Products

The Tools of Rug Identification – Grouped in a linear and methodical progression, students learn how to read a rug’s construction to identify its origins. Material progresses from easily discernible traits to more nuanced variations using the most commonly encountered area rugs as teaching material. Students come away knowing the covered material as well as how to advance their skills outside of class.

Survey of hand­-tufted, machine­-made and specialty rugs

Hand­-knotted Rugs – a brief history, nomenclature and introduction to structure, the tools of rug ID

• Persian rugs

• Copies of Persian rugs

• Designer rugs

• Flat-weaves

Overview of Cleaning Process

• Review of the steps in a “best practice” rug cleaning as outlined in ARCS’ Industry Guide & Recommended Practice for Rug Cleaning

Rug Intake

• Pre­-inspection and documentation, inventory control & pre­wash stabilization 

About Rugs & Fibers

• A review of the most commonly encountered rug fibers and construction techniques and what their implications are for the cleaning process.                                                      

About Soils & Cleaning

• Review of the types of soils found in rugs  What are they? How do they accumulate?

Rug Washing

• Getting our hands dirty cleaning the host plants inventory.   Topics will include:

  • How to generate a cleaning plan

  • How all the host’s “toys” work and how to scale the operation up and down to meet the demands of each student

  • What to do if a rug starts to go south

Drying Theory

• Discussion of drying theory and its effects on the cleaning process.

Results

• Evaluating results and discussing the next steps.  Discussion, how clean is clean enough?  weighing risks vs rewards.

Finishing Processes

• A survey of the non­-wash processes that go into a rug cleaning

  • Grooming

  • Fringe Correction

  • Post­-wash treatments

  • Cosmetic Touchups

• Checkout procedures

  • Recording and reporting results

Spotting techniques

• A discussion of the techniques for removing common spots such as rust, paint, wax, etc.

Discoloration Remediation

• How the products work and how they differ from spotters.

• Risks and how to manage them

• Discussion and demonstrations of common applications and techniques

  • Urine Stain removal

  • Floor Stripping of Dye

  • Dry stripping of Dye

Review Test - Don’t worry, it isn’t graded

The basic outline of the course is as follows.

Session One – The Cleaning Process

Reviews the basic steps in a “best­ practice” rug cleaning, why we do them and some of the most common prevailing methods in application today. While pros and cons of each method are discussed, editorial content is kept out.

• Pre­-cleaning Inspection – Why some consider it the most important step in rug cleaning and some of the most common conditions encountered in area rugs.
• Dry soil removal – Why it’s important and ways to do it.
• Washing – From dry cleaning methods to full saturation washing. Each method is discussed covering the why and how as well as the pros and cons.
• Drying – Surveying the most common methods in use today
• Finishing processes – Grooming, browning correction, color correction, etc.

Session Two – Fibers and Chemistry

Covers the basics of the most common fibers and chemicals encountered in area rug care. Topics are discussed generically, avoiding favoritism and bias.

Fibers

• Wool – Why it is the most common rug fiber. How we go from sheep to rug yarn.
• Cotton – Production and application
• Silk – It’s advantages, disadvantages and production
• Bast Fibers – production and uses
• Plastics – Nylon, Olefin, etc.
• Rayon – production and it’s many other names

Chemistry

• Soil – most common types, how they accumulate and implications for cleaning
• Solvents – Polar and Non­-polar, volatile and non­volatile and applications for cleaning
Detergents – what they are and how they work
• The PH scale – What it is, why it’s important and the general PH of specific substances
• Sinner circle

Session Three – Rug ID – Tufted & Specialty Rugs

A general discussion of tufted rugs and their specific cleaning needs and concerns is followed by a survey of the most common types of tufted rugs encountered, how to identify them and their specific cleaning needs and concerns.  We finish covering the most common specialty rugs a cleaner will encounter.

• Tufted rugs – What they are and how they differ from other area rugs
• Tufted rugs made in China
• Tufted rugs made in India
• Custom­-tufted rugs
• Machine­-tufted rugs
• Specialty rugs – Skins, Shags, craft rugs, etc.

Session Four – Rug ID – Non-tufted rugs

Picks up where we left off. We start with Machine­-made rugs and cover how to tell them from hand­made rugs. While hand­made rug ID is not discussed, students are introduced to the basics of where they are made, different construction techniques and the terminology used, building a foundation for future classes.

• Wilton construction – both traditional and face­-to­-face variants
• Axminster – both tradition and the Karastan® variants
• Hand­made – piled and non­-piled construction, terminology and how to tell them from machine­-made rugs

About the instructor ­- Armen Dohanian: is a fourth generation rug cleaner. His family owns a 100 + year old rug cleaning and restoration business in Boston, Massachusetts. Involved in rug cleaning from an early age, Armen is currently vice­-president of operations at the Oriental Rug Cleaning Company in Dallas, TX, a 103 year old, “full­-service” rug cleaning and restoration company. Mr. Dohanian is an ARCS Certified Rug Specialist (CRS), a certified Master Rug Cleaner and a Woolsafe North America "Fiber Care Specialist" as well as a member of the International Society of Appraisers.

