Capel Rugs

About Capel Rugs

Early settlers in America used animal skins for their floor coverings. Frontier cabins were roughly built, and floors had many cracks. To hide these cracks, settlers used floor coverings as a matter of necessity during cold winter days and nights. Soon, a new floor covering product appeared among the settlers, the braided rug. These rugs were made of cloth strips torn from old blankets, coats, pieces of canvas, and whatever scrap materials happened to be available at the time. These strips were fashioned into a braid in the same way a girl braids her hair. The braided material was sewn or laced together in an ever-widening circle resulting in a rug for the cabin floor.

Since the cloth strips for the rug came from many different sources, the rug was multicolored. It served as a warm and useful floor covering made on the frontier without the need for complicated machinery and perfectly suited the needs of early American settlers.

GEE-HAW PLOWLINES

In March of 1917, when A. Leon Capel, Sr. was 17 years old, he became the manufacturer of Gee-Haw Plowlines. The mules of that day had at least a four-word vocabulary. "Whoa" meant "Stop," "Git Up" meant "Go," "Gee" meant "Turn Right," and "Haw" meant "Turn Left." Mr. Capel used half their vocabulary when he named his plowlines Gee-Haw.

A few months later, while in Atlanta trying to sell his plowlines to major distributors, he noticed in the paper one morning that Henry Ford had developed a mechanical mule -- the tractor. At this point in time, the country felt that Mr. Ford could do anything, and Mr. Capel rightfully believed the mechanical mule would be successful; thus, he saw the end of his plowline business.

THE END OF HIS ROPE

Not wanting to be at the end of his rope, Mr. Capel cast around for another idea of how he might use his rope materials in a different product. He struck on the idea of buying some braiding machines. Braiding these materials rather than twisting them into a rope, then stitching this braid with a sewing machine around and around in concentric circles, making rugs in an ever-increasing size.

NEW DEPARTURE

At first, he made only small throw rugs. As he grew in experience, he made larger and larger rugs until a complete size range was offered from 2' x 3' up to 12' x 18' or larger for special orders. This was the first time anyone had manufactured braided yarn rugs, and he appropriately named these rugs — New Departure.

New Departure rugs found immediate consumer acceptance, and business grew. In 1926, Mr. Capel purchased some looms and began manufacturing a chenille yarn which could be used in braided rugs. Creation of the first braided chenille rugs followed. These were called Old Homestead. (In January, 1978, more than fifty years after its conception, the Old Homestead was selected for the Floor Covering Hall of Fame in Chicago.)

The braided rug business continued to grow, and in 1936, Mr. Capel bought a small spinning mill at Capelsie, North Carolina, which closed as a result of the Depression in 1932. The braided rug business demanded more and more yarns for its raw material, so the mill was purchased in order to ensure yarn supply, and to assure better quality control throughout the entire process.

A. LEON CAPEL & SONS

Three sons had been born to A. Leon Capel and Clara Capel during the 1930s, A. Leon Capel, Jr., Jesse S. Capel, and Arron W.E. Capel. In 1957, their sons began returning home from school and military service. A. Leon Capel and Sons, Inc. formed as a successor to the braided rug business on July 1, 1957. The spinning mill at Capelsie was part of the original Corporation, with the same ownership. A separate Corporation formed in 1960, establishing Capelsie Mills, Inc. In 1961, Capel Real Estate and Development Corporation was established to primarily manage the land and buildings occupied by the manufacturing corporations. Mr. A. Leon Capel, Sr. passed away in 1972.

1976 saw the acquisition of a second spinning mill originally built by Arron W.E. Capel, Sr. in 1898. This further increased the manufacturing space available for both spinning yarns and manufacturing braided rugs.

A. Leon Capel & Sons, Inc. changed its name to Capel, Incorporated on July 9, 1980.

MANUFACTURING OPERATIONS

Manufacturing operations as they exist today are completely vertical. Capel is responsible for its own spinning, dyeing, weaving, braiding, sewing and selling. Raw materials consist of all the appropriate floor covering fibers such as wool, rayon, nylon and acrylics. Today, Capel employees number approximately 450 people and more than 20 different rug styles are manufactured, utilizing more than 200 different braids, and in excess of 600 different items in finished goods inventory plus many custom sizes and shapes.

Capel began its international operations in the early 1960s offering a broad range of rug styles and colors. Every effort has made since that time to supply Capel customers with the finest quality rugs available throughout the world.

Intensive product development has resulted in an outstanding selection of Capel rugs. More than 100 different rug styles are available.

80 YEARS Today, 80 years after stitching that first rug, Capel has become America's largest manufacturer and importer of area rugs. Capel's Woven-Flatwoven Collection embodies an incredible diversity of handmade and machine-woven rugs made in America, Europe and the Far East. Thanks to modern technology, many of the classic oriental rug designs are being preserved in beautiful machine woven reproductions from Europe. Capel's Hand Hooked Collection features an exciting array of designs. Hand knotted rugs from India and China display a devotion to quality, earning Capel its outstanding reputation as a source for only the finest area rugs.

The threads of the old "Gee-Haw Plowlines" remain the foundation of Capel, the most successful and diversified organization in the rug business. A member of the Capel family oversees each area of operation. This personal dedication to quality and value is the cornerstone of the Capel heritage. It has been more than 80 years since the days of the old "Gee-Haw" plowlines, and Capel is far from the end of its rope.