Hello and welcome to The Living Rug Company
Hello! Welcome to The Living Rug Company. Here you’ll find even more information about what we do and where it all started.
The idea to do this came about in 2014. I was at a stage in my life where I was looking for something to do after renovating a farm house. With kids going off to university and a husband working away from home, I was left on my own all day at the farm. I wanted to create a business around the farm which needed to really be something to do with home interiors and my love of sheep. Also, it had to be something I could do all on my own and learn easily. I also wanted a business that promoted a cruelty free product and that’s why I came up with the previously unheard of name for these type of felted rugs. The Living Rug Company.
Not only did I want a strong brand name, I wanted a name that customers could know and be happy in the fact that a Living Rug only comes from a sheep that has a home for life and comes from our farm only. I also wanted the business to show that this was a non-meat venture. Our sustainability would come without costing the life of the animal or the lives of their off-spring. Our Living Rugs weren’t in addition to meat-sales; they were instead of anything to do with meat.
I’ve touched on the more detailed story on our home page. It took many months of research and discussions, even venturing abroad to speak to people who knew about rug-making. We had toyed with the idea of having them made in the Netherlands but this wasn’t economically viable. Therefore, I decided to take plunge into making them on the farm. After a great deal of trial and error it slowly but surely came together. At one stage, I even had my horse, Gonzo, helping to roll the rugs using a contraption I’d made. Later, I found easier and more effective ways of bringing the rugs into life.
Another part of our ethos was to only produce rugs that I would be happy to have in my own home. This mean a zero-tolerance to any quality issues and it also means extensive cleaning (which usually takes longer than the actual rug making) so that every piece which leaves the farm I’d be happy to keep because they are so beautiful and (if I say so myself) exceptionally well made.
We must be doing something right. I have a continuous waiting list for certain fleeces. Rugs are sold all over the World as far afield as New Zealand, Canada and all over Europe. I also have a high end distributor in the USA who orders larger numbers at a time and sells them very quickly on both coasts.
Over the 14 years of keeping sheep I have lost a few of the flock but not many thankfully. I hope most will last until very old age and having lived the happiest life possible. I have what I call a decreasing flock as I have no intention of increasing it but would rather concentrate on giving the ones I have the best home I can. Please see Meet the Flock for details.
The fact is it can’t be a true Living Rug™, unless it comes from our flock. In 2020 we trademarked the name of our rugs to deter people using our name to sell these type of rugs without the values that we have been known and respected for.
A true Living Rug will have a provenance, quality, story and care which we really believe to be as unique as the animal it came from. The strapline we created sums it all up…
No skin, just wool and love…