The Tools of Rug Identification – Grouped in a linear and methodical progression, students learn how to read a rug’s construction to identify its origins. Material progresses from easily discernible traits to more nuanced variations using the most commonly encountered area rugs as teaching material. Students come away knowing the covered material as well as how to advance their skills outside of class.

Survey of hand­-tufted, machine­-made and specialty rugs

Hand­-knotted Rugs – a brief history, nomenclature and introduction to structure, the tools of rug ID

• Persian rugs

• Copies of Persian rugs

• Designer rugs

• Flat-weaves

Overview of Cleaning Process

• Review of the steps in a “best practice” rug cleaning as outlined in ARCS’ Industry Guide & Recommended Practice for Rug Cleaning

Rug Intake

• Pre­-inspection and documentation, inventory control & pre­wash stabilization 

About Rugs & Fibers

• A review of the most commonly encountered rug fibers and construction techniques and what their implications are for the cleaning process.                                                      

About Soils & Cleaning

• Review of the types of soils found in rugs  What are they? How do they accumulate?

Rug Washing

• Getting our hands dirty cleaning the host plants inventory.   Topics will include:

  • How to generate a cleaning plan

  • How all the host’s “toys” work and how to scale the operation up and down to meet the demands of each student

  • What to do if a rug starts to go south

Drying Theory

• Discussion of drying theory and its effects on the cleaning process.

Results

• Evaluating results and discussing the next steps.  Discussion, how clean is clean enough?  weighing risks vs rewards.

Finishing Processes

• A survey of the non­-wash processes that go into a rug cleaning

  • Grooming

  • Fringe Correction

  • Post­-wash treatments

  • Cosmetic Touchups

• Checkout procedures

  • Recording and reporting results

Spotting techniques

• A discussion of the techniques for removing common spots such as rust, paint, wax, etc.

Discoloration Remediation

• How the products work and how they differ from spotters.

• Risks and how to manage them

• Discussion and demonstrations of common applications and techniques

  • Urine Stain removal

  • Floor Stripping of Dye

  • Dry stripping of Dye

Review Test - Don’t worry, it isn’t graded

The basic outline of the course is as follows.

Session One – The Cleaning Process

Reviews the basic steps in a “best­ practice” rug cleaning, why we do them and some of the most common prevailing methods in application today. While pros and cons of each method are discussed, editorial content is kept out.

• Pre­-cleaning Inspection – Why some consider it the most important step in rug cleaning and some of the most common conditions encountered in area rugs.
• Dry soil removal – Why it’s important and ways to do it.
• Washing – From dry cleaning methods to full saturation washing. Each method is discussed covering the why and how as well as the pros and cons.
• Drying – Surveying the most common methods in use today
• Finishing processes – Grooming, browning correction, color correction, etc.

Session Two – Fibers and Chemistry

Covers the basics of the most common fibers and chemicals encountered in area rug care. Topics are discussed generically, avoiding favoritism and bias.

Fibers

• Wool – Why it is the most common rug fiber. How we go from sheep to rug yarn.
• Cotton – Production and application
• Silk – It’s advantages, disadvantages and production
• Bast Fibers – production and uses
• Plastics – Nylon, Olefin, etc.
• Rayon – production and it’s many other names

Chemistry

• Soil – most common types, how they accumulate and implications for cleaning
• Solvents – Polar and Non­-polar, volatile and non­volatile and applications for cleaning
Detergents – what they are and how they work
• The PH scale – What it is, why it’s important and the general PH of specific substances
• Sinner circle

Session Three – Rug ID – Tufted & Specialty Rugs

A general discussion of tufted rugs and their specific cleaning needs and concerns is followed by a survey of the most common types of tufted rugs encountered, how to identify them and their specific cleaning needs and concerns.  We finish covering the most common specialty rugs a cleaner will encounter.

• Tufted rugs – What they are and how they differ from other area rugs
• Tufted rugs made in China
• Tufted rugs made in India
• Custom­-tufted rugs
• Machine­-tufted rugs
• Specialty rugs – Skins, Shags, craft rugs, etc.

Session Four – Rug ID – Non-tufted rugs

Picks up where we left off. We start with Machine­-made rugs and cover how to tell them from hand­made rugs. While hand­made rug ID is not discussed, students are introduced to the basics of where they are made, different construction techniques and the terminology used, building a foundation for future classes.

