Tracey Love has always had an affinity for vintage rugs. But when she started collecting them to cover the wood floors in the Greenwood farmhouse she shares with her husband, Bridge Cox, and two kids—even after she’d run out of floor space—Cox suggested she take a different tack.
“He said, ‘Babe, you are not allowed to bring another rug home until you sell some of these,’” Love, by day the sales/marketing and events person for Blenheim Vineyards, says. So she did. She opened a booth at Greenwood Antiques & Uniques under the name Holding Forth, then gained a following on Instagram. Soon, she had a website, which is where she does the most business these days, though you can also find her in Richmond at 68 Home and through Flourish Spaces.
We asked Love to tell us more about her rug obsession and her business.
Abode: Why rugs?
Tracey Love: I love all handmade textiles, but rugs are special because they change the whole vibe of a room. It is also an art form and craft I will never attempt to create, and I appreciate the time, material, creativity, and patience each rug takes to make. Plus, nobody likes going “rug shopping”—there are so many to choose from and it’s difficult to know what to look for. I started this business to help narrow the options by focusing on natural handwoven textiles made mostly by women. My style is definitely more specific than most rug shops, but I only buy rugs I would keep in my own house.
Tell us a little more about the rugs in your collection.
I only sell handwoven and hand-knotted rugs that are made mostly of wool, but are only woven with organic materials. Because of this, the size of the loom dictates the sizes of the rugs I bring in. Most are smaller than 8’x10′ because they are handwoven, and also, because I store them in my house, I don’t want a big inventory of large rugs that take up a lot of space. Many of them are vegetable-dyed, and most are vintage or antique rugs that have been professionally cleaned.
Where do you source them?
It’s taken some time to create these relationships, but now I source most of them directly from weavers and exporters in Turkey and Morocco. Some are estate sale finds, online these days, which is not as fun. But I love recycling rugs and giving them new life.
How many do you have on offer at one time? How often do you restock?
I post them to the site when I get them in, usually in lots depending on where they are coming from. I restock as needed, but usually have between 12 and 30 rugs on hand at any given time. I only buy rugs when I am inspired by them so it does ebb and flow throughout the year.
You currently run the business out of your home, but do you have plans to open a brick-and-mortar Holding Forth?
I often have a trunk full of rugs these days because I never know where I’m going to photograph them or when someone will ask to see one. It’s fun to roll up somewhere and have a trunk show of rugs when someone randomly asks about Holding Forth. I like the freedom to take the show on the road and with a full-time job and two kids, a brick-and-mortar doesn’t make sense for now.
Do you have a “bestseller”?
Everyone wants an 8’x10′ rug, which is the biggest challenge. Most large rugs are commercially woven and it is a desirable size for most rooms, so that is difficult for me. Stylistically, I find Moroccan Boujaad rugs to be the most unique and intriguing because they are all SO wild and different. They’re not for everyone, but those who follow them and appreciate them are hooked for life. I go through phases of styles and types of rugs I obsess over, but try to make sure they are practical for daily life and are unique for some reason.
