Rug Construction
Townhouse Galleries stands behind the quality and construction of our rugs. We have been partners with the Orient Express company for over 25 years. Their rugs truly are exceptional and the construction of these rugs meets the quality you have come to expect when you shop at Townhouse Galleries. Remember our permanent rug showroom is located at our Huntsville furniture store. We hope you will agree that our rugs are among the best in the Huntsville--Madison--Athens--Decatur, Alabama area.
The rugs that you will find on the showroom floor are hand-knotted in weaving centers in India, Pakistan, Iran, Nepal, China, and Mongolia.
Preparation and Design
Because the designs of the rugs are very detailed, each rug has its own diagram, which we refer to as the "cartoon". The design team draws every cartoon by hand based, in part, from fashions and feedback culled from high-end furniture stores, premier interior designers and their firms, top-quality furniture manufacturers and other retailers of similar prestige around the world.
The rugs are hand-knotted from 100% New Zealand wool for resiliency and ease of cleaning.
Raw, unprocessed wool is separated for the long white fibers, then washed and carded before spinning and plying. Sometimes we use modern machines to create strong and uniform yarns, and sometimes tribal weavers do this by hand, for a rougher texture and more "antique" feeling.
Dyeing
The yarn is then dyed in a variety of colors using either natural materials, such as plants or crushed insects (known as vegetable dyes), or modern-day chemicals. The weaving centers use standard chemical dyes in an enclosed retort so that the hues and shades in your rug are always even and color-fast.
Weaving
The basic foundation the rug the warp, which can be cotton, wool, or silk. A cotton warp is used to maintain uniform tension on the loom, which keeps the carpets straight when completed. Warps run the entire length of the rug and make up t he fringe, or selvage, at the ends.
The weavers first tie a row of knots onto the warp. They then insert a think weft, followed by a thick weft cross-thread. Pounding down the wefts a steel comb, weavers lock the knots in place. Then another row of knots is tied. The weavers refer to the cartoon, placed on the loom at just above eye level, to adhere to the design and choose the appropriate color from nearby balls of dyed yarn.
Craftsmanship
The skilled and experienced master weavers continue centuries of family heritage in Orient Express Rugs weaving centers around the world. They work in large, well-lit, ventilated workshops--usually as a team on wide rugs, or by themselves on narrow rugs.
After months of weaving, the rugs are removed from the loom and washed many times in fresh water to remove dust and stray yarns, as well as to tighten up the rug before final shearing and finishing. Orient Express does not use chemicals in these washes, as many rug importers and manufacturers do, to speed up the fading process for a more "antique" look. The rugs are then dried completely in the sun, rather than by machine dryers or fans--again, to preserve the life of the valuable rug.
Quality Control
Quality control is rigorous and comprehensive. Orient Express Rugs employs inspectors full-time to oversee every step of the rugmaking process--from the receipt of raw wool, to dyeing, to weaving, to the final washes. The rug may only be approved all the way to its last drying in the sun, only to be rejected because of a small imperfection which the casual observer may not even see, but which is not tolerated. In fact, as many as 30% of our rugs are rejected and never imported. The rugs must meet innumerable demanding tests to ensure its beauty and performance. Add to that the quality of the materials--especially 100% New Zealand wool, which is naturally resilient to dirt and soil--and our rugs might be the only things in your home or office that you will never need to worry about replacing.