big ways. Over the course of these last years new fibers have found their way into the marketplace. In additional to wool and silk, we are seeing a lot more rugs made of both olefin and viscose.

Serafian's 2016 — Knowing how long a fiber will last under traffic is an important questions when buying an oriental rug.

Wool and silk are by far the best fibers for rugs. Both wear incredibly well over time, insulate and protect your floor, and are even stain resistant on their own. Wool in particular has been has been the weaving standard for centuries. An average wool fiber has lanolin, the sheep’s natural oil, present in it. This helps to give the wool both body and pliability. A wool fiber can bend and flex hundreds of thousands of times over its life. This flexibility is key to its durability as a fiber. When properly cared for, good wool in a rug will last a century or more.

In the middle of the spectrum is olefin. Olefin is plastic that has been refined to look and feel like carpet fiber. The upside to this fiber is that is often comes from post consumer plastic, essentially recycled materials. The empty water and soda bottles that clog our rivers and oceans can be stretched, spun, dyed, and reused to make colorful decorative rugs for your floor. The downside is that it just doesn’t have the lifespan of good wool rugs. Where wool remains flexible for its whole life, olefin eventually begins to become stiff and will more readily start to break down. Where a wool rug will last a century or more, a good olefin rug is usually made to last 10 to 15 years. However, olefin rugs tend to be very inexpensive and while not as long lived as wool rugs, are generally a very good value for the money.

Lastly, at the bottom of our list, is viscose. Unfortunately, viscose fibers are a recent and very popular trend. Viscose is treated plant fiber that has chemically been made to look and feel like silk, but beware as this imposter is anything but! Silk is much more difficult to make in quantity and much higher in quality than viscose. Like wool, silk is a protein fiber that will last for years. By comparison, viscose breaks down quickly, losing its luster and plushness. This is due to the fact that plant fibers in general tend to lack the flexibility. Where protein fibers such as wool and silk will bend and flex, plant fibers such as cotton, jute, and viscose will much more quickly break down. This leads to an average life span that is much shorter.

Let the buyer beware. It is very common to see viscose rugs called silk by unscrupulous or even unknowing retailers, but there is a sure fire test to know which fiber you are looking at. Cut and take a small amount of the material in a set of pliers, burn it, and smell the smoke lifting off it. Viscose and similar cotton fibers smell like paper when burned where silk smells like burning hair. Where good wool and silk rugs can last for a century or more and olefin will last for a decade or two, I expect that most Viscose rugs will have an average life span of 5 to 10 years before real problems start to develop.

Two rugs on the floor — A Good wool rug can last for generations. Olefin rugs will tend to wear out after ten to fifteen years and viscose rugs with likely wear our within five to ten.

For this reason, when you look to buy a good rug, it is always important to ask what it is woven with. Knowing what material your rug is made out of will quickly tell you a lot about its longevity. By no means is this the only factor in durability, but it is without a doubt the most important.

By: Matt Gabel

What’s Hot in Home Decor for 2017

Social media has changed the way we decide on what’s hot and what’s not. Ten years ago, fashion was what the industry told you it was. Today, fashion is what we, as a community, make it. In 2017 what’s trending is anything eclectic and rustic.

If there are “Looks” that can be called the forerunners of 2017, they would be Industrial Farmhouse, Rustic Americana, and once again Boho Chic. Each of these styles brings a unique mix of traditional, contemporary, and personal styles.

Boho Chic epitomizes personal style and choice. Rich with color, bold, and full of unique character, Boho Chic was the go-to fashion pick of 2016 and will remain big in 2017. Decor in a Boho Chic home springs up from a single focal design point, like a colorful rug, a bright and beautiful wall hanging or tapestry, or even a unique statuette. From there, the sky’s the limit. Bright and bold, jewel tones, flowing fabrics, and disparate design elements are at the heart of Boho Chic. If you love it, it works, that’s the bottom line. Fill your space with color and kitsch and you have achieved that Boho chic look.

Similar, but with it own distinct twist, is Rustic Americana. A more aged and classic look, Rustic Americana opts for a slightly more conservative and muted design approach. Painted wood furniture, rescued looks, and warm earth and wood tones form the basis of Rustic Americana. Think old and American. Don’t be afraid to let your inner patriot out a little when decorating with this theme. American flags can be hand painted onto nearly anything from dilapidated wooden furniture to old metal toolboxes. Quilted fabrics, aged wood colors and textures, hooked and braided rugs, and (of course) the stars and stripes really pull the look together. Much like with Boho Chic, a space can be brimming with unique and stylized pieces.

Then lastly is my personal favorite, Industrial Farmhouse. Much like Rustic Americana, this look combines aesthetic of reused items and the warm feel of wood and earth tones. However, it has an overall much cleaner look incorporating a lot of metal, white, and grey tones. As the name implies, this look uses a considerable amount of metal. The look uses mixes of metal and wood showing up in furniture, accent items and accessories, and even in unique spots, with items like paper towel and key holders. Brass, copper, and steel tones all work together to create a very distinct and clean, yet cozy feel. Stark white counter tops and couches are used alongside colorful accents. Simple and elegant rugs such as the Magnolia Home line from Joanna Gaines are used along side rich blue and rust pillows or throws with simple geometric patterns create depth and color.

With both Boho Chic and Rustic Americana, the look can be almost cluttered. Think of it as organized chaos. There is tremendous space to create and develop one’s own personal style. With Industrial Farmhouse, the look is more structured, but clean and inviting. The space can feel very relaxed and open while at the same time cozy. While the first two invite you to get lost in the eccentricities of the decor, the latter invites you into the room to kick up your feet, take a deep breath, and just relax.

