Monday, February 28, 2011

DWP Carpet Binding: Manufacturers & Environmentalists!

Many people have asked us if we have strictly commercial accounts. The answer is no.
We have a vast variety of customers consisting of carpet retail stores, wholesalers & commercial builders. We also have walk-in customers that come to us for area rug repairs. Let me take a moment to emphasize that anybody with the need for carpet binding services is welcome to contact us!
Although, there are cases in which we can not be of assistance, such as wall-to-wall re-stretch or hand-tufted carpet repairs; in those cases we have the ability to recommend an installer or store that is capable of completing the work, based on your location. That being said, we're a great source for contacts in the flooring industry.

Let me get to today's topic of "manufacturers & environmentalists" :

DWP Carpet Binding considers itself a manufacturer because we receive rolls of carpet then fabricate them to a user-friendly product. Thankfully, the equipment and materials we stock allow us to make a finished product. This is an advantage that not all of our customers have. Which leads me to the "environmentalist" part.  Over years of doing business retail stores & commercial stores end up with numerous remnants from previous install jobs. The type of carpet varies as each store has a specialty or favored product. In many cases, after years of storing these remnants, they may decide to clear out their storage units or warehouses for extra space that is needed. This is where we come in!

Dan, the owner of DWP Carpet Binding, will make an offer for a bulk load of carpet. This prevents our customer from having to deal with the cost of dumpster fees or drop-off fees, fuel costs and labor to bring their remnants to a landfill/dump.  If the offer is accepted, DWP Carpet Binding then picks up trailer loads of carpet to sort through and fabricate the remnants.
DWP Carpet Binding's 16 foot trailer!
            


I'd like to say that these pieces are pristine upon arrival to our shop, but they're not. Sometimes the carpet remnants are soiled, have crush marks or indentations from being stored without a core,  or in rare instances they have had water damage. If a piece is not capable of being salvaged because of damage or soiling, then we will cut it up and throw it away. Whatever their status is upon arrival, DWP Carpet Binding finds the way to make them useful to someone! It takes a lot of work, but we feel it's best to make use of a good product, rather than allow them to fill up our landfills or dumps.

Having the ability to fabricate these remnant pieces has salvaged many trailer loads of carpet. Just this past weekend, Dan went and picked up two trailer loads, which we are currently sorting through. We have hundreds of remnants in stock (although, I think it's safe to now call them area rugs as opposed to carpet remnants; the glorious result of carpet binding services)!


Since these pieces come from retail & commercial stores, they range from high-end goods, to commercial goods and everything in between. DWP Carpet Binding currently stocks woven goods, wool rugs, Berbers, plush carpets of various heights and densities, vinyl backed carpet, sisal carpets, a few sculpted carpets, carpets with rubber padding for a backing, low-pile commercial goods ... the list goes on and on. I don't think I need to say anything about color scheme, but if you're wondering we've got a multitude of colors, patterns & designs!

We do not want to claim to sell carpets. It is not the primary focus of our business, nor will it ever be. Our stock pieces may not fit the needs for everyone, yet they are an inexpensive way to get a top quality product without having to pay full price!

We will claim that we are manufacturers & environmentalists. We are proud that we are capable of salvaging carpet goods, ultimately aiding in saving our environment and mother Earth one carpet remnant at a time!

If you are in need of a quick replacement for a hallway runner, door mat, or area rug please consider giving DWP Carpet Binding a call or stop into our shop to check out our stock of fabulously salvaged goods!

We also offer rug-hold product for those pieces that need help staying in place!

DON'T FORGET TO CHECK OUT OUR WEB-SITE & ETSY STORE!
www.dwpcarpetbinding.com
www.etsy.com/people/KellyGreenCarpets

Thursday, February 24, 2011

Custom Carpets: "What Are They Good For" ... Absolutely Everything!

Last July I had the pleasure of being a guest at my oldest sister's friends' wedding! Kate & Geoff put in an exhausting amount of work to create an amazing day honoring their love for each other.  It was a beautiful wedding & an absolutely great time!

I had thought to myself, "What could I get as a gift that shows them they are really special?"  I pondered over the next few days dismissing gift ideas left and right, because nothing seemed like a gift from me. Then it hit me, "EUREKA! I can make them a custom carpet honoring their special day!"

This wasn't the first time I was making a custom carpet as a wedding gift. I had been hired once before by a friend to make one honoring her Aunt & soon-to-be Uncle's wedding. She told me the colors of the wedding decor , the date and the names of the couple. I came up with a small bordered piece that she loved, but more importantly her Aunt & Uncle loved just as much!


 Aunt Tina & Uncle Dale appreciated the custom piece so much, they refused to put it on the ground...
They didn't want it getting dirty!

