Rug supplier

[livias]

Happy New Year!
A couple of times in the past I have been told about an importer who has a warehouse in (I think) west London full of persian / turkish /oriental rugs. I am told that most of the rug retailers buy their stock there and that I should go direct. Of course at the time I had no need of rugs so I filed the information away in the deep recesses of my brain as 'vaguely useful'. Now that i am in need of several rugs I am wondering if anyone can tell me a name or other details?

 

[Andys]

We're on the lookout for rugs too, ones on the internet seem to sell for (to me) huge sums, even on ebay. I thought a tatty one might be cheaper but even ones with chunks missing seem wildly popular:-/

 

[MikeG]

The air-fare to Morocco would be more than covered by the savings if you want to buy more than a couple of rugs. Get a holiday in one of the most interesting countries in the world whilst you're at it. Don't forget to be patient when discussing your purchase, and walk away if the price doesn't come down to your expectations.

 

[paulc]

One word of caution though - There are size limits on hand and checked luggage, so you might want to pick a small rug should you go shopping in Morocco.

 

[88v8]

We bought an internet rug from a trade seller whose name escapes me, it had undisclosed badly executed repair work. After the purchase, they went strangely silent and I had no returns address. Fortunately we were able to conceal the offending area beneath furniture.

Otoh, we bought another elsewhere which was fine.

In both cases, cannot find a record of the seller, too long ago, so this is not a very helpful observation but the takeaway is that you may be lucky, or not.

However.... the internet does not necessarily give a good colour rendering. And carpets photograph very differently with and against the pile. And one can't judge thread count from a picture.
So now we only buy in real shops.
Recently, a few rugs and wall hangings here
https://jenningsrugs.co.uk/

John Lewis also have a good oriental carpets department in their big stores.

A quality carpet will last a lifetime.

Ivor

 

[noj]

These guys have a huge selection (and very cheap) in a lockup in Penge - http://stores.ebay.co.uk/ARMIN-CARPETS-0208-127-1815

 

[MikeG]

One word of caution though - There are size limits on hand and checked luggage, so you might want to pick a small rug should you go shopping in Morocco.

They do have post in Morocco, you know!

 

[livias]

Thanks

Penge may be the supplier I am looking for. Pity if so cos it is completely the wrong side of London so a pain to get to from here. I will keep asking around and report back if I get info about anywhere else.

I have wondered about getting rugs in their home territory eg Morocco and getting them shipped back but I also wonder about customs charges which might alter the price considerably. Has anyone actually done this? It seems to methat if I can find someone in this contry who imports by the container load I might be able to haggle perfectly well here and then drive away with said rugs in the back of my van and no risk of ' wrong rug' 'rug gone missing in post' etc etc

I have bought rugs via ebay before and it was fine, though that supplier no longer exists. I agree that colour matching is tricky and unlike last time when I bought rugs then curtains, this time I have already got the curtains courtesy of the Grand Oriental Hotel so the rugs have to be spot on for colour

Quality of rugs and price varies enormously and before I shopped last time i tried to do some research on this but having got my head in a spin i decided that it is an area of expertise which cannot be quickly learned and so yet againI plan to pick the cheapest rug which has a colour and pattern and newness which suit me and ignore all extras like 'hand made by virgins at dawn' :roll:

 

[paulc]

If you are prepared to head out East, there is a rug supplier in Norwich - http://www.orientalrugsofnorwich.co.uk

Absolutely no idea if their prices are competitive or reasonable, but they have been occupying the same shop for as long as I can remember.

 

[mims&pip]

Hi Livias

I can't help with a specific supplier in West London - although I do recall visiting one such with my parents many years ago (not much help :roll: ) - but do have some experience of searching for/buying period rugs. There was a supplier - daughter and her father - that used to be in Hitchin (if I recall correctly, this was about eight years ago!). They had some lovely rugs when we visited their 'showroom' and also carried out restoration work. Unfortunately I think they moved to another part of the country and although I used to get email updates from them, I changed email addresses and can no longer remember the name of the company.......