• Wilton construction – both traditional and face­-to­-face variants
• Axminster – both tradition and the Karastan® variants
• Hand­made – piled and non­-piled construction, terminology and how to tell them from machine­-made rugs

About the instructor ­- Armen Dohanian: is a fourth generation rug cleaner. His family owns a 100 + year old rug cleaning and restoration business in Boston, Massachusetts. Involved in rug cleaning from an early age, Armen is currently vice­-president of operations at the Oriental Rug Cleaning Company in Dallas, TX, a 103 year old, “full­-service” rug cleaning and restoration company. Mr. Dohanian is an ARCS Certified Rug Specialist (CRS), a certified Master Rug Cleaner and a Woolsafe North America "Fiber Care Specialist" as well as a member of the International Society of Appraisers.

April 19th, Thursday
(Associate Members will have booths outside the door!!)

8:30am                  Continental Breakfast - ( Meet and Greet your Associate members ), Grand Pacific Ballroom D
9:00am                  Annual Board Meeting - Randy Hyde, ARCS President, Grand Pacific Ballroom D
9:30am                  Moving a 40+ year old wash plant, Thea Sands of Emmanuels Rug Cleaning
10:00am                Coffee Break 
10:15am                Eminent Domaine and A Wash Plant- Robert Mann of Robert Man Oriental Rugs
11:00am                Risk Assessment -Developing a Best In Class Safety Program - Erin Mutert of JW Terrill
12:00pm                LUNCH
1:00pm                  Dealing with Negative Reviews - Tim Miller of Local Search Essentials
1:45pm                  Front Office - Jennifer Colaco of Oriental Rug Cleaning Co.
2:30pm                  Break
2:45 pm                 Color Marketing Group - Alicia D Keshinshian of Color Marketing Group.
3:30pm                  When Fire Strikes, Lessons Learned Insurance - Peter Masi or Master Cleaners.
4:00pm                  Closing Remarks and Adjournment
4:30pm                  Board of Directors Meeting (Board members only)

Dinner on your own

April 20th, Friday – Plant Tours

8:30am                  Catch the Motor Coach to Emanuel's Rug Cleaning 
9:00am                  Tour Emanuel's Rug Cleaning - Hosted by Thea Sands
11:30am                Catch Motor Coach to Pyramid Ale House
12:00pm                Lunch
1:30 pm                 Catch Motor Coach to DA Burns Rug Cleaning 
2:00pm                  Tour DA Burns Rug Cleaning - Hosted by Bryan O'haleck 
5:30pm                  Catch Motor Coach to the hotel                                                            

Dinner on your own

Please note the time changes below
April 21st, Saturday –Private Tour of the Chihuly Garden and Glass  (Optional Day!) 
9:30am                 Meet in lobby - walk over to the Gardens together
10am                      Tour of the Chihuli Garden and Glass
11am                      Conference Ends...
                               You are on your own. Enjoy Seattle!

Hotel Marriott Waterfront - Book Now

Monday 
Armen:                 Cleaning Chemistry         2 hours 
Ellen:                    Machine-Made Rugs      1.5 hours 
Lunch 
Ellen:                    Review 

a) History of Oriental Rugs 
b) Dyes 
c) What is an Oriental Rug 
d) Four Categories of Oriental Rugs/Traditional Persian 
e) Where Oriental Rugs Get Their Names 
f)  Construction 
g) Knots and Grading Systems 
h) End Finishes 
i)  Side Finishes 
j)  Chemical Wash 
k) Design Components 
h) Dating Rugs 
i)  Components of Identification/Technical Analysis

Countries Producing Oriental Rugs 
a) Iran:  Heriz, Sarouk, Kashan, Kerman, Mahal, Tabriz, Meshed, Joshagan, Serab, Bijar, silk rugs

TUESDAY 
a)  Finish Persian rugs from Monday 
b)  Six Persian single-wefted rugs:  Hamadan, Malayer, Senneh, Bakhtiari, Karaja, Lillihan 
c)  Tribal Rugs: Baluch, Turkoman, Bakhtiari, Afshar, Shiraz 

WEDNESDAY     
Countries Producing Oriental Rugs, con’t 
a)  Afghanistan 
b)  China 
c)  India 
d)  Pakistan 
e)  Romania 
f)  Tibetan 
g)  Turkish

THURSDAY 
Countries Producing Oriental Rugs, con’t   (if necessary) 
Caucasian and Navajo Rugs 
Hands-On Technical Analysis—divide into groups 
Appraisals—Power Point

FRIDAY                 
Review for written test 
Practice rug Identification in the plant with rugs not previously seen 
Mock Rug Identification test 
Questions, Answers, Problems

SATURDAY 
9AM-12PM 
Written test 
Hands-On Identification Test

Ellen Amirkhan: Ellen Amirkhan is a graduate of Texas Woman's University with a Bachelor of Science degree and Southern Methodist University with a Master of Liberal Arts degree. She is President of Oriental Rug Cleaning Co., Inc., in Dallas, Texas, a business started by her grandfather in 1911 that specialized in cleaning, repairing, appraising, and selling oriental rugs.

