The following is an article that appeared in the Metrowest Daily News
on Friday, February 23, 2001
by Brooke Leister News staff writer
Editor's note: This is the first in a weekly series taking a deeper look at the people who earn their living helping you make your ideal home.
As he sits in his showroom surrounded by hundreds of intricately woven handmade Oriental rugs, it is obvious that John Gregorian does not treat his rug-selling business as a 9-to-5 gig. Just like the intricate interlacing designs found in his rugs, Gregorian's passion has woven itself into his entire being and psyche - it is truly something he loves.
"I look at Oriental rugs not as just something to sell, but I touch them and smell them. I look at the design and idiosyncrasies of the rug," said the self-described "Rug Man" as his eyes lit up and his face and hands became animated. This deeply rooted passion, which has been a driving force throughout his life, also led him to write Oriental Rugs of the Sik Route - an exquisite, well-written tale chronicling the culture, process and selection of Oriental rugs. The book was released last May. As a child, Gregorian use to sit by himself in his father Arthur's store and study the resplendent and complicated designs that flowed throughout the rugs and gave them life.
Gregorian grew up surrounded by the stunning rugs imported by his father, a Persian refugee who founded the company in 1934. Not only did the mystery and beauty surrounding the rugs' designs fascinate Gregorian, he was also captivated by his father's tales about the ancient silk route. The interest and curiosity never dimmed. Quite the contrary. The Wayland resident now serves as the president of Arthur T. Gregorian Inc.
And so it begins
"I really grew up in this business sleeping, eating and breathing
rugs," Gregorian said as he sat at a small uncluttered desk in the
back of his store. Against the back wall, framed encasements held small
Oriental rugs, while others simply hung from the walls and others rested
against each other in rolled up stacks. Dark blues blended into deep,
vivid greens, while deep reds and rich golden shades could be seen in
several of the magnificent rugs on display.
Gregorian, 59, moved into his current location in 1980 and has since expanded. The original building was built in 1790 and the creaky wooden floors and large wooden ceiling beams not only provide a comfortable, homey ambiance but also lend a sense of history to the building that was once a paper mill.
While most teenagers lazed the summer days away with friends, in 1959 Gregorian embarked on a trip that would decisively change his life. Then a junior in high school, he made his first trip to Iran with his father - albeit reluctantly. "I was a high school kid - an All-American - and the last thing I wanted to do was spend a summer away. (But) it was an eye-popping experience" Gregorian said.
The trip to the homeland his father and relatives had fled during World War I proved eye-opening for Gregorian as his father's long told tales of his village finally came to life before his eyes. "I had grown up on stories that he (Arthur) had always told of his village and people and suddenly it was before me and alive," Gregorian recounted. Not only was he able to visit his father's hometown and birthplace, but his father began to lay the ground-work for the path his life would take. His father took him to bazaars and taught him the ins and outs of rug buying - a precise and tricky craft to master.
Unlike the United States, where customers simply walk into a store and make a purchase, in the Middle East bargaining is the mode of commerce. For someone not skilled and educated about the culture of rug buying, it would be easy for the merchant to take the prospective buyer for - forgive the pun - a ride. As Gregorian says, "lies are not lies, but thought of as cleverness in the Middle-Eastern mind."
Surviving 'mental gymnastics'
Before the rug bargaining even begins, the traditional prelude is
a tea presentation. "There is a wonderful superstition in the Persian
bazaar that when you are given a glass of tea, it is filled to the brim
so that the devil can not sit on the dege and dangle his feet in your
drink," Gregorian writes in his book. One of his most memorable buying
experiences occurred in Iran more than 20 years ago. After entering the
town, Gregorian and his father were taken to the head merchant, of "Dallal."
In some towns, the buyer must first meet with the head merchant in the
village before making a purchase.
As they approached the Dallal, they discovered an elderly man kneeling before a small grill with a teapot on top. "When you go to see him, it's almost like a ritual you have to go through. As we were sitting there talking to him, we were surrounded by rugs for sale, but you don't mention the rugs," Gregorian explained. "It's like a social call -a process you have to go through like taking tea." As Gregorian and his father continued to talk with the Dallal, the elderly man reached down and presented them with a pipe and invited the two to smoke opium with him. And there was still no mention of rugs.
"I don't smoke opium so I blew out like President Clinton," Gregorian said as he laughed at the memory, After talking some more, the rugs were finally mentioned and Gregorian and his father began the process of going through them and bargaining.
As Gregorian writes in his book, "A typical negotiation may proceed as follows: you see a rug you admire and the merchant compliments you on your taste, He then quotes a price that reflects his mood more than the true value of the rug. The price does not seem too good so you offer him half, at which he feigns stabbed in the heart - you close by splitting the difference.
"If you wander through the bazaar after making your deal, you will be assailed by other merchants, who will try to sell you rugs almost identical to the one you just purchased for half the price you just paid. So it goes in the rug world." Sitting in his inviting store, Gregorian described the bargaining process as a form of "mental gymnastics" and added that while it is an extremely psychological process, it is also enjoyable. "If it's not enjoyable you go crazy. You don't just go in and say, I'll take that." Buying a rug can take an entire day." Gregorian said.
The eye of the beholder
Like the culturally rich lands where they are made, Oriental rugs
have an extensive history with the ancient Silk Route, which began at
the Golden Horn in present day Istanbul and extended to the Caucasus,
Iran, Afghanistan and Central Asia to China through its seaports. In Turkey,
rugs were integral to the comfort, survival and Moslem religion of its
people who use prayer rugs during their devotion five times a day. In
predominantly Hindu India, rug weaving began strictly as an export industry
during the takeover of the Mughal emperors from Persia.
The hand-knotted Oriental rugs sold today come from a variety of rug making countries and often replicate designs found in pre-revolutionary Iran. All of the rugs Gregorian sells are handmade - made using the old technique of knotting. To complete a 9-foot by 12-foot rug, Gregorian says it takes three or four weavers six to eight months on their designated sections. It would take a single weaver two years to make the same rug.
Unlike machine-made rugs with perfect symmetry and shape, handmade rugs may have slight imperfections and variations. "To the Moslem weaver perfection on Earth does not exist - only Allah is perfect, so trying to achieve perfection would be considered arrogant," Gregorian writes. "Many Middle Eatern people accept mistakes as part of life. If a family is weaving a rug and dyes wool as needed with the result being the colors do not match or age in the same way, ultimately, they do not consider this to be an error. The rug is simply the way it is," Gregorian writes.
Before purchasing a rug, Gregorian always brings his face to the carpet and inhales. "I love the smell of the rugs - the oils, the lanolin and the wool. You can really smell good wools," Gregorian said. "Rugs from Iran smell differently than rugs from Turkey, so someday when I'm old and blind I'll still be able to tell the difference." Rugs should have a rich, pleasant aroma combining wool and lanolin. Avoid carpets with an acrid aroma, which will only intensify after you bring the carpet home. When selecting a rug, Gregorian suggested studying how well the design and construction work together to create a feeling that brings the rug to life and gives it a soul - a feeling that is different for everyone.
"A lot of times the first Oriental rug you buy will be the one you'll want to keep forever. It becomes part of the family," Gregorian said. "If you take a rug and put it on the floor the room becomes alive. "...It's not the price that makes the rug, it's the rug itself. Does it speak to you?"
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John Gregorian with his father, Arthur, shop for carpets in Iran in the 1960s.
A pastel Indo-Keshan rug complements the bright, airy feel of this summer home overlooking the sea.