In 2017, there’s a “hot” look for your home, whatever your personal aesthetic is. From eclectic and kitschy, to clean and comfortable, 2017 is going to be a great year for making your space beautiful, fun, and most importantly: you. Happy New Year!

By: Matt Gabel

Transform A Room By Changing the Rug

Sprucing up a room design doesn’t have to require a huge budget. In fact, using an area rug can completely transform the look and feel of any room. House & Home editors Joel Bray and Jennifer Koper devote a YouTube video to showing three completely different looks by changing only a rug. See it here at:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KLFP1I-pSFc

A good rug cannot only be the focal point of the design, but it can become the foundation of color and structure around which everything else can be added.

Rugs are a time consuming and difficult to create art form. A hand-woven living room sized rug can take months if not years to make. Because of that, you are much more limited in your options with rugs than with almost any other part of your design process. It is easy to find fabric to match a rug, but much more difficult to find a rug to match a fabric. Let the size of the rug, the shapes of its design, and the colors in it field and border guide your design process.

The first rule of thumb is to find a rug that you love and pick colors that complement. Unlike most furnishings, rugs can last for decades, even centuries, so find a piece you really love. Once the rug is found, find a couch or chairs that work well, drapes and blinds that complement the colors in the rug, and other design elements you want to incorporate with and around your decorating style.

Generally speaking, oriental rugs never really quite go perfectly with anything. But their colors can be used to anchor the design together. So when you follow this thinking, rugs tend to work with everything.

When designing, keep in mind space and proportion. The rug can overwhelm or cramp a space if it is not planned properly. Always use the old carpentry advice, measure twice, cut once, or in this case, measure twice, buy once. Give a minimum of a half-foot around the edge of the rug to help frame the space. More of a border is certainly acceptable, but when rugs crawl right up against the wall, they look awkward. If the rug just barely fits under your coffee table, it probably is too small, let it fill the room a little more. Additionally, since they are on your floor, rugs more than any other furnishings create and define the boundaries of your space. A larger rug will make a space feel more pulled together and coherent, where a slightly smaller rug can make a space look and feel more open and spacious.

Feel free to vary your textures. Varied textures in a space create interest and dimension. Whether your rug is a solid shag, an ornate Persian, or a simple tribal kelim, the texture of it is a great place from which to build the textures in your room. The smooth surface of a leather couch will contrast a tribal or shag rug. The rustic texture of a throw can offset the ornate design of classic Persian motifs.

As long as you keep color, proportion, and texture in mind, decorating around your rug is easy and a great adventure. If you are completely stumped or overwhelmed, the retail team at Serafian’s Oriental Rugs are always available to help. Just take a picture of your space and we will find the right pieces to pull it all together.

By: Matt Gabel

BoHo Chic – The Latest in Home Style Trends

Colorful and kitschy, BoHo Chic has dominated the fashion industry for years and has recently expanded into home décor. With clothing styles popularized by such names as Sienna Miller, Kate Moss, and Mary Kate and Ashley Olsen, BoHo Chic has moved from the closet to living rooms, bedrooms, and more. It is the unconventional marriage of Bohemian colors and 1960s design sensibilities. Imagine an explosion of color and design flowing together in a brilliant menagerie of draperies, rugs, throws, and accent items, and you have an idea of what BoHo Chic for the home means.

BoHo Chic is all about breaking from the humdrum decorating norms. BoHo derives from “Bohemian Homeless.” It embraces not only decorating on a budget, casting aside the expensive and extravagant, but finding one’s own sense of color and design. Chic, of course, is all doing it with style!

To bring BoHo Chic into your home, begin with a bright and colorful unique tribal piece – perhaps a rug or wall hanging. This piece will be the centerpiece of your design, which can be surrounded with functional, simple, often solid colored furniture giving the space body.

One person who specializes in BoHo Chic is Joanna Gaines, known for her HGTV Fixer Upper Show. In addition to using BoHo Chic techniques in her show, she has launched a line of BoHo Chic rugs part of the Magnolia Home collection. The rugs can be utilized as the centerpiece of your BoHo Chic home design.

What Joanna says is: “The right rug can become the centerpiece of a room when it’s paired with the right space. The perfect one should be a continuation of the story your home tells, so whether you love bold, bright and patterned, or soft, neutral and subtle, there’s something in this rug collection that will speak to you— no matter your style.”

The Magnolia Home line of unique BoHo Chic rugs is available in New Mexico only at Serafian’s Oriental Rugs on Wyoming & Constitution or online at serafians.com.

Once the perfect rug has been found, continue your BoHo Chic design with a plethora of colorful throws and unique and eye catching items to accent and give depth and dimension to the area. Remember to be different but complementary. Every element in the space should feel unique and kitsch but also flow together with the other pieces. For instance, the throw pillow stands on its own in color and design, but looks good with that neat statue or foot stool you found at the flea market. That rug pulls into the drapes, which pulls into the covers, but it’s clear that none were was quite made for the other.

When you decorate your room to be BoHo Chic, don’t shy away from bright, bold, and beautiful colors. Anything can work. It’s less about using what’s expected and all about using what you love. The only real rule is that there are no strict rules. BoHo Chic is all about creating the space that reflects the inner, expressive you. Afterall, what is can possibly be more Chic than being yourself?

By: Matt Gabel

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