A past president of the Association of Specialists in Cleaning and Restoration (ASCR) - now the Restoration Industry Association (RIA) - Ellen develops and teaches oriental rug schools for the International Society of Appraisers (ISA) and other recognized groups across the United States and England, and is a co-developer of the Master Rug Cleaner Program.

In addition, she consults and serves as an expert witness for the legal profession. Ellen holds the designations of Certified Appraiser of Oriental Rugs from the International Society of Appraisers (ISA) and the Oriental Rug Retailers of America (ORRA) and Certified Rug Specialist (CRS) from the Association of Rug Care Specialists (ARCS).

Ellen's awards include the RIA Dr. Steven Spivak Award for Outstanding Contributions to the Textile Industry, The ASCR Helen Bradley Distinguished Service Award and The North Texas Chapter of the International Society of Appraisers (NTISA) Ellen Amirkhan Distinguished Service Award.

Robert Mann: Robert owns and operates Robert Mann Rugs Inc. in Denver, Colorado. Established in 1978, RMR Inc. provides cleaning and repair services to retail and wholesale clients throughout the United States, as well as outsourced restorations services provided by its sister company, ATC, in Izmir , Turkey. Robert spent for over 25 years working as a technical consultant in modern rug productions in nearly all the major rug producing countries.

Ellen Amirkhan and Robert Mann are truly world class individuals who love this industry and are working hard to help others continue to grow their own passion for rugs.

Chuck Koshgarian, Koshgarian Rug Cleaning

Don't miss out on this course! It will only be available every other year, you don't want to spend the next 2 years wishing you would've jumped on board sooner!

Jordan King, Oriental Rug Cleaning of Indianapolis

This class will cover all of the important steps that can make or break your customer experience:

• Learn about your company and what you offer 
• Elevator Pitch 
• Common Pre-Inspection Conditions 
• Terminology: How to Convey Technical Explanations in Layman’s Terms 
• Help new customers navigate the rug cleaning process 
• How to Make Repeat Customers Continue to Feel Valued 
• THE IMPORTANCE OF DOCUMENTATION 
• Managing Customer Expectations 
• Dealing with Complaints 
• Proper Phone Etiquette 
• Proper In-Person Etiquette 
• Inter-Office Communication

Jennifer Colaco: joined Oriental Rug Cleaning in Dallas, Texas as office manager in 2010, becoming the fourth generation of her family to be involved in the flooring business. Prior to this, she worked in textile project management. Jennifer is Vice-President on the Association of Rug Care Specialist Board (ARCS), a Certified Rug Specialist, and Master Rug Cleaner.

A graduate of Texas A&M University, Jennifer and has spent the majority of her professional career interfacing with customers. Her focus on delivering excellent customer practices for her team led her to create and teach “Effective Communications for Rug Cleaners”, currently offered through ARCS.

"The Intro to Rug Care Course is a great first step or next step to continuing your rug cleaning education. We have sent multiple employees through the course and it really helps with learning the basics of rug I.D. and terminology, cleaning chemistry, and covers fundamental problems that can be encountered in a rug washing business. Armen Dohanian does a great job delivering the content and is always helpful and receptive when questions from our students arose. Two of our employees have since taken more advanced ARCS courses and agree that without this intro course they would’ve been behind the 8-ball with the more advanced training courses. The online format provides a very simple, inexpensive way to get started with rug training for owners/managers and employees alike!"

-Jordan King 
Oriental Rug Cleaning of Indianapolis

The basic outline of the course is as follows.

Session One – The Cleaning Process

Reviews the basic steps in a “best­ practice” rug cleaning, why we do them and some of the most common prevailing methods in application today. While pros and cons of each method are discussed, editorial content is kept out.

• Pre­-cleaning Inspection – Why some consider it the most important step in rug cleaning and some of the most common conditions encountered in area rugs.
• Dry soil removal – Why it’s important and ways to do it.
• Washing – From dry cleaning methods to full saturation washing. Each method is discussed covering the why and how as well as the pros and cons.
• Drying – Surveying the most common methods in use today
• Finishing processes – Grooming, browning correction, color correction, etc.

Session Two – Fibers and Chemistry

Covers the basics of the most common fibers and chemicals encountered in area rug care. Topics are discussed generically, avoiding favoritism and bias.

• Wool – Why it is the most common rug fiber. How we go from sheep to rug yarn.
• Cotton – Production and application
• Silk – It’s advantages, disadvantages and production
• Bast Fibers – production and uses
• Plastics – Nylon, Olefin, etc.
• Rayon – production and it’s many other names

• Soil – most common types, how they accumulate and implications for cleaning
• Solvents – Polar and Non­-polar, volatile and non­volatile and applications for cleaning
Detergents – what they are and how they work
• The PH scale – What it is, why it’s important and the general PH of specific substances
• Sinner circle

Session Three – Rug ID – Tufted & Specialty Rugs

A general discussion of tufted rugs and their specific cleaning needs and concerns is followed by a survey of the most common types of tufted rugs encountered, how to identify them and their specific cleaning needs and concerns.  We finish covering the most common specialty rugs a cleaner will encounter.

