Oriental Rug Videos on You Tube!

I am adding new videos of rugs from my gallery to You Tube all the time. This first video is the navy Tree of Life rug that you see above.
Sometimes it's difficult to capture the magic of a rug in a photo so I'm enjoying making these available as time permits.

http://www.youtube.com/user/afsharlady?feature=mhum#p/u/6/nqol24hpBMI

Also added these videos recently.

http://www.youtube.com/user/afsharlady?feature=mhum#p/u/13/X3z7jSaXOJc

http://www.youtube.com/user/afsharlady?feature=mhum#p/u

If you would like to see more of my rugs, just check out my gallery page:
http://www.paradiseorientalrugs.com/gallery/

Hope you enjoy!

Another rug from Paradise! Navy Persian Bijar.

This Persian Bijar is 5'5" x 7'5". Timeless design woven with hand spun wool and vegetable dyes.
[This rug is sold as of a week ago...posted April 25, 2011]

[Bijar (Kurdish: بیجاڕ) is a city located in Kurdistan Province of Iran. Its estimated population as of 2006 is 46,156. With an elevation of 1883.4 meters, Bijar is called the Roof of Iran. en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bijar

From my definitions page:

BIJAR: A town in NW Iran (including the surrounding villages) where the rugs of this name are produced. Bijar rugs are woven by Kurdish weavers with an incredible originality and variation in the designs created. Bijar rugs are renown for their durability and have been nicknamed, "The iron rugs of Iran". The most famous BIJAR design is the GARRUS design, which you can see above.

http://www.paradiseorientalrugs.com/rug_definitions.html

To see more beautiful rugs go to:

http://www.paradiseorientalrugs.com/

In Honor of Martin Luther King

Just read an incredible post with some wonderful MLK quotes!
Worth reading on the subject of freedom:
http://markrathbun.wordpress.com/2011/01/17/what-is-freedom/

Selling your Oriental Rug on Consignment in the Bay Area or Sonoma County.

I am currently open to consignment sales of good quality hand woven Oriental rugs or runners, preferabley tribal in nature. Antique or new, but must be in good condition and clean. Persian tribal rugs are my first choice, but will consider any rug, if it has the magic! Small to large, OK.

Intersting and unusal pieces woven with vegetable dyes and hand spun wool or small silk rugs seem to find buyers easily in my gallery. If I don't think I can sell it, I will not waste your time. If you need to get the rug washed first we do handle washing rugs at my gallery so give a call. 

My shop is in Sebastopol, CA, so any consignment sales would work best if you are at least in the San Franscisco Bay Area.

http://www.paradiseorientalrugs.com/

If you have a rug or carpet (larger rug) you are interested in selling, send photos by email with size, age, any known info such as provenence to my email address, with your contact info:

afsharlady@aol.com

If you are more interested in selling the rug yourself, this article will give you some tips.

How to sell an Oriental rug, advise, value, where to sell, oriental rug consignment

Have a perfect Day!

Penny Krieger

Owner of Paradise Oriental Rugs, Inc.

137 No. Main St.

Sebastopol, CA

707-823-3355 Tues-Sat 12-5

Sunday, by appointment. Closed Monday.

I do not do appraisals so if you feel that is what you need first, Pamela Hiller is highly qualified and in Sonoma County.
http://www.hiller-restorations.com/rest.html

Oriental Rug Sale On Now! At Paradise Oriental Rugs in Sebastopol, CA!

Hello,

It's January and I am having a SALE. All rugs, including my fantastic Persian tribal rugs are currently 15% off with select rugs throughout my inventory 20-30% off. Sale will run for the next few weeks. Above are a few of the rugs at my shop that I consider exceptional.

Have a look! The below link will take you directly to my galleries.

http://www.paradiseorientalrugs.com/gallery/

Here is a link to my ARTICLES page with all the FAQS, about shipping out of state and yes, I do "on approval" even on SALE priced rugs. http://www.paradiseorientalrugs.com/article.html

There is additional info on how to ascertain value, when and if you need an appraisal, how to sell your Oriental rug and much more.