I figured that if this custom carpet was such a huge hit, I could also make a great gesture by gifting one to Kate & Geoff. I toyed around with a few ideas for the design. I was going to link their names like a crossword puzzle including the date of the wedding:
                                           
                                     G
                       KATE
                   7/31/ 2O10 
                               F
                               F
While the idea of the design & layout worked out nearly perfectly, I wasn't completely in love with it. The design just seemed far too plain to be honoring such an event! I knew I could be more creative. That led me to look at the truly unique invitations Kate had mailed me. In order to have all the information & details of the wedding available to the invitee, the use of four cards was necessary. Kate & Geoff (or maybe just Kate) designed their own invitations using the word LOVE as the main idea. The wedding invitations included directions to the establishment, an invite for the rehearsal dinner party, the invitation to the wedding & lastly an RSVP card. The information was listed on the back side of each card, while the front of the cards had one letter each to spell out "LOVE":
 These became my motivation & ultimately the design of my new custom carpet project!

I decided I would recreate these four tablets within an area rug. Now, you may notice a tiny little bird on the card with 'E' on it. This is a small but important detail. While the bride's maids and mother-of-the-bride were preparing for the day, Kate's mother points out a fabulous necklace she bought specifically for the wedding. I over heard her say "as soon as I saw the bird, I knew it was the perfect accessory for today!". In my way of thinking, I considered this a truly special part of the invitation and wedding decor. I wanted to make sure that little bird on a wire was represented in the custom carpet.  After a few days of planning, a lot of cutting & trimming and many hours of gluing, Kate & Geoff's piece was finished! 




Although small in size, 2 ft. by 3.5 ft. , this custom carpet is packed with sentimental value & memories of an amazing day filled with love. It was certainly a privilege to be a guest at Kate & Geoff's wedding. It was an honor creating a custom carpet commemorating the day! 

If you have a special event that you would like to create a custom carpet in honor of, please consider Kelly at DWP Carpet Binding

SHAMELESS PLUG: 
You can learn more about Kate and her amazing skills in photography!
Check out her web-site:


DON'T FORGET TO CHECK OUT OUR WEB-SITE & ETSY STORE:
www.dwpcarpetbinding.com
http://www.etsy.com/shop/KellyGreenCarpets

Wednesday, February 23, 2011

"Make Sure They Cut it Straight This Time."

Back in mid-October, we had a pretty decent job involving multiple hallway runners to be serged on the sides & fringed on the ends. The job involved a beautiful sculpted wool carpet with an intricate pattern.  About a week after completing the job, we received a call from our customer stating their customer wasn't happy with the results.

"Oh my!"

In this situation, DWP Carpet Binding always does the right thing by re-doing any job until the customer is completely satisfied, even if it means eating the cost of materials & labor put forth during the process of correcting any issues. Hearing about an unhappy customer is never a good feeling. Especially for people, like us, who take great pride in the work that they execute.  As a small business, it is our responsibility to make sure our customers are happy, therefore it is also our responsibility to make sure their customers are happy.


Now, a person viewing this may think,  "why on Earth would they talk about a job gone wrong?".

This brings me to the overall point of today's blog:
Pattern bows & defected carpets.

In many instances, a woven carpet with a pattern may skew off two to four inches to width or length.

"What does that mean?"

Patterned goods have a two - four inch leniency before the mills will consider it "defective". Pieces that are high-end goods with patterns usually come with three or four pages of warnings:
"BEFORE YOU CUT THIS CARPET..."
"THE MECHANIC MUST BE CERTIFIED IN ORDER TO INSTALL THIS..."
"PATTERN MAY BE SKEWED UP TO ...."

Needless to say, there are a lot of rules, regulations & stipulations with these types of carpets. One must be able to recognize if it is a defective piece based upon the pattern & how it lays out on the carpet.
If the pattern begins to bow or skew mid-way through the piece it becomes difficult to cut the piece square. In these circumstances, it is up to the buyer to decide whether the piece should be cut square or if they want it cut to size based on the pattern.  With carpets that have skewed patterns, it is impossible to cut square without ruining the visual of the pattern.

In the case of our "unhappy customer" , the hallway runners were cut to the pattern. This means DWP Carpet Binding cut the carpet at the same part of the pattern for the duration of the length desired. For example, if it were a floral pattern, we made sure the same petals were touching the exterior edge of the carpet. A skewed pattern often results in a visual effect of a bowed cut. This could translate to poor workmanship for a person who doesn't know about pattern bows or skews within a carpet. However, if you were to go back and measure, it would be clear that the same petal was an inch from the exterior edge all the way down the side. The bowing effect was merely the visual result of a skewed pattern.

"So how did you correct this?"

