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About RugNet
The story of RugNet is the story of founder Emmert Elsea. Emmert was born in White Post, VA. In 1966, after a stint in the U.S. Army, Emmert backpacked through Europe, the Middle East and Asia. After a trip to India in 1976, he discovered Tibetan carpets and discovered a passion for hand-knotted rugs.
Emmert returned to the U.S. and became an “Oriental” rug retailer, importer and wholesaler. He was widely recognized as one of the U.S.’s leading experts in hand-knotted imported rugs and worked as an expert for the U.S. Customs and Border Patrol to identify Persian rugs being illegally smuggled into the U.S. After many trips traveling to the Middle and Far East, Emmert, officially retired but he couldn’t stay away for long. He eventually decided to utilize his contacts to discover a few top-quality hand-knotted rugs to sell at special “warehouse” prices. His life-long passion was to share the love of these special rugs with others.
Sadly, Emmert passed away suddenly this past summer, 2022. His carefully curated collection of antique, vintage and new rugs from Iran, Turkey, India and China, are for sale at discounted prices. All are hand-knotted and in excellent condition with no tears or repairs.
With its foundation in tradition and a glimpse toward the future, the RugNet family remains dedicated to preserving Emmert’s legacy and RugNet’s heritage, curating only the best examples of hand-knotted rugs.
To learn more about the beauty, value and care of rugs, visit our shop to find something of lasting value that your family and future generations will enjoy.