Navajo Rug Clinic
Repairs
Navajo Rug Clinic repair rate for textiles accepted after July 1, 2008: $35 per hour
Backlog as of 07/01/08: 10 months
You are welcome call us at 602-370-2875 between 8 AM and 8 PM Mountain
Standard Time Monday through Friday to discuss your textile repair
needs. You can also contact us by email.
Our repair services:
- Warp replacement
- Reweaving
- Dye matching
- Yarn matching
- Side cord replacement
- End cord replacement
The Navajo Rug Clinic Repair Process
Completed
rug ready to return to client. The color variations in the red
color were orignal to the piece and were duplicated in the repair.
| 
Area being readied for repair. | 
Area after reweaving |
|
1. Pre-inspection
and initial estimate:
There is no charge for
this service. We will be glad to look at the textile
and will tell you if we think that the textile can be repaired and
approximately what it will take to do so. In cases where a
piece needs extensive repairs, you may elect to approve a certain
number of hours and we will agree on a priority of repairs to be done.
2. Detailed estimate and
photography: Prior
to starting work, we will
prepare a detailed estimate of the work to be done
including pictures of each area to be worked on. You will
receive both
the estimate and the "before" pictures and your approval is required
prior to the start of the work. If the piece has been stored
for a long period, we will clean it prior
to any repair work to ensure the best possible match of yarns.
Cleaning costs are $5 per square foot. we will in no case
charge more than 10% over the estimate cost, and will charge only
actual hours worked up to the estimate total. If we estimate
twenty hours to complete the repair, but the work is completed in ten,
you only pay for ten hours and we try to be more accurate the next
time.
50% of the total estimated cost of the repair is due at the start
of work.
3. Repair work is done: We
will be in contact with you while your piece is being repaired, and
will supply you with progress reports if you would like them.
We use only new wool or the wool already present in the piece and under no circumstances will wool from
another piece be used in the repair of your textile. Our
repair process involves returning the textile to a Navajo style loom so
that the repair can be completed under conditions which are as close as
possible to those under which the textile was originally woven.
We will match the wool to be used to your textile based on your wishes.
Obviously, it takes more time to do an exact color match and
custom spinning.
4. Repairs are
completed and your piece is returned: We
will
take a set of "after" pictures and will create a report of the
work done on your textile. You'll receive this as well as a final
invoice for the work which will include the costs of delivery
of the textile to you. Your invoice payment for the completion of
work is due when the
invoice is received but we will not cash your check or process your
charge until you have received the repaired piece and approve the work.
We accept personal checks, money orders, MasterCard, Visa and
Paypal.
Questions You May Have Regarding Repairs
Is it appropriate to repair Navajo textiles?
Many
people wonder whether it is wise or culturally appropriate to repair a
Navajo textile and there is no one right or wrong answer to that
question. The decision to repair a particular textile is
ultimately yours as the owner, and you will be most
comfortable working with a textile conservator whose views are similar
yours.
The Navajo Rug Clinic/Weaving
in Beauty philosophy on repairs
We view any textile as
being a virtual person with a spirit that was created at the time that
piece was woven. Like any person, this textile will
eventually return to the earth, but will benefit from appropriate care
if injured, much as any of us would seek medical treatment for a cut or
broken bone. In the spirit of that view, we will repair a
textile as long as it can be maintained intact and will continue to be
a reflection of the intent of the weaver. We will not cut a
textile into pieces or in any way be knowingly involved in using a
textile in a way detrimental to the obvious intent of the weaver.
We do not unravel rugs to re-use the yarn and we don't make
vests or luggage from weavings. If we do not think that that we
can assist you in maintaining your textile in an intact state, we will
tell you.
Do you recommend washing a rug prior to repair?
If the piece has not been
cleaned within the last five years, we usually recommend cleaning prior
to repairs. We put a great deal of time and energy into color
matching yarns and it is often necessary to properly clean a piece to
see what the colors really are. Older rugs which have been in
long storage can also accumulate large amounts of dust, which can be a
health issue in our shop because we often work literally two inches
away
from the textile surface. We use state of the art cleaning
equipment that is selected for use with Navajo and other flat weave
textiles and maintain a membership in the Association of Specialists in
Cleaning and Restoration to stay current in cleaning technology as it
relates to handwoven tapestries. While you could wash a piece
yourself prior to repair, we recommend against it because of the
possibility of dye bleed and shrinkage. We will work with you
to determine whether your piece needs cleaning prior to repair, but
wereserve the decision to refuse to do a repair if we believe that
cleaning is necessary.
What types of wool do you use in repairs?
As nearly as possible, we match the wool which was originally used in the weaving of the rug.
We have a large stock of roving and yarn, and we have
access to the major commercial yarns used in the weaving of Navajo
textiles. We're handspinners, and we can match the handspun
churro yarns used in older rugs as well as the more roughly spun yarns
used after the stock reduction program of the 1930's. We will
let you know how good the match will be and the relative costs of using
the best commercial match compared with a custom spun solution for rugs
woven from handspun.
What equipment is used in your repair process?
We return the piece to one
of several Navajo style looms in our shop. We find that this
gives the closest approximation to the warp tension used in the
original weaving and results in a repair which is better integrated
into the textile and less detectible when complete. Mounting the
textile in this way also allows us to see the area to be repaired with
respect to the rest of textile and results in a better match of yarn
and weaving technique. Our shop is smoke-free.
What kinds of dyes do you use?
We have an extensive
background in the both the vegetal and chemical dyes used in Navajo
weaving. In most cases, chemical dyes provide the best match to
existing colors. If you require that vegetal dyestuffs be used to
match the yarn, we will charge on an hourly basis for the match.
We would appreciate any feedback you have on this
site, and
would like to hear any suggestions you have for it.
Please drop us a line.
mary.walker@navajorugclinic.com