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Oriental Rugs: Choice, Care and Quality for Generations

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Q: What is the difference between purchasing a high-quality oriental rug from your store versus buying a regular area rug?

A: We take great pride in being direct importers of fine high-knot-count and high-quality rugs and, because we import directly, our prices are low. Rugs from our store are handmade and are considered a family heirloom collector’s item and investment. Since 1979, our store has carried designs and patterns never before seen in upstate New York; we have brought in rugs from India, Pakistan, China, Iran, Turkey and Afghanistan. The rugs we carry in our showroom are wool and silk, and we work with customers and interior designers to customize rugs to their décor, providing rugs in non-programmed sizes. We carry both programmed and one-of-a-kind rugs as well as European tapestries.

Q: If my oriental rug needs cleaning or servicing, where do I go?

A: Jafri Oriental Rugs takes pride in being a full-service showroom. This means not only do we sell rugs, but we also clean, repair and restore all types of rugs including new, antique, semi-antique, hand-knotted, machine made, Karastan, wool and silk rugs. Our in-house repair services include fixing fringes, binding, color restoration and weaving moth-damaged areas. Our cleaning process uses the latest organic cleaning methods and applies a purified restoration to each type of rug. In this age of do-it-yourself, we urge our customers to not repair, stitch or clean the rugs on their own, but rather to bring their pieces to our full-service showroom, 116 Wolf Road, Albany, where proper inspection takes place and appropriate guidance is provided to a client about what kind of service is required, such as rug cleaning, fringe replacement, binding or repair. Admittedly, many customers, after purchasing a hand-knotted or machine-made rug, will have their rugs taken to a local cleaner, and consequently the rug will wind up damaged with colors bleeding and the foundation of the rug destroyed.

Q: Can I afford a quality oriental rug like the ones you sell?

A: Yes! We recommend clients make sure to purchase handmade rugs from us because many customers are not aware that machine-made rugs are inferior in quality; they will wear and tear easily and lack durability, so although less money is spent initially, the tufted and machine-made rugs available now are of low quality and cannot endure traffic or harsh treatment nor can they be washed or cleaned. A hand-knotted rug will last for generations and will continue to look amazing for the life of the rug, as they were meant to be heirloom pieces. We also provide the most affordable prices for these pieces. Customers of online retailers may be under the impression that they’re receiving a quality hand-knotted rug, whereas they may be receiving a machine-made or tufted rug, which is a lower-quality item that typically has a life of no more than a couple of years.

Also, there is nothing that compares to being at a physical location where you can actually view all the inventory, as often customers may come in with an idea of what they like from a décor perspective. However, that quickly changes once the customer looks at different designs, often changing their initial opinions. A rug is a tactile item and you have to actually feel the wool or silk material and see the design in person. The convenience of our showroom being located in Albany lends itself to a very pleasurable buying experience, which is the most important thing for us.

Q: Do these rugs appreciate in value?

A: Yes, all handmade Oriental rugs appreciate in value. Should a client desire to sell their new, semi-antique or antique rug at an auction house, we perform in-house appraisals and provide clients with appropriate values of rugs based on the origin, year and design of the rug.

 

By Humza Jafri


Following his 15-year career in the private sector working for both JPMorgan Chase and Ernst and Young as a consultant, Humza joined Jafri Oriental Rugs to expand its sales and marketing. Humza is currently working on developing Jafri Oriental Rugs presence via the E-Commerce platform and is continually modernizing the upstate NY Oriental Rug market by bringing in never before seen hand knotted rugs and European tapestries into the showroom located on 116 Wolf Road. As the demand for hand knotted rugs increases, Humza works closely with each client to make sure he provides them with quality heirloom pieces that last a lifetime.