I carry Persian Gabbehs, Persian tribal rugs such as Qashqai, Bijar, etc., vegetable dyed Turkoman rugs, veg dyed Afghan rugs (Heriz, Sultanabad designs, etc...), Oriental rug trappings; saddle bags, bag faces (the front of an antique saddle bag, torbas (storage bags for nomadic weavers), sofrehs, which are eating cloths and actually very durable AND ballasht's which are woven to be pillows OR grain sacks to be tied to the side of a camel. Also I have a few pieces from some of the other rug producing countries, for example a dragon rug from Buton. I am always available for questions so here is my cell...your direct line!

Penny 707-536-5022

Email is good too as I am online frequently.

Happy New Year to You and my most sincere hopes for you to achieve the goals and dreams that you have put forth for this year!

http://www.blogger.com/www.paradiseorientalrugs.com

TheUnderCoverRugLover, aka Penny Krieger

In Appreciation.

Hello Rug Lovers,

If you are reading this blog, this would be my assumption.

Please accept my sincere wishes for a fantastic Holiday Season and my hopes for each and everyone of you to have a peaceful, prosperous and Happy New Year!

I personally would like to take the opportunity to give THANKS for all that I have. On a global scale I a wealthy beyond all conception, relative to what many in other parts of the world call life on a daily basis.

A warm, safe home to come to at the end of my work day. [Filled with beautiful rugs, which is even more amazing.]
Good, nutritious food to eat every day with a kitchen to cook it in!
A job that I love, that I created with little if any resources from a dream in my mind!
Adult brothers and sisters that all are still alive and with which I love and have shared much.
An abiding faith that if one tries hard enough for ANY goal, the universe will ultimately surrender and bring forth in actuality that which one seeks, notwithstanding tons of hard work!
Good health. Crossing my fingers on this one!
The talented and skilled weavers that create the beautiful rugs that I sell in my gallery.
And last but not least, my beautiful dog, Dante, that is my companion through life and makes me smile every single day!

I am also very thankful for those in the world that work tirelessly to improve the health of the environment, working conditions globally, human rights violations and fairness in business and trade, . They all have my tremendous admiration and support.

Additionally, I am thankful to each and every person that has ever done business in my retail gallery and all those that have contributed to my continued survival, including all of my wonderful wholesalers, as a retail seller of Oriental Rugs.

Sincerely,
Penny Krieger
AKA TheUnderCoverRugLover!

What Makes an Oriental Rug Valuable?

Here are some of the factors that I consider determine the value of a good quality hand woven rug or Oriental Rug.

1) Beautiful colors. Are you enchanted? Are the colors working harmoniously together?

2) Design details. Do you like the details of the design? I have seen a gorgeous rug with possibly one aspect of the design that did not sit right with me. The layout of the design is called the "drawing" in the trade. If the colors are beautiful and the drawing of the rug is artistically pleasing, you are off to a very good start.

3) Quality of the materials used. Most Oriental rugs are woven with wool, silk or cotton. Is the wool spun by hand or machine spun? Machine spun wool, even on a hand woven rug, costs less than hand spun wool. Additionally, there are different qualities of wool. The finer the wool, the more it costs. See my article, “How to Buy an Oriental Rug”.

Sometimes cotton is used in the foundation, such as the warps and wefts. On very fine silk rugs, usually the better pieces have silk foundations so then you have a piece that is 100% silk. This rug will cost more than a silk rug woven on cotton warps. Silk threads are finer and thus one can tie tighter knots. More work, more labor, better skill, higher price.

4) Quality of the dyes used and the skill with which they are applied. Vegetable dyes, sometimes called natural dyes, are costlier to produce and take experience and skill to apply. In the history of weaving, the master dyer was one of the most respected members of the tribal community. Additionally, he never revealed his secret formulas for creating the beautiful colors that made Oriental Rugs and Persian Rugs so famous throughout the world.

