Now in its 80th year, Persian Rug Company has spanned four generations. In the 1920’s, J.A. and Najebe Munson began selling dry goods and cleaning rugs in a small shop downtown at the corner of Main St. and Central Avenue. Ms. Munson, the daughter of Lebanese immigrants, was born and raised in Chattanooga, but Mr. Munson came as a young man from Lebanon with the promise of employment from a distant relative.
The couple eventually opened a business that focused on the cleaning and repairing of oriental rugs. Around the time of the depression, the family constructed a new building at 818 Main Street where the business continued to operate under the ownership of their youngest son, Fred Munson, until he passed away in 2007.
The company is now owned by their grandson, Chris Munson and his family. Mr. Munson has recently been joined by his daughter Jessica Ellis who is an interior designer by trade. She is on hand to assist customers who may need that extra help to choose a rug that would work best with the style and colors that they are working with.
During the 1960’s the oldest grandchildren worked in the business after high school and college with their grandmother, learning the art of weaving and repairing rugs and the service of cleaning.
After college, the children made their own way in other professions, but continued to help in the day-to-day operation of the business as their Uncle Fred aged and looked forward to his retirement. With his passing, a decision had to be made about the future of the business. Customers called and came by daily to encourage the family to continue with the cleaning and repairs and their encouragement paid off.
Earlier this year, Persian Rug Company opened a new location within a 10,000 sq. ft. warehouse only one block east of the old location near Main St. The new location at 917 East 16th St. not only allows more space for rug cleaning, but over 7,500 sq.ft. of warehouse space for a new showroom.
Previously, the emphasis of the business had been on the service, cleaning, and repair of rugs and the company had not been an active retailer in the new rug market. In the earlier years, resources were spent on the purchase of used oriental rugs that were coming into the market while people were turning to wall-to-wall carpet.
Over time, a small but delightful inventory of unique and antique rugs was built and is now offered for sale. This collection is displayed along with a huge selection of new rugs in a wide variety of shapes and sizes from all over the world. All of the rugs are 100% wool pile and hand made. The selection consists of the traditional oriental design and more modern area rugs along with a great selection of antiques.
The current inventory comprises in excess of 500 rugs, including Persian rugs and oriental rugs from China, India, Pakistan, and Persia.
How can you tell the quality of an Oriental rug? Most well-known rug masterpieces were woven in Persia, and those revered patterns set the standard for many reproduction rugs today. Today’s newest reproduction rugs are woven with such great care and quality that they retain their value and should last for decades when subjected to ordinary wear and tear.
Because of this, even experts can find it difficult to identify a reproduction rug from a distance. Gone are the days when a rug’s origin predicted its quality. Now, Pakistan, India, Turkey and other rug producers create rugs ranked in good, better, and fine quality.
So, what must you look for when choosing an Oriental rug? Good quality wool rugs have healthy wool that is soft and pliable and shows no evidence of being dry, course or brittle. Silk rugs have good sheen and exhibit fine detail in the outline of color boundaries and include more knots per square inch due to the finer fibers. A good quality rug will not shed significantly, but care must also be taken to thoroughly vacuum a heavily
traveled rug, as small sharp grit particles will cut the wool at the foundation and cause unnecessary shedding of a good quality rug.
Except for very modern rugs woven on commercial metal frames, handmade rugs will have a slightly longer edge. An heirloom wooden frame is used and passed down by families who have woven rugs for generations, and it is not likely plumb. It may take more than two years to complete.
Owners said, "Stop by the showroom and it would be our pleasure to evaluate any rug you are considering restoring or replacing."
Persian Rug Company is located at 917 E. 16th St. in downtown Chattanooga. They can be reached at 423 475-5222.