Been a long time, too long...

Sorry about the long time between posts, I will see what I can do to remedy that in the coming weeks.  Meanwhile the new Kyle Bunting Rug book is out.  Have a gander:

http://www.kylebunting.com/ideas-idea-book.php

The work continues

Today in the mail I received the restored piece from Mair Oriental Rug Services.  It looks great and I immediately ran it over to the workroom so that work could commence.  The chair is going to need new padding and spring retying.  Then the fabric is going to have to be very carefully put back on (we will likely attach it to another backing to help stabilize and strengthen it).  Finally new flat braid (gimp) and decorative tacks will have to be put on the whole chair.  By replacing all the flat braid and tacks we will maintain a uniform look rather than trying to match the old ones (which will never be quite right).  I can't wait for the finished product!

The latest update...

Here is what Doug Mair (http://www.orientalrugservices.com/about_us.htm) has done with the damaged needlepoint:

Can you tell what happened to fix it?  I can't.  It looks original to me.

The color is near perfect (although in Canada it is colour).

They went in and rebuilt the base that all of the pieces are attached to.  The arrows show the reconstructed areas.  If they had only fixed the holes then the piece would have fallen apart again in short time.  You'll never see all the work that was done, but we know it's there.

Lastly here is the reverse.  Once again, flawless.  I cannot recommend Mair Oriental Rug Services more highly.  On time, and for easily less than half the cost the work should have been.  Top notch!

Bad dog!

Ever wonder why it is so expensive to repair a "tiny little bit" of damage at the corner of your rug?  Here are a few photos of what has to be done to rebuild what looks like a small section.

It takes the right tools...

Part two of my epic restoration project.  Mair Oriental Rug Services
http://www.orientalrugservices.com/about_us.htm is working on the piece for my customer.

Here is a preview of some of their tools...

 Having the right color is really important...

But so is having the correct fiber...

And it has to be from the right time period...

In this line of work you can never have enough...

Hand dyed wool...

Hand dyed silk from Tabriz...

Up next, some photos of how the work is actually done.  Stay tuned...

Hide, Hide, and more Hide...

Kyle Bunting's work reminds me of an episode from when I was volunteering at the SPCA.  After two years there someone made an off handed comment about me being a vegan.  I looked down and said "What makes you think I'm a vegan?  I'm wearing leather shoes, a leather belt, and a leather jacket."  That being said I have nothing on Kyle Bunting.

Kyle has hair-on-hide rugs, furniture, wallpaper (that's right I said wall paper) and artwork.

http://www.kylebunting.com/

Before you point out that much of his work is contemporary, there are traditional pieces and contemporary ones that I would easily make an exception for.  And when I saw this down at the Design Center I knew it would be perfect for one of my clients.

Now the only question that remains is how do I keep the cat from destroying it like she did to our Angora Goat hide that we had in the Living room?