5) Skill of the weaving. Is the weaving even? How can you tell this? Flip over the corner of the rug and inspect the back. Are the lines and knots mostly even or zig zagging every which way?

6) Popularity and demand for a particular type of rug in the market place always affects price.

7) Availability. This is another important factor as if the type of rug is too scarce and highly sought after, such as certain antique rugs, prices can reach the stratosphere.

8) An additional consideration would be the cost of fuel as this can affect shipping prices.
Value of the American dollar in international markets also affect price here in the US.

9) For antique rugs: Condition, beauty, true verifiable age, rarity and market conditions all affect the value. How well it is marketed and the reputation of the seller, or auction house can also influence the price.

Best Thoughts,

Penny Krieger

The Undercoverruglover!

Owner of Paradise Oriental Rugs

My YouTube channel...Oriental Rug videos.

In the last few months, I have recently posted some videos on YouTube, featuring a few rugs in my gallery. One is a tour of my rug store but a number are detailed videos of specific rugs. When you have an odd moment you may want to take a look.

Best Thoughts,
Penny, the undercoverruglover!
Owner of Paradise Oriental Rugs

Gorgeous new rugs in, and more on the way!

In consideration of the current business climate, I am thrilled that in the last few months I have sold quite a few rugs.

As of yesterday, I just spent my last dime (a bit of hyperbole here) to get more Persian rugs into my gallery, before the new Persian rug embargo really hits, one and all. Yesterday was the last day for the wholesalers to get their rugs off the docks. It is over now...so here we go.

Yes, I am currently taking good quality Persian rugs, into my gallery on consignment, but I am fussy, so if you have something, please send me detailed photos, including the back of the rug, the size, age, condition, and any info you have on the piece and your expected price. I am particularly interested in antique rugs from Iran, and antique Oriental Rug trappings such as camel bags, saddlebags, or any such items, nomadic tribal weavers would create! I always answer emails and actually wrote an article on my web site, for those that are interested in selling their rug themselves, entitled, "How to Sell Your Oriental or Persian Rug". You can find it on my articles page.

New rugs in yesterday, more coming tomorrow. These recent pieces are from Afghanistan, fair trade, no child labor and beautiful. The Persian rugs en route, same.

Keep your eye on my site. Whenever I add new rugs, they are always at the bottom of the galleries and normally in the first few galleries on page one.

Here's one pretty piece for your viewing pleasure.
This is an 8 x 10 Heriz rug woven in Afghanistan. Good dyes, good wool, beautiful colors and design. Proud to have this one! Always available for questions: 707-823-3355
Penny Krieger, owner
Paradise Oriental Rugs,Inc.
137 No. Main St.
Sebastopol, CA 95472
www.paradiseorientalrugs.com

Recent letter written to the International STEP non-profit orgainization.

Dear Sirs,

I am highly distressed by the pending Iranian Embargo moving forward this month on the importation of any products, which will include hand woven Persian Rugs.
I am a small business owner and depend heavily on these very special Persian rugs for my gallery. I also sell rugs woven in other areas of the world but the Persian rugs, literally have kept me in business these past few years as their quality and construction are above and beyond any other types I am offering.

My business, Paradise Oriental Rugs, Inc., located in the San Francisco Bay Area at 137 North Main St., Sebastopol, CA, has been purchasing rugs from EMOC Oriental Rug, Inc., located in New York, for over 10 years. These rugs are woven in villages in Southern Iran and near the Bijar area by expert weavers in their homes and are paid a fair wage.

With the loss of this product, it is almost assured, my retail gallery will loose a tremendous advantage and a good deal of income.

I urge you to rethink this embargo as it will have a very negative effect of American rug dealers, such as myself, with retail galleries offering these beautiful Persian rugs to their clients and customers.

Penny Krieger, owner
Paradise Oriental Rugs, Inc.
www.paradiseorientalrugs.com

More info on the pending Iranian Rug Imbargo:
http://www.oria.org/administrator/newspdfs/34.pdf