In such cases there are a couple of options.
The first would be "cheating the pattern". The "unhappy customer" wanted a straight edge, despite the pattern skew. With their pieces in particular, DWP Carpet Binding took a straight edge, lining up with the narrowest point of the pattern. From there, we cut back the fractional sections that fell beyond the straight edge. The result, a straight edge that DID NOT follow the pattern of the carpet. Since the difference was fractional, the pattern still gave the appearance of being balanced, to the untrained eye.

The second option is to cut the carpet with a square & straight edge with no concern to the pattern of the carpet. Our work order gave us a specific size, we also had to contend with balancing the pattern to do the job correctly. There are cases where a customer might not mind if the pattern is balanced to length or width. This makes life much easier where cutting patterned carpets is concerned. Without contending with balancing the pattern, using a square and straight edge to cut the piece will result in a square piece.

It is up to the buyer to make those sort of decisions. They are the people who have to see the carpet everyday. DWP Carpet Binding is happy to follow the lead of the buyer, unless our professional advice is requested.

In the case of our "unhappy customer" we re-cut the carpet by "cheating the pattern", re-did the work needed & ended the job on a positive note with a satisfied consumer!

Here we are (five months later) when the same customer brings in the same beautiful sculpted carpet with the same applications desired as previous; serging & fringing. The buyer jokingly says to our customer, "make sure they cut it straight this time".
In one sense it is a slap in the face; we followed the correct steps in order to create beautiful hallway runners. In another sense, it is a huge relief; the buyer considered the previous workmanship as wrong or poorly executed, yet the steps DWP Carpet Binding took to correct the problems allowed the buyer comfort and confidence to put another one of their pieces into our hands. That, my friends, is a good feeling!

To any person who may be considering buying woven, sculpted and/or patterned goods, always be aware of the pattern skew or bow that occurs. No piece ever comes out perfect. Always make sure the carpet installer or binding shop working with your pieces are certified to do so. As mentioned in yesterday's blog, always ask a lot of questions. Make sure you understand the nature of the carpet and what the mills' regulations are on a pattern merely being bowed or skewed compared to what they consider a defective piece. Lastly, never be afraid to voice any sort of dissatisfaction after the work is completed. It's your hard earned money; if you are working with honest & decent people who take pride in their work, they will gladly work with you until you are completely satisfied.

DWP Carpet Binding will stand behind our work because we always execute the best workmanship we're capable of. Sometimes we have to swallow our pride to maintain our customers' satisfaction. Although, these cases have been VERY RARE occurrences while being in business, they do happen. We gladly accept them as learning lessons, which become motivation to educate ourselves further. 
Dan, the owner of DWP Carpet Binding, proudly admits, "I learn something new everyday." As someone who has been taught and mentored by who I'd consider "the best of the best" in the flooring industry, I too, proudly admit that I learn something new everyday.

It only makes us better at what we do! 

DON'T FORGET TO CHECK OUT OUR WEB-SITE & ETSY STORE:
http://www.dwpcarpetbinding.com/
http://www.etsy.com/people/KellyGreenCarpets

Tuesday, February 22, 2011

Compliments Always Welcome!

Yesterday afternoon we received a phone call from a woman who had a carpet remnant that she would like to have either bound or serged. Primarily she was calling for a price quote. She was very happy to hear what our prices were because she had previously received a quote for almost four times the amount we charge!

Technically, that would be compliment number one:
*We offer top quality products at affordable pricing!

Furthermore, she had discussed that she really didn't know there was a difference between a binding application and a serging application until she read through our web-site! She informed me that our site was very detailed which helped her understand not only the differences between binding & serging, but also other options she had available to her!

Compliment number two:
*helping your potential customers understand the process & options available to them (without having to say one word)!

DWP Carpet Binding encourages anybody who is seeking binding services to ask as many questions as you need to until you fully understand what you will be paying for.  This helps to ensure you are getting more bang for your buck!

To Shirley in Weston, CT,
DWP Carpet Binding thanks you for your inquiry, but more so for the compliments you gave us during our phone conversation!

Today:
Our current projects are a serging job for a set of stair runners & replacing the fringe on an oriental area rug!

DON'T FORGET TO VISIT OUR WEB-SITE & ETSY STORE:
www.dwpcarpetbinding.com
http://www.etsy.com/people/KellyGreenCarpets

Thursday, February 10, 2011

Welcome to our blog

At Done With Precision Carpet Binding, we are always happy to hear from you! You may come visit us in person, talk to us by phone or by email. We set the bar to a higher standard taking PRIDE in what we do and using only top quality products therefore maintaining our customers’ satisfaction by executing only the best workmanship.
      DWP Carpet Binding, LLC  
  Address   350 Chapel Road
South Windsor, CT 06074
 
         
  Telephone   860-436-2196  
  Facsimile   860-436-2200  
  Email   dwpcarpetbinding@gmail.com