Roll Out The Carpet
For Armenians, the intertwining of colors and designs in or rugs and carpets create the backdrop of life.
Armeninas have been involved in all aspects of the rug business for centuries. And we also repair, preserve, and exhibit these treasures. Rugs have stories to tell just as photographs do.
Cynthia Soghikian Wolfe of Olympia, Washington, relayed to us the story of one rug weaving family, the Kirishians of Sivas (Sepastia). When they were driven from their home during the Genocide, they carried with them three of their silk rugs as samples of their work. Two samples were shown along the way to spread the word of their rug weaving talents |
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so that by the time they reached Malatia, their reputation for weaving fine carpets was well known. Indeed, the governor of Malatia pulled them from among the doomed marchers and ordered them to weave a very large carpet for his personal use. During the two years it took to weave the rug, the Kirishian patriarch died, but his children survived by staying at their loom. When the family fled Malatia in 1919, they took the third rug with them. Eventually they found their way to the United States and today their descendants live in the state of Washington where they buy, sell, repair, and wash Oriental rugs. The surviving Silk Sivas, a vivid reminder of the fragile threads of life, now hangs in the home of the son of one of the original carper weavers. |
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19th-century Beginnings
Hello, I'm Richard Kirishian, the owner and founder of the RugSpa as well as a retailer of fine Oriental carpets (visit our retail rug website here). Our history began 100 years ago, when my grandparents began manufacturing hand-knotted wool Oriental rugs in Sivas, Armenia for export to America and Europe.
At the turn of the 20th century, Armenia was a troubled place. Civil wars and starvation drove thousands of Armenians to find new homes in other countries. Richard Kirishian, a third generation Oriental Rug Importer knew early on and recognized the need for his customers by offering Hand Washing quality rug cleaning throughout the United States and worked diligently to make professional oriental rug cleaning as easy and accessible as opening your front door for Fed. Ex. and U.P.S. to pick up the rugs. Richard developed his own exclusive Rug Transport Kit and now - coupled with the Internet - Richard offers qualified rug care regardless of your location in the continental United States. You can save Time, Gas, and Save Money. It also allows you maximum Convenience and maximum Value.
1920 - Kirishian Brothers Open First Retail Shop
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In 1920, my father Onnig and his brothers Aroot and Meger opened our family's first retail rug store. The popularity of hardwood floors in the first half of the 20th century created a huge demand for quality area rugs. My family couldn't make them sell fast enough. We needed new suppliers. My father and his brothers began traveling the world looking for high-quality hand-made rugs to sell in their newly adopted country. |
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I grew up in the business and was trained by my father, uncles, and other relatives in all aspects of the Oriental rug business. I've dyed, knotted, and woven quite a few rugs myself. I've been a rug importer for over 20 years. Like my father and his father before him, I have always been committed to offering my customers the very finest rugs for their money. |
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New Century: Offering Sales and Cleaning Services via Internet
Over the years, as customers and friends moved away, our store began to get referrals and new customers from faraway cities like Boston, Miami, New York City, Los Angeles, and Houston. Many of these new customers were rug owners looking for help in restoring valuable rugs damaged by their local commercial cleaners. They wanted a knowledgeable rug merchant they could trust and our loyal customers told them about us. As our rug restoration and cleaning business grew, I heard growing numbers of horror stories about damaged and destroyed rugs. Our biggest hurdle was how to get the word out about our rug-cleaning and restoration services. The dawning of the Internet and efficient delivery services like FedEx offered us a way to efficiently and cost-effectively process rug-cleaning and restoration orders around the world. As our nationwide rug-cleaning business has grown, I've continually upgraded our equipment to offer one of the most state-of-the-art professional rug-cleaning operations in the industry.
You can trust us with your fine rugs, even your priceless antiques. Your rugs will be returned to you thoroughly cleaned and beautifully restored. The patterns and colors will be just as vivid as when the rug was unrolled for the very first time. You have my word on it!
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