• Tufted rugs – What they are and how they differ from other area rugs
• Tufted rugs made in China
• Tufted rugs made in India
• Custom­-tufted rugs
• Machine­-tufted rugs
• Specialty rugs – Skins, Shags, craft rugs, etc.

Session Four – Rug ID – Non-tufted rugs

Picks up where we left off. We start with Machine­-made rugs and cover how to tell them from hand­made rugs. While hand­made rug ID is not discussed, students are introduced to the basics of where they are made, different construction techniques and the terminology used, building a foundation for future classes.

• Wilton construction – both traditional and face­-to­-face variants
• Axminster – both tradition and the Karastan® variants
• Hand­made – piled and non­-piled construction, terminology and how to tell them from machine­-made rugs

Armen Dohanian: is a fourth generation rug cleaner. His family owns a 100 + year old rug cleaning and restoration business in Boston, Massachusetts. Involved in rug cleaning from an early age, Armen is currently vice­-president of operations at the Oriental Rug Cleaning Company in Dallas, TX, a 103 year old, “full­-service” rug cleaning and restoration company. Mr. Dohanian is an ARCS Certified Rug Specialist (CRS), a certified Master Rug Cleaner and a Woolsafe North America "Fiber Care Specialist" as well as a member of the International Society of Appraisers.

Basic Outline

The Tools of Rug Identification – Grouped in a linear and methodical progression, students learn how to read a rug's construction to identify its origins. Material progresses from easily discernible traits to more nuanced variations using the most commonly encountered area rugs as teaching material. Students come away knowing the covered material as well as how to advance their skills outside of class.

Survey of hand-tufted, machine-made and specialty rugs

Hand-knotted Rugs – a brief history, nomenclature and introduction to structure, the tools of rug ID

• Persian rugs
• Copies of Persian rugs
• Designer rugs
• Flat-weaves
• Overview of Cleaning Process

Review of the steps in a “best practice” rug cleaning as outlined in ARCS' Industry Guide & Recommended Practice for Rug Cleaning

Rug Intake

Pre-inspection and documentation, inventory control & pre-wash stabilization

About Rugs & Fibers

A review of the most commonly encountered rug fibers and construction techniques and what their implications are for the cleaning process.
About Soils & Cleaning

Review of the types of soils found in rugs What are they? How do they accumulate?

Rug Washing

• Getting our hands dirty cleaning the host plants inventory. Topics will include:
• How to generate a cleaning plan
• How all the host's “toys” work and how to scale the operation up and down to meet the demands of each student
• What to do if a rug starts to go south
• Drying Theory
• Discussion of drying theory and its effects on the cleaning process.

Results

Evaluating results and discussing the next steps. Discussion, how clean is clean enough? weighing risks vs rewards.

Finishing Processes

A survey of the non-wash processes that go into a rug cleaning

• Grooming
• Fringe Correction
• Post-wash treatments
• Cosmetic Touchups
• Checkout procedures
• Recording and reporting results
• Spotting techniques
• A discussion of the techniques for removing common spots such as rust, paint, wax, etc.

Discoloration Remediation

• How the products work and how they differ from spotters.
• Risks and how to manage them
• Discussion and demonstrations of common applications and techniques
• Urine Stain removal
• Floor Stripping of Dye
• Dry stripping of Dye

Review Test - Don't worry, it isn't graded

Armen Dohanian: is a fourth generation rug cleaner. His family owns a 100 + year old rug cleaning and restoration business in Boston, Massachusetts. Involved in rug cleaning from an early age, Armen is currently vice-president of operations at the Oriental Rug Cleaning Company in Dallas, TX, a 103 year old, “full-service” rug cleaning and restoration company. Mr. Dohanian is an ARCS Certified Rug Specialist (CRS), a certified Master Rug Cleaner and a Woolsafe North America "Fiber Care Specialist" as well as a member of the International Society of Appraisers.

Since 1952, we have been cleaning and restoring thousands of carpets and rugs every year. As the area’s leading floor covering experts – Interior Designers, Property Managers, and Home Owners refer our services exclusively. Our reputation ensures that you can trust our company to provide you with the most outstanding service experience ever!

May 1, Wednesday – Arrival - Registration and Cocktails in the Hotel Bar 5pm-7pm

5:00-7:00 p.m. Registration Desk, Lobby Foyer 
5:00-7:00 p.m. Welcome Cocktail Reception, Lobby Lounge

May 2, Thursday-Business Meeting

• 8:30 a.m. Continental Breakfast - ( Meet and Greet your Associate members ), Regency Ballroom E
• 9:00 a.m. Annual Board Meeting – Meg Walker, ARCS President, Regency Ballroom E
• 9:30 a.m. Simple Ways to Increase Revenues- Jennifer Colaco, Oriental Rug Cleaning Co. Dallas, TX

Revenues got you down? Increase add on sales by training your team to look, listen and ask a few key questions." 

