RugNotes: Friday, March 11, 2005: "Friday, March 11, 2005
Mondi Miller's international rug store in downtown Brighton
The art of Persia and Orient on Main Street: "The art of Persia and Orient on Main Street
Heirloom Oriental Rugs deals in international trade
Friday, March 11, 2005
BY LISA CAROLIN
News Staff Reporter
The atmosphere inside 307 W. Main St. in downtown Brighton evokes both the Middle East and the Far East. That's the location of Mondi Miller's international rug store, Heirloom Oriental Rugs, which has been in Brighton for 13 years.
She travels for weeks at a time to places like Italy, France, Germany and England to purchase rugs for her store.
"You need to know as much about the person you buy from as you do about the rugs," said Miller. "I buy many of my tribal rugs from someone in England. Those are rugs woven by tribesmen who move a lot so they use smaller looms.
"They usually come in warm colors like reds, browns and burgundies and are rich looking."
She said that the quality of the wool is critical when evaluating rugs. "The highest quality wool in the world comes from New Zealand," said Miller. "There is more moisture there and the diet of the sheep is good."
Some of her favorite rugs share her own background. They're from Iran, or what Miller prefers to refer to by its historic name - Persia.
She was born there in 1951, when her father was the chief translator for the army. The family traveled to Africa, Europe and South America. Because it was important to her parents that she and her three sisters receive good educations, they left Iran and eventually moved to Ann Arbor where her uncle worked as a physician and told the family there were many good educational opportunities.
Miller attended the University of Michigan and earned a bachelor's degree in child psychology and a master's degree in social work. She pursued a career in social work but also enjoyed her parents' avocation of investing in antique rugs as she accompanied them to antique shows and auctions.
"Many of the rugs came from Bay City and Saginaw where some of the automotive families had big homes," said Miller. "When carpeting became popular, many rugs were sold. My parents bought them and sold them to European dealers."
She married Mac Miller, director of Community Mental Health Services in Livingston County. They had two sons and she stopped working, but as the boys got older, Miller decided to open a rug business. It was first located in the Mill Pond Antique Galleries where Ciao Amici's is now located.
She moved the business to its current location, and the building was rebuilt three years ago. Miller's husband also works at the store on weekends and accompanies her on some of her buying trips.
"It's fun when you get to spend some time together," said Miller. "Mac would like us to travel to China and India."
Some male customers are more comfortable asking Mac questions, she said.
"Men want to know how the rugs were woven and what type of loom was used," said Miller. "Men are very cautious about being too interested in interior design.
"Eighty percent of my clients are women, and they like to look at color and design and matching what they have."
She said she loves being located in Brighton. "Brighton is a wonderful town to have a retail store," she said. "People are friendly and support their downtown. It's getting bigger and bigger, which helps business by bringing more interest and money into the county. You need to attract people from Ann Arbor, Bloomfield Hills and Lansing to stay in a high-end business. You have to be patient and explain value and workmanship to people."
Miller said that word of mouth has been the best promotion for the business.
Her goal is to one day travel to Iran when it is safer to go to that part of the world.
Persian rugs are her passion.
"They're works of art that last for so long," said Miller. "You can appreciate them every day."
Lisa Carolin can be reached at lcarolin@livingstoncommunitynews.com or at (810) 844-2010.""
No comments:
Post a Comment