Q: What new developments are you introducing for 2016?
A: At Atlanta Market, we're introducing our newest advancement - a special process that allows us to over dye rugs in light colors, including white. Many people have the ability to over dye in dark or vivid colors, but we have taken the technology a step further and can now do pastel colors over dark rugs -- over any color rug for that matter. We are offering this service on both new and old rugs.
Q: You always wear a white lab coat at work. Do you take a scientific approach to your business?
A: Yes. Before opening my own company in Foggia, I visited rug cleaning facilities in Europe and the Middle East, with extensive training and touring in the city of Qum in Iran. I wanted to focus my research on the crème de la crème of all Persian rugs: silk Qum rugs. In a city where trade secrets are tightly guarded, I began my training on silk rug cleaning. I learned how to prevent color run, and how to remove it from extra fine wool rugs, or natural silk rugs.
My extensive training in Qum, Italian artisanship and the newest available technology propelled me into a different era of rug cleaning.
Q: How did your cleaning methods improve the status quo at the time?
A: I studied the chemistry of various stains on wool, silk and faux silk, and developed new methods based on current science. I also focused on how to remove pet uric acid effectively and safely without the use of commonly sold enzymes. This was an unsolved problem at the time. Uric acid actually burns rug fibers and can cause permanent staining.
Q: Why did you transition from gallery owner to cleaning and restoration specialist?
A: Rug knowledge may have been in my blood, but I learned the true art of restoration from the Italian masters and artisans who continue to teach me even today. For that, I am always grateful to my professors in Rome. My client base was in desperate need of reliable cleaning and repair service and I felt they were underserved. It happened that many of them had rugs were damaged at the time.
Q: When did you open your first Revita Rugs facility?
A: I started in 1999 in Foggia, Italy and in October of 2011, revitaRUGS opened doors as my first US branch for area rug cleaning and restoration, serving residential and commercial clients nationwide.
Q: Why should rug companies know about Revita?
A: The aftermarket care of rugs influences purchasing decisions made by buyers. With the consumer review websites critiquing rug brands, it is important to know how to properly maintain and service the fabulous new products introduced by rug designers that now use exotic natural or synthetic fibers. We specialize in cleaning viscose, sisal, jute, hemp and soy and for example. For these fibers, after-market services are essential to the buying experience.
Q: What has changed most about rug fibers since you started in the business?
A: Today's new natural fibers are providing great options for rug weavers, and rug buyers. Traditional wool is mixed with exotic new fibers to enhance the design while practicing sustainability. Many rug weavers have switched to viscose instead of natural silk. We saw these trends coming and adapted our cleaning methods to it. Bamboo silk, sari silk, sisal, seagrass, jute, hemp, viscose or soy are all among new fibers requiring specific technology. No one but Revita can remove stains from viscose; they don't have the technology. Call any rug cleaner and say you have a white viscose rug with a wine stain, and they will basically tell you to throw it out.
Q: You are considered a Persian rug expert by your peers. How did your interest begin?
A: My grandfather was born in Enjilas, which is currently a part of the city of Hamedan, Iran. He inherited a family rug business and continued to expand it through the late 19th century. The stories of his travels on horseback, smoking his golden tobacco pipe , purchasing rugs from nearby villages like Sarough and Malayer, were magical tales passed on to us. It was only a matter of time before his kids and grandkids got into the family business. I joined in 1982, and have never stopped learning.
Q: What artist do you most admire?
A: Leonardo da Vinci. He said, "Art is never finished, only abandoned." That applies to rugs.