Rustigian Rugs

In 1981 Roz bought a former bank building at One Governor Street in Providence where the rug store now resides. By the mid-1980s, the store was modernized, adding a computerized system for operations, inventory control and customer service. For three decades we have maintained complete records of all customer activity. Should a mishap befall a purchased rug, a couple of key strokes calls up all sales history AND a photo. Similarly, any installed goods can be immediately identified for replacement or insurance evaluation.

In January of 1996 Roz attended the National Oriental Rug Market in Atlanta, Georgia. There she watched in astonishment as the CEO of the largest handwoven carpet company in the United States proudly accepted an award for “best in show” in the category of 6 x 9 Machine Made rug for under $149.00. Seismic changes were afoot and Roz realized that the rug business was about to change and change rapidly! On Monday she flew back to Providence and immediately started planning for the addition of a full scale wall-to-wall carpet operation.

In the fall of 1996 the carpet department was started in a bookcase on the first floor – an infant sister of the already robust handmade rug operation. Today, samples are showcased on the entire second floor of One Governor Street and operations are centered in a fully equipped warehouse which also serves as the service department’s in-house cleaning and repair plant.

The store has a full staff of employees (representing about 110 years of experience at Rustigian’s) with at least two teams of expert installers working out of the two locations at any given time. At Rustigian’s, local and global responsibility is emphasized, and the staff is encouraged to participate in local government and local charities. Rustigian Rugs also uses local professionals and vendors, to the extent possible, and keeps a “shop local” mentality in everything they do.