Our Mission

Our Rug Vendors
August 29, 2023

Our Rug Vendors

Rug Brands

We have tried to limit the quantity of rugs on the website to keep the shopping experience pleasant and manageable. Originally, it was a smaller amount but we kept finding more and more we liked and couldn't help but add them. Nonetheless, there may be rugs from the vendor list below that you do not see on the website. If you find that to be the case, Please let us know and we will do our due diligence with regards to availability and pricing. Please email us at: info@rubiconrugs.com.

We proudly carry rugs from the following manufacturers (in alphabetic order):

Amer Rugs
Concord Global
Dynamic Rugs
Couristan
Loloi Rugs
Oriental Weavers
SAMS International
Surya
United Weavers

We have a couple more in the pipeline but as now this is the list. Suggestions welcome.

Thank you.

 

 

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The 10% GoodWeave Donation Process
August 29, 2023

The 10% GoodWeave Donation Process

When your rug purchased is finalized, we will make a 10% of the sale donation to GoodWeave in your name. After receiving the donation, the charity will send you a thank you acknowledgement.

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August 17, 2023

Price Matching on Rugs

We have made a concerted effort to offer our rugs at the lowest prices which compare favorably to other retailers' "Sale" prices. Also, we will do our best to match the price of any licensed dealer and big box/major internet retailer, specifically, Home Depot, Lowe's, Walmart, Amazon, Rugs.com, RugsUSA.com, Google Shopping, Wayfair, Macy's, Bloomingdale's, Nordstrom, Bed Bath and Beyond, Crate and Barrel, and Target. If you have a price question during our regular business hours: 8:00AM-10PM PST Monday-Saturday, please call 503-462-4752. If no immediate answer, please leave a detailed message and we will respond ASAP. If outside these hours, please email us or call and leave a message and we will respond as soon as operations resume. We may surprise you with an early bird or night owl response. We want to help you make the best decision.

Price Match Guarantee Criteria:

1) No other discounts can be piggybacked or added on.

2) Item must be in stock.

3) Price matching extends to authorized licensed dealers only. No discounters.

 

 

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Child Labor In Pakistan; The Atlantic monthly Feb 1996
June 29, 2023

Child Labor In Pakistan; The Atlantic monthly Feb 1996

https://www.theatlantic.com/magazine/archive/1996/02/child-labor-in-pakistan/304660/

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Mutual Symbiosis in the Rug Industry
January 02, 2022

Mutual Symbiosis in the Rug Industry

In nature, mutual symbiosis is a relationship where everyone benefits in their interaction with each other. Most of us are familiar with the clown fish and sea anemone and the bees and flowers, but there are many examples.  Ants and aphids, Pistol shrimp and Goby fish, Wooly bats and Pitcher plants, coral and algae, Oxpeckers and crocodiles and other large mammals, and our favorite, the senita cactus and the senita moth all engage in successful mutual symbiotic relationships. There are many more.

With each of the these relationships, all participants benefits. The clown fish gets protection from predators and the sea anemone gets cleansed of parasites. Bees get pollen to make honey and the flowers are fertilized. Ants eat the sweet excretions secreted by aphids and the aphids get protection from predators. the Pistol shrimp with its notoriously poor eyesight gets lookout protection from the Goby and the Goby gets a nice secure place to live. 

For us at Rubicon Rugs, we want to help participate in further developing an environment where rug shoppers, in addition to adding a beautiful rug to their homes, can make a measurable and rewarding contribution. By offering quality brand-name rugs at the same prices as the Big Box stores and omnipresent online retailers and forwarding 10% of the rug purchase price to GoodWeave (www.GoodWeave.org), we hope that customers will seriously consider what shopping with us means. 

We welcome your questions. Please email us at info@rubiconrugs.com. 

Thank you.

 

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The necessity of a rug pad
January 02, 2022

The necessity of a rug pad

Why get a Pad?

It is sometimes tempting to forego adding on a rug pad when buying a rug. It is our belief that every rug should have a rug pad for a number of reasons, most importantly for safety. 

1) The rug pad keeps the rug from moving. No one wants to see a loved one slip on a rug. It is one of the biggest tripping hazards for older adults and new walkers and frankly, who wants the worry? 

2) A proper pad will slow the wear of the rug. Rugs pad reduce the impact of foot traffic and provide support for the rug. The cumulative impact of crushing by stepping on a rug is lessened by a pad. The extra resiliency of a pad slows the wear and tear on the rug. 

3) A proper rug pad will protect the floor's finish. 

3)  A low profile rug will feel more comfortable and luxurious underfoot with a pad underneath. 

4) Pets typically do not like walking or laying on hard surface and gravitate towards a comfy proximate place while enjoying your company. Older dogs with tender arthritic joints have mobility issues and a pad eases their discomfort.

We recommend paying a little more for a pad that doesn't image onto the flooring finish. A cheap pad made from the wrong materials can chemically interact with your flooring surface, leaving you with the major headache of refinishing the floor. 

Lastly, get the right pad for your rug and floor surface. Ask us, we're happy to help.

Thankyou.

