ARCS's Fourth Quarter Newsletter 2019
Greetings Everyone!
Note from the ARCS BOD:
The Holiday Season is in full effect, we hope everyone's is busy and fruitful! As the year comes to an end, we'd like to thank all of our members for your continued participation and support of ARCS, we couldn't continue to grow, and educate the world on rug cleaning without it!
We wish everyone a safe and happy Holiday Season!
Turkey Trip Recap by Jordan King
November 1-16, 2019
Several ARCS members recently had the opportunity to tour the beautiful country of Turkey. This trip was slated to be fast paced and filled with interesting sights, people and amazing rug industry content. I am happy to report it did not disappoint.
Our trip began in Istanbul which was chock-full of rich history and culture. We toured some amazing sights such as the Hagia Sophia, Topkapi Palace, and Suleymaniye Mosque. While in Istanbul, we were able to view some wonderful carpet museums with massive collections of some of the world's oldest & best carpets. The city and people were welcoming, and the hospitality was unmatched.
Next, we departed for Izmir, where our group had the chance to spend some time at ATC (Antique Textile Conservation). ATC is the premier facility for textile restoration work and the breadth of their knowledge is impressive. All kinds of textiles can be found here from important European tapestries to world class carpets, and even Navajo textiles of the American Southwest. They are being expertly restored at this facility. Our group had the honor of welcoming Ahmet Opcin, one of the owners of ATC, who joined us for the remainder of our time in Turkey. Ahmet was extremely gracious with his time and was an excellent guide. The trip would not have been the same without him and it was such a pleasure to meet him.
While in Izmir we toured the ruins of Ephesus, visited local rug washing facilities, and were welcomed into the manufacturing plant of Ergin Makina. They manufacture equipment for rug washing and were gracious hosts. Our group also had the chance to tour Can Carpet where we saw natural dying of wool & carpet weaving.
Our trip continued to more central Turkey to the cities of Kayseri & Konya. We stayed in the quaint village of Guzelyurt. Here we spent a few nights in rustic bed & breakfasts. The families that operated these homes were unbelievably welcoming and hospitable towards our group. While in this region of Turkey, some of us took the opportunity to enjoy a sunrise hot air balloon tour of the beautiful Cappadocia area; it was quite breathtaking.
In Aksaray, we toured a large wool processing plant that produces machine spun wool. We were also welcomed into many rug galleries in this same area, where many from the group were able to purchase rugs for their homes and retail businesses.
One highlight was spending some time in Sultanhani which houses the largest Caravanserai in Turkey. The caravanserai served as a roadside inn for ancient travelers and is a great example of 13th century Seljuk architecture. Our group was welcomed to Sultanhani by none other than the mayor himself, Fahri Solak, who also happens to be in the rug business. Our entire group of 18 were welcomed into his office for tea and a generous gift. We toured Fahri's rug repair workshop & gallery as well as a carpet weaving facility down the street from his office.
At the end of our trip in Kayseri, we had a chance to visit 3 homes of kilim weavers. These women were so gracious, allowing our large group into their homes to see them working. The small looms were setup in family rooms & balconies. It was quite the experience.
Overall, the kindness of the people and sights in Turkey were excellent. The amount of rug industry content was truly spectacular. Many thanks to ATC, Ahmet Opcin, & Robert Mann for making this a trip of a lifetime. I look forward to the next one!
STAY TUNED for the next ARCS Turkey Trip! 2021 Trip Details are in the works!
What Happened in Vegas?
By: Mike Jensen, Starr Rug Cleaners, Santa Barbara, CA
If you had a chance to visit The Experience in Las Vegas this September 18-21, then you know that the ARCS booth was the place to be. Seated in rug alley and surrounded by great organizations like WoolSafe, Master Rug Cleaner and Rug Pad Wizard, we had the pleasure of hanging with other rug nerds and talking shop. Don't think we were all work though, we had a rug sheering demonstration area where people got a chance to try shaving down a rug, we also had a fun rug quiz to test people's knowledge and finally we had a raffle to win various rug items like a grooming brush and rug mouse pad.
Our goal at the experience was to expose our organization to new potential members, as well as meet with our current members. Needless to say, we were successful at both! We added 2 New Associate Members, Protima machines for rug care out of Poland as well as Cobb Carpet Supply out of Dallas, Texas. Both will be offering discounts on some excellent products for ARCS members.
We also had a handful of New Member applicants, including our newest member River Oaks Rug Cleaners out of Houston, Texas. Beyond the new members, we had a great time chatting with those passing by who were intrigued about getting into the rug cleaning industry.
Overall, ARCS was able to grow its brand as "The preeminent trade association dedicated solely to the art and science of rug care" and as a non-profit we want to thank our members who allow us to improve the world of rug care!
Rug TechED brought to you by ARCS & WoolSafe
By: Kash Sobhe, Rug Ideas, Los Angeles, CA
For the first time, ARCS and WoolSafe partnered to create an amazing event consisting of a full day of learning and giveaways! What started out as a cool giveaway idea quickly turned into over $5,000 worth of raffle giveaways throughout the entire day, such as a gift basket donated by NC Carpet & Binding, Squeegee by Centrum Force, and thousands of dollars more giveaways!
The room was packed with ruggies who had flown from all over the nation to stay for this full day of education from industry experts focusing on hot topics such as viscose rugs, how to deal with color run, and how to even set up a rug plant! It was also a unique event as WoolSafe flew in the real experts behind the scenes of fiber testing and product testing. Everyone learned about the science behind what goes wrong with the use of the incorrect products.
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