Today we’d like to introduce you to Jerry Krull.
Thanks for sharing your story with us Jerry. So, let’s start at the beginning and we can move on from there.
Our friends find it funny that a guy with a receding hairline would open a “rug” business!
When my wife, Laura, and I decided to start a family, we also decided to start a side family business. The business had to be something Laura could manage phone calls from home as she transitioned to be a stay at home mother. I wanted a business we were both interested in growing.
With my background in marketing and Laura’s talent in interior design, we settled on opening a custom area rug design studio. No inventory would be necessary and, initially at least, we could fabricate the rugs in our basement work area.
It was 1994 and the internet was just blossoming as a commercial presence. I taught myself how to code a website and put up a rudimentary website with only one picture of a rug I created based on a Frank Lloyd Wright art glass window. I added a line to the website that we specialized in Prairie School / Craftsman designs based on my interest in that style of architecture. Within a couple of days, we were getting emails asking about our style of rugs and when one came from Belgium, I realized the internet might be lucrative for a niche style business.
We did some press releases and appeared in newspapers and magazines which built our brand. Our goal was to be the premier studio for custom area rug designs in Prairie, Craftsman and Mid-Century Modern designs.
Our website was our only store and it soon attracted rug manufacturing companies from overseas. I did some research through government agencies on importing rugs and determining if child labor was involved. After some discussions and research, we found a couple of rug makers who were members of Goodweave International which monitors rug manufacturers to insure there is no child labor and fair wages for adults.
We had a client who wanted a custom design made in wool fibers. We were in-between houses waiting for our new home to be finished, so we could not make the rug ourselves. We had the rug made in our design by one of the rug weavers. It was hand-knotted and looked gorgeous. It turned out to cost less than if we had made the rug in our home studio. From that moment forward we had all our rugs woven by our new partners using our custom designs.
We have designed and had rugs woven in 100% wool, wool and silk, and artificial silk (bamboo) fibers. We will design rugs for the client based on any motif and color scheme for their home or business. We also will do any style, not just our niche.
We have designed over 20 custom Prairie style rugs for a 12,000 square foot home in Arkansas working with the client’s architect. We have had designers take our designs and adapt them for an office in Saudi Arabia. The Frank Lloyd Wright designed Dana-Thomas home in Springfield, IL invited me to create a design based on an art glass window in the home. Any rug created from that design results in a portion of the proceeds going to that state owned home museum.
We have worked with owners of original Prairie style architects like Wright, Walter Burley Griffin, George Grant Elmslie in the Midwest. Also architects who moved out west like Frank Delos Wolfe in San Jose, CA who designed in a Prairie style early in the 1900’s.
We’re always bombarded by how great it is to pursue your passion, etc – but we’ve spoken with enough people to know that it’s not always easy. Overall, would you say things have been easy for you?
Initially I was able to some press in a regional newspaper and we had several orders come in. Being new to the business and making the rugs ourselves, we struggled with getting materials and hand making the rugs in time frames our clients needed. I was only part-time in the business and Laura was full-time and with our two young children at home.
We eventually found clients liked our rugs made in hand-knotted wool by our weavers. We outsourced the weaving, then outsourced the logistics of having rugs shipped from Nepal to our home. We handle designing area rugs, client communications, and marketing our services.
We’ve been through a couple of economic cycles and found that custom furnishings lag the economic trend. We actually had increases in sales 2008-2012 before seeing revenue drop for a few years. 2016 saw an increase in revenue and 2017 is growing even greater than 2016.
Educating a client on how a design is executed in a rug is always a part of the process. A computer line drawing of a design is very precise. A rug is woven fibers that move. Lines are not perfectly straight, shapes are not perfectly symmetrical. The higher the knot count the more precise the execution, but hand-knotted rugs are made by hand – not machine. Most people appreciate the craftsmanship of a handmade piece, but we have to set expectations that the final execution will not be a precise reflection of the computer version of the design.
So, as you know, we’re impressed with Aspen Carpet Designs – tell our readers more, for example what you’re most proud of as a company and what sets you apart from others.
We’re proud of the quality of our designs and rugs for our niche market. We constantly get pictures and nice comments from our clients.
We’ve been featured in local & major newspapers like The Washington Post and The Chicago Tribune. Magazines like HGTV Magazine, This Old House Magazine, Coastal Living, Old House Interiors, Bloomberg Magazine and others. We also were featured on a segment of a national cable television show “The Insider’s List” on the former Fine Living channel.
We set ourselves apart from others with our ability and honesty about creating custom area rugs. We can make most any size and shape rug. If we can’t meet the client’s request – we let them know we can’t. Some clients want a rug turned around in a very short time frame. We’ll turn it down if we can’t meet that schedule. If there is a delay, we let the client know and we work with client to make up for the missed schedule.
We have also turned down work that would be better handled by a larger weaving company. Retailers have asked for us to carry inventory and supply their stores. That isn’t our focus and we stick with our custom rugs. We can handle large orders for homes and businesses, but supplying retailers is not our objective.
We love delivering a custom product that our clients know is one-of-a-kind and personal to their home.
So, what’s next? Any big plans?
We look to keep focusing on our niche styles and delivering high quality custom area rugs for our clients.
Pricing:
- 80 knots = $47/sq. ft.
- 100 knots = $52/sq. ft.
- 150 knots = $59/sq. ft.
Contact Info:
- Website: www.AspenCarpetDesigns.com
- Phone: 815.277.1190
- Email: info@AspenCarpetDesigns.com
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