RUG MAKING

Are you turning rugwork away because you don’t have the shop space, an industrial sewing machine, skipped Sewing 101 in high school, or just don’t think rugs are moneymakers for the few calls you get for them?

For every rug you’ve turned away, you are potentially losing a customer who is taking that rug elsewhere, because that same client may have several ducks or fish in his freezer, not to mention a bull elk tag he may fill later in the fall. Don’t forget that group of buddies he hunts with, who have not yet found the right taxidermist. Once you realize how profitable rugs can be, the next decision is whether to do them yourself or to have them done by a professional rug maker.

Rugmaking does indeed require a large area to allow you to produce a professional finished product. An adequate size rugging table should be at least 11¢ x 9¢. You also need rug stretching boards, which range in sizes to accommodate a bobcat to a zebra or the occasional Kodiak or alligator. You will also need an area to allow the skins to dry after you remove the boards from the rugging table, so you can use the table to work on. Then there is the space needed to store bolts of felt, padding, and backing material. Because of the space needs alone, it is understandable why taxidermists are turning away rug work.

...Continued in the Fall 2004 Issue of Breakthrough.

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