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Mission Statement
September 02, 2021

Mission Statement

We believe that people want to make a difference and just need an opportunity to do so.

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Loloi Rugs
May 07, 2021

Loloi Rugs

Loloi Rugs, a rapidly ascending leading rug producer whose continuous innovation in style, color, and affordability sets an astounding pace with an enormous array of continually updated beautiful rug collections, has now partnered with GoodWeave as a licensed importer.

 

Important note: Only the handmade rugs made in India by Loloi are certified GoodWeave rugsGoodWeave only has certification programs in India and Nepal. None of the machine made rugs are certified as child labor free; there are no NGOs that monitor machine made rug production. Again, Only the rugs that are handmade by Loloi in India are certified by GoodWeave. This information is detailed in bold within the description of the each of the GoodWeave certified rugs. Nonetheless, we are committed to the contribution of 10% of all Loloi rug sales to GoodWeave, both hand-made and machine-made. If you have any questions, please let us know by email at: info@rubiconrugs.com or call us at: 503-462-4752.

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Rug Origins
April 29, 2021

Rug Origins

Rug Origins

 

The machine made rugs featured on our website are manufactured by established leading companies such as Oriental Weavers/Sphinx, Couristan, Dynamic Rugs, Concord Global, Amer, and United Weavers. These manufacturers have build their long standing reputations on the quality and consistency of the products they produce all over the world. Some rugs are made in the USA, Belgium, Turkey, Egypt, China. 

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Age of Rugs
April 24, 2021

Age of Rugs

Standard Age Categories of Hand Knotted Rugs

An antique rug is at least 100 years old.

Semi antique at least 50 years old.

Vintage is between 25-50 years old.

 A New rug is 20 years old or newer.

Please note: The recently mainstreamed term, "Vintage" as applied to our rugs does not represent condition or quality but is only an assessment of age.

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Looking at Rugs
April 24, 2021

Looking at Rugs

To spend half a minute looking at a rug is to waste half a minute, for the object was made to be considered at leisure, and in the mood of rest. Arabesques are meant to be followed. Series of tones may be observed at first in a like kinesthetic fashion, by remarking the use of tone at its allotted intervals, some green or rose reintroduced as leaf, stripe, flower and so on in a different environment and shape. There is constant appeal to the circumference of vision and the eye resting on one place should not be too definitely centered, for it is in the "tail of the eye” that the most interesting recognitions of design will be found."

 

Schoeder: The Art of Looking at Rugs

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Rug Care Tips
April 24, 2021

Rug Care Tips

 

Rug Care Tips

1. Remember to periodically rotate your rug. This ensures more even wear and prolongs the life of your investment.

2. Move furniture legs a couple of inches away from the impression spot on the rug.  This allows the rug to breathe.  If a heavy piece of furniture is allowed to sit for a long time, the weight of the furniture tends to crush the wool underneath over time.  Casters are always a good idea.

3. If your rugs colors seem to have flattened out, try flipping the rug over and vaccuming the back. You can clean towards the fringes if you vaccum sideways; this way the ends of the rug are much less likely to get pulled up into the machine.

4. If you have rugs on landings, you should have a good pad. If the stairs are heavily traveled and the pad has lost grip or significant resiliency, consider getting a new pad.

5.  If you have direct light during the intense summer days, consider drawing the blinds to deflect the direct light. A full summer of southern exposure may fade the rug.

6 If you have a plant on a rug… well, we recommend against it but if you do, make sure you have an impermeable basin underneath the plant.  Plastics degrade and crack and Terra Cotta pots may leach color under the rug.

7. And last, if you have a portion of the rug covered by furniture, cool, and has little airflow, protect your rug from insects. Many container stores and big box stores have cedar blocks and oil you can purchase. You can also cache a couple of fistfuls of cedar chips from the local pet store and toss them into the questionable area.

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GoodWeave
April 18, 2021

GoodWeave

GoodWeave – a nonprofit organization founded in 1994 by Nobel laureate Kailash Satyarthi – is the leading global institution with a mission to stop child labor in global supply chains through a market-based holistic and authenticating system. GoodWeave brings visibility to global supply chains, gives voice to informal and marginalized workers, provides assurance that certified products are free of child labor, and restores childhood to vulnerable children so they can laugh, learn, and play. 

Direct donations can be made here: www.goodweave.org

Important note: Only the handmade rugs by Loloi are certified GoodWeave rugsGoodWeave only has certification programs in India and Nepal. None of the machine made rugs are certified as child labor free; there are no NGOs that monitor machine made rug production. Again, Only the rugs that are handmade by Loloi in India are certified by GoodWeave. This information is detailed in bold within the description of the each of the GoodWeave certified rugs. 

Also see: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/GoodWeave_International

Nonetheless, we are committed to the contribution of 10% of all Loloi rug sales to GoodWeave, both hand-made and machine-made. If you have any questions, please let us know by email at: info@rubiconrugs.com or call us at: 503-462-4752.

Thank you.

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Our Mission
April 16, 2021

Our Mission

Our Mission

To build mutually symbiotic relationships between stakeholders in the rug industry for the benefit of all.

 

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