Why should we lay out hard-earned money on a wool carpet? They are BORING BORING BOOORING!!
Obviously I’m predisposed to buy wool and don’t need convincing of its merits, nor the fact that most of our wool industry and infrastructure depends on that Brintons or Axminster wool pile we should all be walking on. Yet, if I was to set out tomorrow to buy one, I know I would be in for an experience almost as exciting as watching paint dry!!! The advertising is dull and unmemorable. When was the last time you saw a carpet advert? Or at least, when do you remember seeing one which surely is the point? Nothing I have ever seen about wool carpets leads me to believe I am going to enjoy shopping for one let alone having one in my home. Concepts such as longevity, stain resistance, resilience are all interesting and true about wool carpet but right now I need some excitment, something to take me away from the economic gloom!
Nor can any industry in these tough times rely on bleating on (pun intended) about how we must use it or lose it. We have all heard that sob story so many times before. It’s yet another reminder of how difficult times are for us ALL. We do not need our noses rubbing in it when we go shopping – even for carpet! If we have money to spend at the moment we want to INDULGE. Chocolate sales are way up apparently and luxury goods are still selling very well. Saying “buy wool carpet and do the poor sheep /sheep farmer/wool industry a big favour” is NOT going to encourage me. No thank you. I’m favoured out. I dont need reminding of the sufferings of others. I see it all around me every day.
What wool carpet manufacturers should be doing is selling their products as the absolutely best, most exciting, playful stuff to hit the stores since iPhones, X Box, Play Station, Wii etc. Where’s the link you might ask? That word / concept PLAY. Just think about it. How many forms of play, and with whom, could you do on a wool carpet that you wouldn’t want to do on a wooden floor (the splinters – ouch!), a vinyl floor (cold and slippery), a tiled or stone floor ( so cold – I have them here in the farmhouse) or, travesty of travesties – a NYLON carpet (the static!)
Everyone, from the cradle to the grave, all family members (including pets who always know the best, most comfortable places to sleep in my experience) far prefer to touch and feel WOOL when sitting on the floor for whatever activity. It’s a question of reminding people of the very simple, tactile pleasure you get from touching that warm, springy, slightly rough surface and then getting them to make the connection with the other pleasurable things they do on the floor – more than I can think of and quite a few I shouldn’t mention! (Shag pile anyone?)
So, in the absence of anything more interesting from the carpet industry, I am championing the wool carpet by saying:
WOOL CARPET – YOUR NATURAL PLAYGROUND
As soon as I have saved up enough I’m off to buy a wool carpet for our hall and stairs. If and when I ever get any grandchildren, I want to see them bumping down the stairs on their backsides in the same way I did in my Granny’s house on her wool carpet. It had just the right amount of resistance to stop me hurtling to the bottom and the right amount of cushioning. Wooden stairs I’m afraid just don’t cut it!
Do contribute your thoughts. Am I way out of line here?
I absolutely agree with this post; woollen carpets shouldn’t be marketed as a kind of worthy cause, or as a boring yet reliable household item. You are quite right that championing the quality and the tactile pleasure of the woollen carpet is where it’s at. We have talked about getting wool carpets downstairs in our freezing Victorian brick house, as we have bare floorboards at the moment, and you can practically see the precious warmth from the central heating leaking out of them. A wool carpet, I am sure, would provide amazing insulation, and last for years. However, out initial enthusiasm for The Wool Carpet has been dampened by our lack of knowledge and the fact that we don’t really know where to start looking. An X-box style advertising campaign is just what’s needed.
By: Felicity Ford on December 1, 2011
at 8:37 am
Hear, hear! My carpet at home is 80% wool 20%nylon and was laid in 1985. It covers the hall, lounge stairs and landing and there is just one sign of threads coming through right on the egde of one step. It’s still comfortable to do all the things Lesley suggests (some of which we do and some we are far too old to consider – the bones won’t allow it! lol). The slight downside is that when you choose a wool carpet – it is for life so choose a pattern or plain that you can live with for many years, They are not the cheapest of carpets but we would have needed several replacements of cheaper carpets by now and the upheaval and costs would have been far more. They do need some good marketing though and I really like Lesley’s slogan:
WOOL CARPET – YOUR NATURAL PLAYGROUND
A wool carpet is also environmentally friendly as it will decompose and comes from renewable sources. Wool is excellent at insulating the floor, whether solid or wood and stops draughts – that’s why we have carpets in the UK in the first place. Our ancestors knew what they were doing! Countries in hot climates use tiles to keep their houses cool and because they are easy to clean. We use carpets (and wool is definitely best – perhaps with a little of something man-made to help with cost and wearability) to keep us warm.
How many of us have, at least once, enjoyed curling up on or against a sheepskin rug? If you have you know the ‘cuddle feeling’ of wool.
By: Chris Steele on December 1, 2011
at 1:31 pm
Wool is safer because it is naturally flame retardant — people are often suprised when I tell them this. When we did charity knitting, we found that orphanages in developing areas requested only wool: charities in developed countries want the little hats to be washable, but in the poorer countries, open flame is often used for cooking and heating so that wool is safer.
By: sgt majorette on December 1, 2011
at 1:50 pm
I remember some fab adverts – proabably in the 80′s in Country Living – women in glorious evening gowns made from carpets. What I couldn’t tell you is who was advertising!!! (so they worked then!) I grew up with Crossley Sultana carpets in the house – and I still have one of them in my house. It moved with my parents from near Manchester to Cornwall then back up to me in North Wales and now over to France. It’s beautiful, getting a little tatty at the edges (well it has been takne up and put down several times!), but not worn and I still have the receipt that said it was bought in 1968. 9and the scary price for then!) I love it and won’t part with it until it really can do no more.
I would definitely go for a British wool carpet – but the advertising that works for me is owning one! Their policy of trying to get the sympathy factor dores not work I totally agree!
By: Debbie Bamford on December 1, 2011
at 9:42 pm
I hate laminate floors almost as much as acrylic knitwear!
as a renter not an owner I have to put up with magnolia walls and cheap nasty nylon beige carpets (last house we rented even had one in the kitchen!)
Thankfully my well-travelled kelims provide warmth, colour and a touch of the ‘real thing’ underfoot!
By: Aviva Leigh on December 2, 2011
at 5:25 pm
Wool carpets are considered the most elite of fibers and are the most expensive of all carpet fibers. Wool is a natural fiber and is very soft. It has excellent insulating qualities and is naturally fire resistant. However, wool carpets must be professionally cleaned by specialized carpet cleaning methods and is more expensive to maintain and install than synthetic carpet styles.
By: dieta on December 8, 2011
at 12:22 am
not to mention wool carpets being better for people with asthmas..
http://woolblog.com/2012/02/17/the-thruth-about-wool-carpets-and-asthma/
By: Steven Parsons on March 25, 2012
at 5:34 pm