Thriving financial and real estate markets provide the backbone to a flourishing rug market.  New home building or the selling and remodeling of existing homes will precede most home decorating projects.  A down economy, resulting in reduced consumer demand, has had wide reaching impact on the making and selling of all rugs, especially those that are handwoven.  When fewer rugs are purchased by consumers in the context of global economic instability, fewer rugs are subsequently manufactured.  Reduced manufacturing has created a lag in the supply and variety of rugs available to retailers.

Those companies whose job it is to produce the wool, cotton, silk, and dyes used to make rugs strive to maintain consistent levels of production and have raised the price of the materials they sell in order to do so.  Labor costs have increased in the last few years due to growth in developing countries; an increasing number of weavers have turned away from their craft to find other means of financial support.  In countries where rug making is tradition, young people choosing among trades will likely consider ways of earning a living thought to be more “modern” than weaving, like factory work; hence weaving continues to become an occupation held by fewer and fewer skilled artisans.

So, while weaving handmade rugs is not a dying art, it is one that struggles.

For enthusiasts, it is important to maintain the rugs in your possession and to be highly selective when purchasing new rugs.  It is likely that the division between those rugs that are very high quality and those that are poor quality will broaden as rug makers determine which markets to pursue aggressively.

Job Youshaei Rug Company, in business for almost 30 years, is an emblem for the highest quality rugs that money can buy.  And our concept of “quality first” carries through to the cleaning and repair work that we do on-premises.  Our prices have been stable throughout the recession even as we thoughtfully expanded our selection of new, hand-selected rugs and launched a comprehensive website in late 2009 that features all of our rugs.