Rug Designer and Importer to Host Workshop on State of Eco-Friendly Custom Rug Industry at AVA Design Showroom in Atlanta

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Atlanta, Georgia, United States of America (Free-Press-Release.com) October 20, 2010 -- ATLANTA, GA (October 20, 2010)— Founder and CEO of ecoFiber Custom Rugs, Phyllis Waldron-Ripple, will host a design workshop at AVA Designs, a custom American Furniture Company and showroom, on Thursday, October 21 at 5:30 p.m. at 1100 Howell Mill Ed. #150.

The workshop, which is aimed at both consumers and design professionals, will showcase ecoFiber Custom Rugs’ stunning and eco-friendly Tibetan wool, mohair, silk, hemp, nettle and cactus natural fiber rugs, as well as discuss the importance of sustainable and socially responsible production practices in the textile industry.

“Our objective is to educate designers and interested parties in the benefits and philosophy behind eco-friendly products,” said Richie Morgan of AVA Designs. “Trade professionals need to have this information to incorporate sustainable products into their business and design projects.”

Waldron-Ripple, a member of the Sustainable Furnishings Council and a Goodweave certified rug importer, will speak on the present and future state of the eco-friendly rug industry, an art form she is deeply connected to.

“In my travels, I saw cultures becoming more and more westernized. The arts and handicrafts were slowly disappearing from places like Pakistan during the time I lived there in the late 1980s. Being able to play a small role in helping keep those cultures alive is very important to me,” said Waldron-Ripple.

“Vegetable dying and using indigenous materials is not only environmentally friendly, but it is also about as directly involved in the re-birth of the cultural awareness of a place as a westerner can get.”

Waldron-Ripple’s passion is evident. She often speaks of her rugs as if each has a life of its own. Her goal is to make ecoFiber Custom Rugs as memorable for her clients, bringing the quiet appeal, organic look and luxurious textures of her rugs into living rooms.

About ecoFiber Custom Rugs: ecoFiber Custom Rugs are custom made in Nepal and created using traditional methods of spinning, dying and weaving of natural fibers, such as wool, silk, mohair, silk and cashmere. Plant fibers indigenous to the sub-continent, such as hemp, nettle, and cactus are also used.

All of the dyes are derived from plants, which are gathered locally in Nepal, and the production of all ecoFiber Custom Rugs does not rely on electricity, which reduces the carbon footprint of rug production significantly.

ecoFiber Custom Rugs is an active member of Goodweave, an international organization whose goal is to get children of south Asia off the looms and enrolled in school. As a member of Goodweave, a percentage of sales from every ecoFiber Custom Rug is used in global initiatives to fund early childhood education, adult literacy and health programs in Nepal. Phyllis is also a member of the Sustainable Furnishings Council, which sets measureable goals to increase the use of legal wool, to re-cycle and reuse materials and reduce carbon emissions.

About Phyllis Waldron-Ripple: Phyllis Waldron Ripple is founder and CEO of ecoFiber Custom Rugs in Boulder, Colorado. She designs and manufactures handmade rugs for the architectural and interior design community in the U.S. and abroad.

Phyllis` background in art, environmental activism and fundraising for organizations which benefit women and children influenced to start ecoFiber Custom Rugs. She has a strong conviction that socially and environmentally responsible businesses can thrive in the global market.

A longtime ex-patriot, Phyllis has lived in Pakistan, Indonesia, Egypt and the United Kingdom, and traveled through every continent, bringing a global awareness of the social and environmental obstacles facing the majority of families in developing economies.



Contact:
Julie Blakley, Media Relations
ecoFiber Custom Rugs
julieblakley@gmail.com
541 520 2788

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