For the month of November, we’re celebrating AREA RUGS! And what better way to start the month than with a brief history…
The oldest known rug was discovered in a tomb in southern Siberia some 70 years ago. Called the Pazyryk rug, it dates back to around 400BC. Since then, area rugs have evolved from a strictly utilitarian item used for warmth and comfort into “artwork” for the floor.
Egypt is credited with creating the very first rugs back in 3000BC and gradually, the craft of rug making spread to India, the Orient and Europe. Processes and materials improved, style and design became more intricate and ornate, function remains an important consideration.
Today, rugs are more popular than ever; not only do they meet the same basic needs of form and function, the looming machines allow for a variety of shapes, sizes, textures and colours. Rugs are used to define a room, protect the surface beneath, provide warmth and comfort underfoot and inject colour and style into a space.
Our history with area rugs doesn’t go back quite so far, but we have played and continue to play an important role in the area rug business in Canada. Over 30 years ago, Stevens Omni recognized that there was a large gap in the landscape of the floor covering industry in Canada; there was a significant lack of access to machine-made area rugs. We set out to fill that gap and began work on what is now recognized as Canada’s largest collection of machine-made rugs.
Like the history of rugs themselves, our own collection has evolved over time. We import our rugs from Belgium, Egypt, Turkey and India from experienced manufacturers.
Our line-up of display options is like no other available in Canada. The Slideshow display provides consumers with a front facing view of each rug in its entirety; the rails glide easily from side to side revealing the rug behind. We offer flexible payment plans, and discount pricing on the units when purchased with an order to fill them with our rugs.
In 2018 we restructured our pricing to make it easier to understand and work with, we also introduced a new format of catalog that features full-page, high-resolution images of each rug we carry. Our mobile showroom has been travelling on rotation with our sales reps in Ontario and Quebec for a couple of years now and is stocked with a selection of our best-selling rugs.
The “Rug Club” was introduced in 2017 and we have enjoyed much success with this exclusive, by invitation only, program. Members receive regular emails with pre-selected rug packages offering deep discounts and at times, additional perks such as free rug pad, free shipping or free displays.
With all of the value-added advantages of the rug program at Stevens Omni, we have developed an established network of dealers and have started inroads with the furniture & home specialty stores, home staging, and film & television production segments. Contact your local sales representative or our Customer Service department If you’d like to learn more about the Rug Club or how our rug program can benefit your business. If you’re already an established retail partner, please continue to watch for specials, promotions and information all month long. If you just want to see the rugs already, click here.