Photo by Sarah Finnegan.
Paige Albright
No two rugs at Paige Albright Orientals are the same. They come from the hands of weavers from across the globe, each with its own pattern and history.
“They’re really works of art. They’re how the different regions express themselves,” Albright said. “It’s very personal and you want to translate that to your client.”
Albright has lived in Mountain Brook and been working with oriental rugs since 1999. She opened Paige Albright Orientals more than nine years ago. The shop houses rugs made in Morocco, Iran, Turkey, northern China and other countries, and Albright works with homeowners and interior designers to find the perfect, one-of-a-kind rug for their space.
“I’ve got a degree in art history and a background in interior design, so it was a natural fit,” Albright said.
Selling oriental rugs is a constant learning process, Albright said. She travels to markets and conferences across the U.S. to buy rugs and learn from other dealers and collectors. Albright has also gone on a rug tour in Istanbul, Turkey and hopes to travel to Morocco and Iran soon to see the origins of a tradition that has been passed down through generations.
Albright is a member of the Oriental Rug Retailers of America and is a certified rug appraiser, a certification that took four years to obtain. The appraisal test required Albright to identify 50 rugs in an hour, including the estimated year they were woven, geographic region and other details about each rug’s history.
“That’s no small task,” she said.
One of Albright’s favorite tasks is creating custom pieces for clients, which happens about once a month. Whether creating something brand new or choosing from her existing inventory, Albright said she enjoys taking a designer’s color palette, furniture plans, budget and room size to pick out exactly the rug they need.
“You’re not locked in to any one, you can kind of channel the designer’s energy. So it’s fun doing a lot of different things,” Albright said.
In her more than 15 years of experience with oriental rugs, Albright has learned just how versatile a rug can be. At the most recent Antiques in the Gardens event in October, Albright decorated one half of her booth with traditional furniture and the other half with more modern décor, but with the same blue rug in the middle.
“It was really interesting to see how you can take one traditional piece and make it whatever you want,” she said.
Because an oriental rug is a major investment for a home, Albright said the most important thing for her customers is to be completely in love with what they bring home.
“Buy what you love. Don’t settle. If you don’t love it, don’t get it. I never want to talk anybody into something. I really want you to love it and enjoy it because you’re going to have it forever,” Albright said.
Paige Albright Orientals is open 9:30 a.m. to 4 p.m., but Albright recommends calling or emailing in advance to make sure she does not have an appointment with another designer or homeowner.