We are people with experience in many facets of the business of rugs, designing, making selling, who passionately care about rugs: machine made, tufted, knotted and printed.
Rug News (magazine), now called Rug News andDesign, has been publishing since 1978. Before that the senior editor and founder, Leslie Stroh, was a major US rug importer and manufacturer.
The print magazine was written for the most demanding audience: the makers, importers and sellers of rugs who are truly experts. The internet allows us to select material from previous issues and re-publish it for a broader audience.
Article writers are often industry experts who write about their area of expertise. Many are in the business that they write about, and we disclose that. We are sensitive about about conflicts of interest. Readers also catch our mistakes, and thankfully that does not happen often.
Our Philosophy
Our goal is to educate our readers, and discuss with them issues and trends they and we collectively see.
New products, or new designs are an important part of our coverage, as is the heritage and techniques that make the rug industry a continuum of cultural traditions.
Quality of product starts with the quality of the raw materials, and the care and handling of all of the processes that transform the raw materials into the product that the consumer buys.
Price is a function both of the product and the method of distribution. We have often said that there are only two products, those that are bought (without a human interface) and those that are sold (with a human interface). The key is the human interface.
However, the internet is providing information that formerly came only from people. This magazine will remain in print, and will be the organizing principle for our online presence.
In presenting new products, we try to provide a 50/50 balance between products of our advertisers, and products of other trade participants.
Child Labor: Still an Issue
Child labor has been and continues to be issue in the hand made rug business. Although substantially reduced, it remains a concern. We do not believe that there is a simple solution. After years of dealing with this issue, we have come to a simple statement of our philosophy on this: Empower women and educate children. This will work and is working to change the conditions that lead to children working on looms.
Our Educational Material
We have selected 100 articles from our publishing history that explain different facets of rugs, from history, to designs, to production methods, to pictures of the people and places where these rugs come from.
“Rug Basics” is a graphic illustration of how different hand made rugs are produced. From some it is more than they ever wanted to know, for others it will be a starting point. We will link to more and more other educational sources as time passes.
Our Company
Rug News andDesign magazine was founded in New York City in 1978, and now operates from an office in Morris, NY, with staff located in Eastchester NY, Brooklyn NY, Somerset VA, Asheville NC, and is printed in Fulton MO.
We have friends in most producing countries who help us out as we need specific information. Designing, making, and selling rugs is a global business and has been since the 1500’s.
