Agatha Wanjiru of Aggie’s Creations with her customised mat during the interview this week. PHOTO | SALATON NJAU
Ever been out shopping for house rugs and carpets but found there was nothing to match your taste and colour scheme?
Most times, all you find is a selection of rugs available for you to choose from, which can be very frustrating especially if you want to have a colour scheme for your house.
Interior décor does not have to limit your sense of decorating style with more customised products hitting the market.
Handmade rugs and carpets are now a big thing in the décor market with various companies and individuals making them to suit your requirements.
They have an elegant effect to the room especially when they resonate with the home’s interior décor.
Agatha of Aggie’s creations could make you one of those custom-made rugs in less than a week, all you have to do is go online choose a design that you like and it will be made exactly as you want it.
Agatha Wanjiru, a 22-year-old student says she started rug-making as a hobby to kill boredom after she completed high school back in 2011.
She had a lot of time on her hands and while walking along Biashara Street in Nairobi one day, she stumbled upon a shop selling handmade rugs.
Weaving
The same shop sold the materials used to make rugs. It wasn’t long before she started weaving after securing a Sh5000 loan from a friend. Soon the hobby had grown into a rug-making business venture.
Armed with a crotchet needle, tapestry and wool, Agatha started on her first rug which took her a month to finish, something she now works on in five days.
“It wasn’t easy to sell the first rug which I sold after three months, but after that, the orders started streaming in,” says Wanjiru who now deals with orders of 20 rugs in a month.
Mary Otieno also learnt the art of weaving house rugs, a talent that she recently identified and it has helped her keep busy after losing her job.
“It all started when one of the members in my social group came to Kisumu to teach the art of weaving mats, I was out of a job and thought this would keep me busy,” says Ms Otieno.
She now works on orders from family and friends who have supported her in nurturing this talent.
She started working on orders last August and has already worked on 11 pieces all which are custom made.
Mary and Agatha have both crafted the art of making hand-made, customised rugs, a skill which they both say, not only helps them make money but also gives them satisfaction, especially when their clients are happy with the finished product.
Whether it’s a bath and toilet set, a door mat or living room or bedroom rug or carpet, customised rugs are said to be warmer than machine woven ones due to the wool used in making them.
“Customers may want a non-standard rug to fit a certain space in their home; then a custom-made rug is the perfect choice since you get it made-to-measure,” says Ms Otieno.
Wanjiru attests to this due to the array of designs she has come up with where it is rare to get two people wanting the same design.
A chunky yarn is used to make the rug fluffy. The tapestry which is the base of the carpet also matters as it is the foundation of the rug.
“People are more inclined to buy a custom-made rug since it gives a sense of ownership when they select the design they want,” says Wanjiru who has now had to train two other people who help in weaving the rugs.
Images
The design should also be drawn to perfection to make the rugs even depending on the shape. The design can either be flowers, animals, names or asymmetrical images.
Despite her being in university, Agatha manages to juggle school work as well as the business which helps pay her rent and sustain her life in school.
The use of wool is preferred to cotton or synthetic yarns due to its durability and the fact that it does not fade. Custom-made rugs are also said to be more colourful since one can order one with an array of colours that blend easily into each other.
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