• 10:00 a.m. Coffee Break
• 10:15 a.m. Rug Cleaning Equipment: An American History Lesson- Tom Monahan, Centrum Force
• 11:00 a.m. Associate Member Presentations
• 11:30 a.m Hands on Shearing- Demonstration - Randy Hyde, Renaissance Rug Cleaning, Portland, OR

Interested in shearing, but not sure it’s worth the investment? Test out the Oster Hand Clippers!

• 12:00 p.m. Lunch, Studio Lounge 
• 1:00 p.m. Turkish Rug Production- Robert Mann, Robert Mann Rugs, Denver, CO
• 1:45 p.m. Wholesale Rug Cleaning- Ellen Amirkhan, Oriental Rug Cleaning Co. Dallas, TX

Learn how the competition can work to increase your revenues by setting up a profitable wholesale rug cleaning program.

• 2:30 p.m. Break
• 2:45 p.m. Satellite Locations- Brian Hanna, Hagopian Rugs, Detroit, MI

With 8 drop off locations and several Dry Cleaning partners Hagopian has cornered the market!

• 3:30 p.m. Slide Show - The worst rugs, issues, experiences
• 4:15 p.m. Closing Remarks and Adjournment
• 4:30 p.m. Board of Directors Meeting (Board members only) 
  
  Dinner on your own

May 3, Friday-Plant Tours

• 9:00 a.m. Catch the Motor Coach to Heirloom 
• 9:30 a.m. Tour Heirloom - Hosted by David Sweet
• 11:30 a.m. Catch Motor Coach 
• 12:00 p.m. Lunch 
• 1:30 p.m. Catch Motor Coach to Lagenwalter 
• 2:00 p.m. Tour Lagenwalter- Hosted by Mitch & Jennifer Mauck
• 3:00 p.m. Catch Motor Coach to Oriental Rug Cleaning of Indianapolis
• 3:30 p.m. Tour Oriental Rug Cleaning of Indianapolis- Hosted by Tom and Jordan King
• 5:30 p.m. Catch Motor Coach to the hotel 

May 4, Saturday- (Optional Day)

• 9:30 a.m. Meet in lobby - Walk over to Monument Circle
• 10 a.m. Guided Walking Tour of Monument Circle (1 hour tour)
• 12 noon Meet in lobby - Catch Motor Coach - Indy Brew Bus and lunch
• 3 p.m.

Conference Ends... 
You are on your own. Indianapolis!

Megan Walker, ARCS President
Aladdin Cleaning & Restoration

Vice President of Aladdin Cleaning & Restoration in San Antonio, Texas. Upon graduation from Texas Christian University in 2004, Meg began her career at Aladdin in accounting, marketing and HR. In 2016 she graduated from the Master Rug Cleaner Program. Meg is the current President of the Board for the Association of Rug Care Specialists.

Tom Monahan-Rug Cleaning Equipment: An American History Lesson
www.centrumforce.com

Over 41 years in the business. In 1977 my cleaning companies were founded. I still continue to own and operate an on-location carpet and furniture cleaning service, along with an in-plant rug washing operation.
In 2007, my partner and I, Co-Founded Centrum Force. Centrum Force, as an international company, designs, builds and sells rug washing equipment for the industry. In 2012, our company purchased the world renown MOR Time Saving Company that has it’s beginning in 1949.
This acquisition secured Centrum Force as the #1 rug washing equipment manufacturer in the world.  My small company, Area Rug Cleaning Company, was privileged to be one of the founding members for the Association or Rug Care Specialists that launched in 2011.I.I.C.R.C. Master Textile CleanerMaster Rug Cleaning SpecialistThe last 11 years, I have been a consultant for setting up rug plants.

Jennifer Colaco-Simple Ways to Increase Revenues 
Oriental Rug Cleaning Co. Dallas, TX 
www.dallasrugcleaner.com

Jennifer joined Oriental Rug Cleaning in Dallas, Texas as office manager in 2010, becoming the fourth generation of her family to be involved in the flooring business. Prior to this, she worked in textile project management. Jennifer is Vice-President on the Association of Rug Care Specialist Board (ARCS), a Certified Rug Specialist, and Master Rug Cleaner.
A graduate of Texas A&M University, Jennifer and has spent the majority of her professional career interfacing with customers. Her focus on delivering excellent customer practices for her team led her to create and teach “Effective Communications for Rug Cleaners”, currently offered through ARCS.

