We were lucky to catch up with Tracey Love recently and have shared our conversation below.

Tracey, thanks for joining us, excited to have you contributing your stories and insights. One of the things we most admire about small businesses is their ability to diverge from the corporate/industry standard. Is there something that you or your brand do that differs from the industry standard? We’d love to hear about it as well as any stories you might have that illustrate how or why this difference matters.

Rugs are a unique and niche industry that spans across the world which makes it a challenging industry to navigate. Like, where do you start the process of buying a rug? What kind of rug are you looking for? What’s your design style? What’s your budget? What we bring forth are handwoven wool rugs made by mostly female weaving artisans from Morocco and Turkey. We sell them on a website x social media platform that makes it accessible and easy for people to navigate. I take all of the photos with natural light and try to be accurate with descriptions. We do have a studio space in Charlottesville by appointment for folks who prefer looking at and feeling the rugs in person. I also lend rugs for locals to try in their space before committing.
I share the studio space with artist Sarah Boyts Yoder and we have collaborated on 6 Berber and Boujaad Moroccan wool rugs handwoven by artisans based on paintings by Sarah. This level of unique artist crossover is the most exciting part of the business for me! That are creating new relationships with people locally and also around the world.

As always, we appreciate you sharing your insights and we’ve got a few more questions for you, but before we get to all of that can you take a minute to introduce yourself and give our readers some of your back background and context?

HoldingForth is my side hustle. I work full time in the Virginia wine industry but have a love of textiles and a creative notion without the ability to produce art with my own hands. I source natural, handwoven wool rugs from (mostly) Morocco and Turkey and sell them online and through my studio space in Charlottesville, VA. I got into this industry by accident. My husband and I bought a 1925 farmhouse in 2011 that we didn’t have the money to refinish the hardwood floors, so I found rugs at antique stores and estate sales to cover them. When I’d find a new rug I liked, I’d swap it out with one we already had. Until one day, my husband said “you can’t bring another rug into this house until you sell one.” I opened a booth in the antique store on our street and starting sourcing and selling rugs and pillows there until after my daughter was born and I pivoted to selling on Instagram and built out a website.
I love connecting with people over rugs and wine, and love seeing a rug bring new life to someone’s home or habitat. I am not a rug professional, and I do not handle cleaning or repairing rugs, but my love of the artistry and history they represent is what I love and focus on.
My style and taste in rugs is also pretty specific, so I tend to shop for and carry rugs with more abstract and geometric tribal designs. I try and branch out on occasion, but I like what I like.

Can you tell us the story behind how you met your business partner?

I don’t have a cofounder or business partner, but I do have a studio mate who has been integral to building my business and keeping the inspiration flowing. Sarah Boyts Yoder and I met in Charlottesville at an old warehouse turned artist studios a few years ago. I would bring my rugs to a friends photography studio to photograph for the website, and she would often be in her own studio and would pop over to see the latest load. She would help me hold rugs and was inspired by the tribal designs and bright colors of the Moroccan rugs. We decided to look for a studio space of our own in 2021 and have been working and collaborating together ever since!
We’re currently working on a few rug designs based off her paintings, and may test the waters with tufted NZ wool rugs made in India, but we’ll see ;)

Can you tell us about a time you’ve had to pivot?

Since HoldingForth is my side hustle, I often struggle with balancing my full time job, kids, and daily life with the business. There is an ebb and flow throughout each year depending on the time I have to dedicate to the rug business. Currently, my real job is taking over, but I was able to photograph and post a huge load of checkered Moroccan rugs, pillows, and floor pillows that Sarah kindly let me photograph in her home while she was on vacation. So, check those out!
I enjoy hosting rug Pop-Up’s and bringing rugs to local businesses to photograph as a crossover collaboration and not to get stale with the same images online.
This is a fun way to support other small businesses, like The Wool Factory and Quirk Hotel. I hope to do more Pop-Up events this year if anyone is interested!

Contact Info:

• Website: www.holdingforthrugs.com
• Instagram: holdingforth
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/holdingforthva/

Image Credits
John Robinson, Leney Breeden