Lost Rug Passion

I must apologize for my lack of blog writing. Nothing has change with work or anything, clients are still bring in dirty area rugs and taking clean and healthy ones home. The only thing that has changed is me.

I've lost my passion for area rugs. It got lost in the shuffle of the day to day and I am still working on getting it back. A month ago a client brought in a Gabbeh (my favorite type of rug) and that didn't get me out of it, but then about two weeks ago a Chobi area rug was brought in for cleaning and that stirred a little passion. It has been a while since we've had a Chobi in for cleaning and I love Chobi area rugs. I would like to blame my lack of passion for my job on my personal life, but I try very hard to keep my personal life separate from my job. Take today for instance I am dealing with a chipped heart and you would never know it, I just look a little tired (which I am). My co-workers know that I am not that happy inside but I am at work and that is what I am concentrating on.
Someone told me today that it was very brave of me to say that I was dealing with a chipped heart (I say chipped and not broken because it wasn't a long thing). I found this perplexing. Why would it be brave of me to admit that I was human and had feelings? I am a very open person and have no problem expressing myself, hence the chipped heart, but I understand that some people have a hard time with saying how they feel.
Okay enough of that back to work and my lost rug Passion.
This job I have of being the front shop "girl" has so many opportunities and potential. Unfortunately my boss cannot tap into all my creative wants but some it would be nice to do. I would love to learn how to do hand repairs, do surging and binding of edges and learn more about area rugs in general. I am a hands on learner so reading about rugs on the Internet doesn't keep my attention very long. I need to be able to feel, see and explore to understand fully.


Today I can feel autumn in the air. I have heard the ducks and geese staring their migration south, lucky birds. Soon it is back to school cleaning, same as spring cleaning just different month. We get a surge of area rugs to clean in Sept. because now that all the family and visitors have gone home it is time to freshen up and remove the summer time dirt. I just had a horrid thought: Soon it will be Thanksgiving (in Canada), then Halloween (my favorite holiday) and then GULP! Christmas. Where has the year gone? This picture is from our doorway, there were ducks in the picture, but by the time I focused the camera they were out of sight. It is a cloudy almost gloomy day here in Victoria, BC.
This has been one unforgettable year that is for sure, especially work wise. The fire will not be forgotten any time soon, mostly because of our shrunken office space. I miss having the tubes to store the rugs in. It was fast and easy to find the clients area rug, not so much now. I really really don't like taking 1-2 minutes looking for a rug when you know it is here, but then you get that sinking feeling that we called them too soon and their rug isn't ready for pick up. It makes me feel incompetent, a feeling I do not like to feel and have felt a lot since we had to move to our new location.
This is how we have our rugs that are ready to go home
These are the rugs that are five feet and under. I must add a little note to my boss. My feelings of incompetence and frustration are not directed towards him in any way. I miss our old shop and how it was setup and the system we had there. Change isn't one of my strong points, unless I am in control of it and the fire through me for a loop I wasn't prepared for emotionally. It wouldn't matter what if our new rug cleaning shop was the same size as our old one, it still wouldn't feel the same. It is like visiting a relative you haven't seen since you were young and the awkwardness that goes with that. That is how I feel, you have all the old memories, but they don't correspond to the current surroundings.
This is where the large rugs rest before going home.








Enough of that. I have explained my feelings toward the move from Oak St so many times now that I am sick of it so you probably are too.
Writing this blog today should help get me back on track and write more like I used to.
Thanks for reading RugloverMary

Around the World in a White Van

I mentioned that I would be going on a road trip around to Victoria's rug galleries. I did indeed do that on the 7th of Feb., but it was more of a trip around the Rug Belt. There are a lot of fabulous area rugs to be found in Victoria, B.C. It was great to meet the owners of the rug galleries, see what they specialize in, to find out what their top selling area is, and get a feel for their gallery. The knowledge I gained will help me better recommend where our clients can find the rug they want.
I went to seven rug galleries and was amazed at how different they all were. Victoria's rug galleries have everything from every day synthetic rugs, to hand knotted treasures and new designer modern rugs. I must admit that it was hard not to think about the cleaning difficulties of some of the rugs I saw. It would make my job easier if rugs came with cautions, such as- this rug it not recommended if you have pets. I am not looking forward to disappointing clients when they bring in one of those rugs. The rug I am talking about is very neat and fun, but cannot be thoroughly cleaned because the fiber type and construction of the rug.
I did happen to find the only Gabbeh rug in Victoria at one store. It was on the bottom of the pile and had two inches showing. They are my favorite kind of rug and are getting rare to find.
Thanks for reading, RugloverMary