Robert Mann-Turkish Rug Production, lead into Turkey Trip
Robert Mann
Robert Mann Rugs, Inc. 
www.mannrugs.com
In February of 1978, I began a career in the rug business as an apprentice restorer working for an Iranian man named Hamid Sharifzadeh.
I had travelled extensively in rug producing countries and somehow it all made senseWorking mostly for rug stores and dealers we did basic repairs. When rugs were too dirty to repair as is, we would clean them in the bath tub or out in the driveway. It was an exciting time.Based in Boulder, the business grew slowly. In January 1982 I opened a wash plant and restoration studio in a shop front at 32nd Avenue and Lowell in North Denver. I hired two employees.
In 1984 we moved to a large warehouse on Walnut Street, and moved again in 2009 to a bigger space on Race Ct. just north of the Denver Stockyards complex. With a staff of twenty we had become a small business.A Denver County plan to redevelop the Stock Yards has caused us to prepare for yet another move. In mid-2018 we will move into a new Denver facility near 56th and Pecos. Our new home will be a 24,000 square foot state-of-the-art facility for rug cleaning and restoration.

Randy Hyde-Hands-On Shearing Demonstration

Randy Hyde
Renaissance Rug Cleaning Inc.
www.renaissancerugs.com

Owner of Renaissance Rug Cleaning, Inc. established 1999 in Portland, Oregon. He started in the rug business with Atiyeh Brothers in the late 1980’s. In 1996 Randy accepted a job with rug dealer, author and tribal rug expert James Opie in part to manage the wash plant but also to sell rugs.
Randy purchased the cleaning end of the business in 1999 and changed the name to “Renaissance Rug Cleaning”. Today Renaissance provides cleaning and service to most of Portland’s dealers and collectors. From 2015-16 Randy served on the ARCS board of directors and as ARCS President from 2016- to April 2018.

Brian Hanna-Satellite Locations/Dry Cleaning Partners/Referral Partners
Hagopian Cleaning Services 
originalhagopian.com

Ellen Amirkhan-Wholesale Rug Cleaning

Ellen Amirkhan: Since 1980, Ellen Amirkhan has served as president of Oriental Rug Cleaning Co. in Dallas, Texas, a business started by her grandfather in 1911 that specializes in cleaning, repairing, appraising and selling oriental rugs. 
A Past President of RIA, Ellen holds the designations of Certified Rug Specialist and Certified Oriental Rug Appraiser through the International Society of Appraisers.  She is a co-developer of the Master Rug Cleaner Program, co-author of A Comprehensive Guide to Oriental and Specialty Rug Cleaning and serves as an expert witness for the legal profession.   

Heirloom Rug Cleaning

5858 Thunderbird Road
Indianapolis, IN 46236
317.723.8215
www.heirloomrugcleaning.com

Tour 5/3, 9:30am –11:30am

Langenwalter

4521 W. 99th St
Carmel, IN 46077
317.876.9944
www.any-spot.com

Tour 5/3 - 2 p.m. - 3 p.m.

Langenwalter has been in business since 1995. Serving over 25,000 residential and commercial customers we provide carpet cleaning, odor and stain removal, rug and upholstery cleaning as well as 24 hour emergency water restoration service. We are very excited to see everyone here in Indy this May!

Oriental Rug Cleaning of Indianapolis

4349 W. 96th Street
Indianapolis, IN 46268
317.334.1910
www.Orientalrugcleaningindianapolis.com

Tour 5/3- 3:30pm -5: 30pm

Oriental Rug Cleaning of Indianapolis has been providing expert rug care to the Indianapolis area since 2008. Being a part of the family of brands, RG Decor & Sani-Bright, we offer our clients a broad range of products and services. From in-plant & on-location cleaning services to our 10,000 square foot retail showroom full of beautiful area rugs, flooring, custom furniture, & home decor. Through RG Decor we also offer complete design services with our degreed interior designers. We are excited to host ARCS Annual Convention attendees for an afternoon Garden Party and a complete tour of our service and retail facilities. We look forward to seeing all of you in Indianapolis!

Location: Indianapolis, Indiana
Hyatt Regency Hotel
One South Capitol Avenue
Indianapolis, Indiana 46204
Visit Hotel Website

Make a reservation

Room Rate $169 + tax
1-888-591-1234
Hotel - Hyatt Regency Indianapolis - Book Now

Randy and Val Hyde of Renaissance Rug Cleaning will teach this intense two day, hands-on repair class. They will take students through some of the most common repair techniques for cleaning businesses, including a variety of end and edge repairs, repairing splits, ways to hang rugs and more

The class consists of two intensive eight-hour days.  Fee for the class includes lunch for the two days, handouts, and all teaching materials.

