We are excited to be providing Maison Inc with rugs for their Street of Dreams design of the Shaw House. Joelle & the Maison team tore up the gallery to find the perfect rugs to compliment their amazing design scheme. We hope to see you there!
Rorschach Seabreeze in wool and silk provides a soothing base for the interior to flow effortlessly from the floor to the furniture.
When an earthquake hit Nepal in April, Kush Rugs felt tremors in Portland. Owners Brian Robins and Rebecca Lurie couldn’t reach Nepali suppliers for days. Finally, e-mails arrived: don’t stop ordering rugs. The Himalayan craftspeople vowed to continue production.
While many Portland businesses rely on global trade, the rug business is peculiarly sensitive to events in places like Nepal, India, Pakistan, and Iran. “Consistency is challenging,” Lurie says. “We do business in countries that are always in the news.”
Every year, Kush—usually represented by Lurie, a former anthropology major with a yen for travel—scouts out rural villages to find rare and high-quality work. “Every country is making great rugs, and every country is making cheap rugs,” Robins says. “We want people to walk in and see rugs they can’t see anywhere else.”
Even absent catastrophe or crisis, the logistical challenges are formidable. A single rug can take up to a year to finish then ship—via every combination of bike, truck, air, and bureaucracy. “Where’s that rug?” Robins recounts. “It’s in customs. Has anybody heard of it again? It’s both a blessing and a curse. We can’t just sit back and say, well, we’ve got our lines, and we’re good.”
Kush also must tune in to local nuances. “If you’re dealing with someone who’s Afghan or Indian versus somebody from Turkey—those are different forms of communication,” says Lurie. “Does ‘yes’ mean ‘yes,’ or does it mean, ‘I’m saying yes, but you know I mean no’?”
The store donated 3 percent of its May sales to Nepali relief efforts, and Lurie plans to return in the fall. “Ordering rugs,” she says, “contributes directly to providing jobs, rebuilding the country, and helping Nepal move forward.”
At Kush we hear this question pretty often, and we can relate! We all want to do whatever we can to protect our investments and ensure the longevity of our most prized possessions. We have families, we have animals, we have Oregon rain and mud. So is it worth it to add a synthetic barrier to a good, hand-made rug? Here's what Renaissance had to say:
Kush: "I want to protect my rug from stains. Should I use a stain guard?"
Randy: "Let's talk about what these don’t do. They don’t stop rugs from getting dirty, and they don’t stop rugs from getting stained or damaged- particularly from things like pet urine.
Kush: "Well then, what do they do?"
Randy: "Stain guards are not a substitute for regular cleaning and vacuuming, they work in conjunction. Products like Teflon, Scotch Guard, and Fiber Seal DO work to keep soils from penetrating rug fibers. But left untreated and left long enough on a rug, soil and spills can and will stain. Ultimately it’s a personal choice, but I don’t use them on my own rugs, and I have kids and pets! The key to keeping rugs looking good is maintenance-- knowing how to safely spot clean, vacuuming, and timely washing."
More on rug maintenance is coming your way. Check back here for Rug Lesson #3 soon!
For all of your rug cleaning, repair needs, & appraisals, Kush recommends Renaissance Rug Cleaning Inc.
A gorgeous custom design by John Forsgren. Warm, modern and beautifully balanced, this oversize rug sings! Photography by Jeremy Bitterman.
Beautiful modern rug design, Kipple in Ivory Rust. We love to see where our rugs live!
As certified rug nerds, we love new shipments, especially when they are filled with stunning rug after stunning rug. We have been waiting a long time to get these beauties and we are excited to share them with you!
Visit our new shipment page to get more details on each beautiful piece.
One of the most common rug care questions is, "What if I spill red wine?"
First, let's set the stage. You're throwing a fabulous dinner party and it's going perfectly. The music playlist you carefully curated is hitting all the right notes. The food is NW fresh and divine. Everyone is having a grand time, until out of the corner of your eye, you see an errant elbow strike a full glass of red wine. The glass careens off your live edge coffee table, sending the glass and the entirety of its contents onto your prize living room rug from Kush. Fear not, vino lovers, Randy Hyde from Renaissance Rug Cleaning is here to coach you through the dreaded red wine spill.
Kush: "After a red wine spill what should I not do?"
Randy: "Don’t panic. Don’t pour a cleaning product on the spill and start scrubbing. If one product doesn’t work, don’t reach for successive products. And don't listen to old wives tales to try and remove the spot because you are likely just going to make it worse. Often by the time the rug gets to us it’s the spotting gone wild that becomes the issue, more that the original spill."
Kush: "I spilled red wine on my rug, what should I do?"
Randy: "Again, don’t panic! Gently blot at the spot with uncolored napkins or white terry cloth towels to remove as much liquid as possible before you use any spotting product on the rug. This is true with any liquid spill. Then take a cup of warm water and one drop of a hand dish detergent, I like Bio-Klean, personally. I said-- one drop of detergent! If one drop is good, 10 drops is not better. Flood the spot and blot with dry towels. If you have a wet/dry vacuum (shop vacuum), or a bissell, it’s much faster. Just vacuum the wine up, flood the spot and vacuum up again to remove as much of the liquids as possible. When done, cover it with a white cotton towel, a piece of plastic wrap over the cotton towel and then a heavy book on top of the plastic. This will pull moisture and any residual wine in to the towel. Check on it periodically and replace the towel with a clean dry one as necessary."
Phew! Now your epic dinner party can continue in high spirits and you don't have to blacklist the humbled soul with careless elbows. Drink in good health!
For all of your rug cleaning, repair needs, & appraisals, Kush recommends Renaissance Rug Cleaning Inc.
Kush was honored to provide a rug for the lobby of IA Interior Architects new Portland office. They chose a contemporary piece called Graffiti, which was hand knotted in Nepal with Himalayan wool & silk. The rug was inspired by street artist and is sure to capture a few eyes as people walk in.
