THE IMPRESSIVE IMPORTED RUG juggernaut known as Feizy keeps expanding its domain. It gave up its iconic tower fronting I-35 just north of Downtown Dallas after outgrowing the property. Headquarters are now located on the outskirts of Farmers Branch in an astonishingly large warehouse that totals 250,000 square feet (roughly the equivalent of 4 football fields). The jaw-dropping space is filled floor to ceiling with row after row of industrial shelving that houses what appears to be millions of rugs—all categorized and labeled accordingly.
“We have a massive library; Mr. Feizy has been collecting rugs for 48 years now,” says Leighton Lloyd, merchandising and brand manager for the company. “We’re constantly getting new inventory from overseas, so we continue to build on this vast collection.”
Between this impressive home base and Feizy’s 17,000-square-foot showroom at Dallas’ World Trade Center, which are both open to the trade, Feizy really does have a rug for everyone.
It offers range of price points, from ultra-affordable machine-made rugs to handmade and tufted varieties, one-of-a-kind hand-knotted imports and super covetable antique rugs for collectors.
Feizy’s HQ elicits awe, but few visitors see the enormous warehouse itself. Instead, tradespeople are welcomed into a large gallery of one-of-a-kind hand-knotted rugs imported from countries like Iran, Pakistan, India, China and Turkey. Stacks of the unique beauties reach mid-torso, and workers stand by to unearth hidden gems for designers who make the trek up to North Dallas.
Amongst all the mindboggling variety, the rugs are neatly organized by size, material and knots per square inch, which roughly translates to price point. The rugs with knots numbering 500 or more per square inch get their own special storage room. These rugs can cost $75,000 or more, and not only look luxurious with their glimmery sheen, they feel like the textile equivalent of warm, velvety butter.
The imposing home base also houses a design studio for Feizy’s lifestyles collection, the original designs of which can be found at Feizy’s World Trade Center location and on its website.
On a Thursday afternoon in mid-October, four design mavens pored over a rainbow assortment of color swatches fanned out on a table, while the designers’ equivalent of mood boards looked on from their station lining the walls. Stacks of rug samples were in various stages of production.
“Our design team taps into contemporary designs, more traditional designs and also the transitional looks in between. They are also really trend and color focused as well,” Lloyd mentions.
HQ also houses another room full of VIPs: antique rugs in their own closely guarded vault, to which only Mr. Feizy holds the key. Any rug more than 50 years old is considered an antique.
“Some of these rugs are hundreds of years old,” Lloyd says. “There are rug blankets that they would drape over the horses as saddles, for example. There’s a lot of history behind them. Many of these rugs are storytelling pieces with Farsi written into them. They are not what you’d put under your couch; they are fine art pieces.”
With hundreds of thousands of one-of-a-kind rugs in its inventory and hundreds more original designs in its lifestyle collection, it’s hard to imagine the following scenario, but those who can’t find their perfect rug in Feizy’s massive collection are welcomed to avail themselves of its custom design services. Feizy has its own factory overseas that fulfills orders for hand-knotted rugs with a turnaround time of six to eight months. Handmade, tufted and machine-made varieties can be customized in different sizes with a turnaround of a mere few months.
“The factory makes sure to supply a rendering before anything is ever produced, so clients can see what the finished version will look like,” Lloyd assures.
For designers who would rather shop close to the Design District, Feizy’s 17,000-square-foot World Trade Center location houses everything that appears on its website, Lloyd says. For an even more in-depth experience, designers should head to North Dallas—it’s worth the drive.
“It’s really an awe-inspiring experience for them to come and see this presentation at
our corporate headquarters,” Lloyd says.
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Alaena Hostetter is a content strategist, editor and journalist who writes about art, design, culture, music, entertainment and food. She can be reached via her website alaenahostetter.com.