We've had some success buying rugs on ebay, but mainly from individual, private sellers. I think we've purchased about five this way. A couple of vintage Liberty rugs were picked up on 'buy it now' sales for a fraction of the cost of buying new - we do have a new one, purchased from Liberty in 2008 for £2100 :shock: - and another hard to find Arts & Crafts style rug that was only a couple of hundred £££. In the case of the two larger rugs, we collected ourselves which meant we could check the colours out in real life, as Ivor is definitely right in saying that colours vary from one monitor to another. One ebay experience was less successful.......the seller insisted the rug - that looked quite small in the pics - was a 12' x 9', but when our courier delivered it it turned out to be only 9' x 6'. We received a partial refund, but had to resell it as it was too small for our requirements, so a complete waste of time. Quality and condition-wise we've had no issues though and there do still seem to be bargains out there if one is prepared to wait and keep hunting.

Currently I'm searching for a 12' x 9' oriental style rug in shades of olive green/burnt orange/aubergine/gold. A big ask!!! If anyone comes across one in their rug travels, I'd be delighted to hear about it!

Mims x

 

[jocelyn plummer]

The supplier in Hitchin was Simon------?????? cannot remember his surname ---- gone now, and my ex has the rugs we bought from him !!!!!!!!!!!! The name of the warehouse we are all trying to identify is actually just off the MI in North London and infuriatingly I simply cannot remember the name----- agghhhhhh there must be somebody on here who knows it----

 

[paulc]

David Wilkins, Leon Norell, Rama Carpets - There are a couple more names showing in the Staple's Corner area of London, all within walking distance of each other.

 

[jocelyn plummer]

Ah ha!! Staples Corner--that's it----- however those three names do not ring a bell so it must be one of the others.

Pip & Mims --Simon Horn----think that's the surname !

 

[livias]

Wow! Staples Corner seems to be be centre of the Rug World. Other names are

Oriental Rug Experts (prob not this one it has only been open one year)
World of Rugs
London House Rugs Warehouse (This one maybe?)
Ahwazian Oriental Rugs (prob not this one which looks good but expensive)

Any of those ring a bell Jocelyn?

 

[Penners]

If you're looking for the real McCoy, traditional wool or silk antique oriental rugs, then don't bother to read this post any further.

But if you're relaxed about new rugs in modern materials, then you might want to have a look at this website:-

http://www.irugs.co.uk/

We ordered a 'traditional' rug from them a little over a year ago, and we are delighted with it. It's in a beautiful traditional pattern/colourway, and although it's polypropylene, you'd never know that it isn't wool. It's 9ft x 12ft, cost £399 and is beautifully made.

Don't be fooled by the '.co.uk' website, or the London address - it's actually an American company (in North Carolina I believe). But our rug arrived five days after we ordered. When I phoned them* to ask for a particular detail I got an American woman with broad Southern accent who was very obliging. I thanked her for her help and she said, "Sir, for a gen'leman with a Bridish accent like yours, Ah'd oblige with innythang".

Mind you, she was about 5000 miles away, so probably felt she was quite safe making that offer!

I don't know whether other customers have received as satisfactory a product and service as we did, but I can only relate our own experience.

* You won't get an answer unless you call late in the day, when America has woken up!

 

[Zebra]

I just bought one, a second hand imported natural wool one - Persian/Oriental - from A2ZRugs on Ebay. They are in London.
The bidding for rugs sized around 2m x 1m was coming in at around £40 every time, so that is what I paid.
In the end, I changed my mind - it just didn't suit the house somehow - and they had absolutely no qualms about me returning it and giving me a refund.
http://stores.ebay.co.uk/A2Z-Rug-UK

 

[jocelyn plummer]

Livias-- none ring a bell I am afraid, but we are talking about 30 years or so ago--- I suspect that it is an area with a rapid changeover of products/owners etc. Reading through your thread I think that you have been given a wide enough choice to find something to suit your requirements--- have you though of keeping an eye on your local sale rooms--- occasionally there are some rugs in reasonable condition.

Penner's advice is good--if he is satisfied then the rug must be good!!!! :roll:

 

[JoceAndChris]

Another big thumbs up for irugs from me! Love that company. Huge choice, fabulous photos online giving very good colour indication, and as Penners said, they arrive from the States super fast! I've now bought three - not the polypropylene ones but hand knotted ones in wool. Each time I phoned the company and haggled another £150 off! Even without that discount these rugs seem to be way cheaper than other online shops.

For the drawing room I wanted an aged Aubusson and found one in a huge warehouse in Wembley that houses around 50 carpet dealers. It's an interesting place but I prefer irugs where each rug is photographed carefully. It needs to be a considered decision at home not one you're pushed into by a salesman in the shop!

 

[Penners]

I phoned the company and haggled another £150 off!

Damn - I wish I'd tried that! Well done, Joce!