Not Rug Related

Today I again only have a short time to write a few words. It was a mostly steady day of phone calls and clients picking up their clean area rugs. A little side note, next week I am on vacation so there will not be any posts from me. Don't get jealous I am only going to Edmonton, Alberta where there is snow and very cold temperatures. I am going to love it!
Okay, so for the last four hours, in between clients, I have been fixing a mail out list for my boss. I feel that I shouldn't of had to fix anything because the addresses should have been done correctly by the addressee.
When you fill out a ballot or a form to receive more information PLEASE fill it out completely-correctly-legibly.
It is a small inconvenience when you are doing a mail out and half of the stuff comes back because of insufficient information. Plus if you are from a different country there is no way to know if all the right address is there.
On a more upbeat note I am almost finished the mail out for our international clients and the day is almost over, so I get to go home and watch some hockey. Hopefully the Canucks can disappoint the Detroit fans tonight.!! I should mention that we received three Gabbeh area rugs today for cleaning, my favorite rugs. I felt bad that I didn't say much about area rugs today so I threw that in there for you.
Thank you for reading, RugloverMary

Rug knowledge from zip to overload

It is April 2006, I am stuck in a dead end postal job and have become surprising bitter after four years of it.
Enter a by-chance meeting with a friend and she tells me to apply to her work place. This is not the first time she has pushed me to apply, but this time I am ready for a change. It comes down to my mental health because there is nothing worse than dreading getting out of bed in the morning. It was time for me to break free of the postal handcuffs and breath again.

I meet the boss to my prospective new job at a coffee shop. Half way through the interview I could feel that I was losing the job. Panic set in as the question of 'where do you see yourself in 5 years?' fell upon my ears. I hate that question because I am not a personal goal type person. I like letting my day to day decisions and actions pave my future. That is to say I am not lazy but not a go getter, at the time. I fumbled through a half ass answer hoping that my lack of foresight did cost me a new job.

Needless to say I got the job! The job is working the front end of a rug cleaning plant. The scenario of a fish out of water comes close to how I felt for the first few months. All of my 14 years customer service was useless in the rug business. Slowly and surely I saw enough rugs and read until my eyes went cross and got to a point where I didn't need to be babysat by my co-workers. By the third month I knew what my top five favorite rugs were.

My all time favorite area rug is a wool Gabbeh. I love the bold colours, the plushness and the stick figure designs put randomly throughout. The next four aren't in any particular order of fondness. I like wool Belgians, quite possibly due to the mental association to Belgian chocolate. Next is the wool Turkish Kilims, the holes between the colours fascinates the crafty side of me. Third on my list is Moroccan because of two that came in the shop had a 3d effect to them. And even though the side wraps usually come off, I love Pakistan Bokhara rugs. They are a simple design and my favorite was a square rug in teal. I also enjoy it in a periwinkle blue. Last is the Chinese/Nepalese/Tibetan rugs. They are thick, plush and have wonderful designs and colours. All three have there own characteristics, but are similar enough that I can get away with classify them together and not step on any toes.

You are now wondering who is this woman who claims to love rug, but seems to only love the low end rugs?

I am a (yikes) 33 yr old woman living in beautiful Victoria, British Columbia, Canada. I am a crafty person. I love to crochet, scrapbook, write poetry, do jigsaw puzzles, cross stitch, well you get the picture. I have two dogs, a Jack Russell Terrier, Daisy, and a Chihuahua, Texas, and one cat, Skitters. I will not bore you with how cute and adorable they are and how much I love them. I am a fierce fan of the Vancouver Canucks, yes I know their history-I like the underdog and Swedes, and if you want to lose an hour of your day ask me about hockey. I can go on for awhile about it.

The wool rugs I have chosen as my favorites are not valuable rugs and probably aren't on any collectors radar, but because of the way they are constructed and the designs they appeal to me. I do appreciate all handmade wool rugs for the workmanship that goes into them. I recently read on the rug hub, a area rug cleaning forum, that every knot is a weaver's thought and that hits home with me.Until next time, RugloverMary!