This class will cover all of the important steps that can make or break your customer experience:

• Learn about your company and what you offer 
• Elevator Pitch 
• Common Pre-Inspection Conditions 
• Terminology: How to Convey Technical Explanations in Layman’s Terms 
• Help new customers navigate the rug cleaning process 
• How to Make Repeat Customers Continue to Feel Valued 
• THE IMPORTANCE OF DOCUMENTATION 
• Managing Customer Expectations 
• Dealing with Complaints 
• Proper Phone Etiquette 
• Proper In-Person Etiquette 
• Inter-Office Communication

Jennifer Colaco: joined Oriental Rug Cleaning in Dallas, Texas as office manager in 2010, becoming the fourth generation of her family to be involved in the flooring business. Prior to this, she worked in textile project management. Jennifer is Vice-President on the Association of Rug Care Specialist Board (ARCS), a Certified Rug Specialist, and Master Rug Cleaner.

A graduate of Texas A&M University, Jennifer and has spent the majority of her professional career interfacing with customers. Her focus on delivering excellent customer practices for her team led her to create and teach “Effective Communications for Rug Cleaners”, currently offered through ARCS.

This class will cover all of the important steps that can make or break your customer experience:

• Learn about your company and what you offer 
• Elevator Pitch 
• Common Pre-Inspection Conditions 
• Terminology: How to Convey Technical Explanations in Layman’s Terms 
• Help new customers navigate the rug cleaning process 
• How to Make Repeat Customers Continue to Feel Valued 
• THE IMPORTANCE OF DOCUMENTATION 
• Managing Customer Expectations 
• Dealing with Complaints 
• Proper Phone Etiquette 
• Proper In-Person Etiquette 
• Inter-Office Communication

Jennifer Colaco: joined Oriental Rug Cleaning in Dallas, Texas as office manager in 2010, becoming the fourth generation of her family to be involved in the flooring business. Prior to this, she worked in textile project management. Jennifer is Vice-President on the Association of Rug Care Specialist Board (ARCS), a Certified Rug Specialist, and Master Rug Cleaner.

A graduate of Texas A&M University, Jennifer and has spent the majority of her professional career interfacing with customers. Her focus on delivering excellent customer practices for her team led her to create and teach “Effective Communications for Rug Cleaners”, currently offered through ARCS.

The basic outline of the course is as follows:

Reviews the basic steps in a “best­ practice” rug cleaning, why we do them and some of the most common prevailing methods in application today. While pros and cons of each method are discussed, editorial content is kept out.

• Pre­-cleaning Inspection – Why some consider it the most important step in rug cleaning and some of the most common conditions encountered in area rugs.
• Dry soil removal – Why it’s important and ways to do it.
• Washing – From dry cleaning methods to full saturation washing. Each method is discussed covering the why and how as well as the pros and cons.
• Drying – Surveying the most common methods in use today
• Finishing processes – Grooming, browning correction, color correction, etc.

Covers the basics of the most common fibers and chemicals encountered in area rug care. Topics are discussed generically, avoiding favoritism and bias.

• Wool – Why it is the most common rug fiber. How we go from sheep to rug yarn.
• Cotton – Production and application
• Silk – It’s advantages, disadvantages and production
• Bast Fibers – production and uses
• Plastics – Nylon, Olefin, etc.
• Rayon – production and it’s many other names

• Soil – most common types, how they accumulate and implications for cleaning
• Solvents – Polar and Non­-polar, volatile and non­volatile and applications for cleaning
• Detergents – what they are and how they work
• The PH scale – What it is, why it’s important and the general PH of specific substances
• Sinner circle

A general discussion of tufted rugs and their specific cleaning needs and concerns is followed by a survey of the most common types of tufted rugs encountered, how to identify them and their specific cleaning needs and concerns.  We finish covering the most common specialty rugs a cleaner will encounter.

• Tufted rugs – What they are and how they differ from other area rugs
• Tufted rugs made in China
• Tufted rugs made in India
• Custom­-tufted rugs
• Machine­-tufted rugs
• Specialty rugs – Skins, Shags, craft rugs, etc.

Picks up where we left off. We start with Machine­-made rugs and cover how to tell them from hand­made rugs. While hand­made rug ID is not discussed, students are introduced to the basics of where they are made, different construction techniques and the terminology used, building a foundation for future classes.

• Wilton construction – both traditional and face­-to­-face variants
• Axminster – both tradition and the Karastan® variants
• Hand­made – piled and non­-piled construction, terminology and how to tell them from machine­-made rugs

About the instructor ­- Armen Dohanian: is a fourth generation rug cleaner. His family owns a 100 + year old rug cleaning and restoration business in Boston, Massachusetts. Involved in rug cleaning from an early age, Armen is currently vice­-president of operations at the Oriental Rug Cleaning Company in Dallas, TX, a 103 year old, “full­-service” rug cleaning and restoration company. Mr. Dohanian is an ARCS Certified Rug Specialist (CRS), a certified Master Rug Cleaner and a Woolsafe North America "Fiber Care Specialist" as well as a member of the International Society of Appraisers.