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Meet Erin Eisinger of Floorplan Rugs in Downtown Los Angeles

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Today we’d like to introduce you to Erin Eisinger.

Erin, can you briefly walk us through your story – how you started and how you got to where you are today.
My introduction to rugs was unexpected; I was working as a UX designer in New York when I fell in love with a Turkish-American architect. It was 2008. There were infinitely more opportunities for a young architect in Turkey than in the States, so we decided to move, though I admit, I didn’t really expect we would be there for six years. In that time, we started a design and architecture firm in Istanbul. I taught advanced design courses at Istanbul Technical University. And Mehmet, who had founded a wholesale rug business in New Jersey before going to Columbia University to pursue architecture, started educating me in rugs. It was around this time that I also started getting all sorts of requests from family, friends, friends of family, friends of friends, to help them to find a rug — even though I was NOT in the rug business then. I was in Turkey, and for most people, that proximity was enough. Professionally, I’ve always been interested in finding elegant, simple ways around problems; selling quality handmade rugs to people turned out to be a problem, and I seemed to be in an interesting position to try to solve it. There was a gap in the market: a trustworthy, straight-talking rug company that is selling good quality handmade rugs at prices real people can afford. That is the space Floorplan is trying to fill. One of the ways we are able to sell such quality handmade rugs at reasonable prices is because we avoid the middleman. We travel deep into India, Pakistan, Turkey and elsewhere to source our products. We also work hard to provide what people really need, which is why we have designer-centered services; we sell online; we have a showroom in Downtown LA’s historic LA Mart building, and we have a space in the very chic Urban Americana in Long Beach. All that said, as creative professionals ourselves, we have been tapping into our network of other designers, architects and artists to bring fresh perspectives to one of the world’s oldest industries. We currently have a collection of NYC-inspired rugs that were the result our flagship design competition and Kickstarter campaign. Our second was focused on Los Angeles; those rugs are currently in production.

Great, so let’s dig a little deeper into the story – has it been an easy path overall and if not, what were the challenges you’ve had to overcome?
Any new business is difficult, but being in the rug business, there are some unique challenges we face. The first is that people really don’t have a sense of what a quality rug should cost. “Going out of business” sales have been the hallmark of the rug business for a long time, and although people don’t always trust them, in some ways, they have come to expect them. We are constantly working to educate people about what goes into the making of a rug and how that correlates to a reasonable price. The other challenge is around machine-made rugs and how they’ve influenced consumer expectations. They’re incredibly cheap to make because they’re usually made from polypropylene or other metro materials and are produced on machines similar to a newspaper printer (the same pattern printed uninterrupted and just cut at specific intervals). Their quality has improved over time, but even now, they’re only meant to last 1 maybe 2 years (even manufacturers will tell you this). They also photograph really well, which means when they’re sold online, they look good — sometimes as good as a handmade rug that is infinitely higher quality. This makes it difficult to telegraph the reason to spend more on a handmade rug, once they’ve seen the price difference. (There is also some clever marketing terminology used to mask the fact that they’re machine made).

Alright – so let’s talk business. Tell us about Floorplan Rugs – what should we know?
We like to describe Floorplan as an agile rug company because our intention is to deliver and sell rugs in a way that meets our customers’ needs. That’s why we sell online, in retail stores, in a trade-centered showroom, you name it. We also provide an in-home preview, where we bring a minimum of 5 rugs to your home for you to see in your space; if you purchase, we waive the service fee. One of our key differences is that we come from creative backgrounds, which allows us to be more in tune with what other creative professionals need. We’re always evolving our designer services (we currently have a survey out for them to complete to help us improve more), offering assistance in sourcing unique rugs for projects, custom producing sizes and colors, or even going so far as to produce a totally bespoke rug for their project. This is one of our main differences; most other rug companies shy away from custom production unless the volume is high and away from bespoke designs completely because of how rigorous the process is to go from design concept to finished rug.

Is there a characteristic or quality that you feel is essential to success?
The commitment to always be evolving and improving, and to be straight with customers about the kinds of products we’re selling.

Pricing:

  • Our handmade modern rugs start at $175

Contact Info:

Getting in touch: VoyageLA is built on recommendations from the community; it’s how we uncover hidden gems, so if you know someone who deserves recognition please let us know here.

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