Chances are, if you have lived in atlanta for any time at all, you have heard of Jubin Rugs. Steadily built over the course of 30 years by Jubin Tavakol and now operated by his son, Al Tavakol, Jubin Rugs is the go-to showroom in Buckhead that specializes in sourcing and selling high-end antique, vintage and modern decorative rugs to designers and homeowners. Started three decades ago to address a gap in the Southeastern rug marketplace, the family-built brand in the Metro Atlanta area extends well beyond its brick-and-mortar borders in the Miami Circle Design District.
“My father turned his appreciation for fine rugs into a business,” Al Tavakol explains. “He based the business on three principles: honesty, integrity and trust. These are the principles by which we operate when providing high-quality rugs that can be cherished for generations.”
While many of us don’t know the difference between a rare antique rug and a machine-made modern version, Tavakol and his staff are eager to share their experience and are on a mission to educate their clients on the intricacies of high-quality rugs. “Rug making is an exotic art and one in which people often don’t have much knowledge. We have always been about making the process transparent and educating our clients. We locate what rugs work best to provide the vision our clients have, taking into account what they like and at what point they’ve set the budget,” Tavakol says. By sharing the secrets of the trade, his team has earned the company a loyal following from both homeowners and designers.
Jubin Rugs imports antique and vintage rugs sourced from an extensive global network developed by its team of experts. Its inventory of rugs includes Turkish, Persian and European selections. “We can tell by the weave and the colors what age the rug is; some designs are indicative of a certain time period or even a region or a particular city,” Tavakol explains. Oushak rugs, for example, hail from the city of Uşak in Turkey and usually are characterized by subdued colors and large, distinctive motifs, such as broad florals or geometrics.
No matter where in the world Tavakol finds rugs, he employs a set of strict parameters for the rugs that actually make the trip back to the Jubin Rugs showroom. “I may look at 3,000 rugs on a sourcing trip, but only 1% to 2% meet our quality standards,” he says. “Buying a rug is similar to buying a diamond; there are other facets to consider besides size. The sharpness and contrast of the weave are characteristics of a high-quality product.” Regardless of where the rug is sourced or who made it, Jubin Rugs only carries products that are hand knotted and hand dyed by highly trained weavers.
Tavakol is particularly excited to bring back to the showroom Persian Bakshaish rugs, including a bold red and blue version crafted in 1875. “These rugs come from the rug-weaving village of Bakshaish. I love their folk art element. Their primitive motifs are unlike the powerhouse Tabriz rugs with sophisticated designs. Bakshaish rugs have asymmetry since weavers aren’t working from a formal template,” he says.
Jubin Rugs recently launched its own collection of rugs, the “Vintage Reimagined” Collection, at High Point market in the Antique & Design Center. Inspired by decorative Persian rugs, the collection fuses the old with the new: it captures classic Persian designs but in updated, modern colorways. “We leaned into an earthy color palette that includes nature-inspired hues like blues and greens,” says Tavakol. “With a vintage look that is moderately priced, it is our best collection yet.”
In addition to providing vintage rugs, Jubin Rugs also produces carpets by providing its own modern designs and special color palettes to both international and local weavers. “This allows designers and homeowners to order a bespoke rug with customized sizing and colors in transitional and contemporary designs,” Tavakol explains.
He predicts homeowners and designers will be more interested in color in the coming months. “There really are two camps: those who like the vintage, distressed rugs in earth tones and those who prefer vibrant colors,” he adds. Like the fashion industry, colors and styles come in and out of vogue, but the classic styles of Turkish and Persian rugs will always have a place in America’s homes. To help homeowners with the process of finding the best rug for their spaces, Tavakol’s team “works backward” by first asking two key questions: What size do you need? What colors do you like?
“Sometimes they don’t know how to answer those questions, so we ask for more detail,” Tavakol says. “For example, if they’re shopping for a dining room rug, we may ask the size of their dining table. If they don’t know the answer to that question, we may back up further and ask how many people the table seats. Then we help them figure out the experience they want to create. A rug is a foundational piece. Since it’s an investment that homeowners usually keep, it’s core to setting the room’s design and feeling. Home is a manifestation of what the owners find interesting. When we walk into someone’s home, we gain perspective into their style. A home also is a visual representation of their experiences—things and events of which they want to be reminded. Spaces—and rugs—don’t have to be expensive to capture the memories and expression of a room.”
Jubin Rugs has an active trade program to make the shopping process seamless for designers. Designers may, of course, visit the showroom to see and touch rugs in person. They also may take advantage of digital resources by sending in a mood board and in reply receiving a link to suggested rugs in the requested color palette from one of the showroom’s rug experts. “We also offer a white label collection to designers and will soon launch a to-the-trade online auction platform,” Tavakol says. Customers also may shop online through the website if it’s more convenient.
Whether providing rugs to designers or directly to homeowners, Tavakol wants all of his clients to know one fundamental thing. “We don’t just sell rugs to create beautiful spaces,” he says. “The history of rugs is intertwined with the great cultures and civilizations from which these works of art are sourced. Just think about what all was happening in the region where a rug was woven in 1875. We are simply a vessel to help pass this art along to future generations while telling the stories behind it.”
Tavakol wants to continue the traditions his father started with the business so many years ago. “Jubin created a brand. He was a good, honest, patient and kind man who always did his best for our clients,” he says. “He laid the foundation for me to take the next steps with Jubin Rugs and continue the heritage of transparency and quality.” *
Dana W. Todd is a professional writer specializing in interior design, real estate, luxury homebuilding, landscape design, architecture and art.
