For this months “Behind the Loom" interview feature, we interviewed John Honeyman of the legendary Mellah, Canada’s best store for Moroccan rugs. Recently, he and his wife Miriam Zittell have launched a new business called Mellah Home and Rug Care, where they will be offering Rug Cleaning, Carpet Cleaning, Upholstery Cleaning, and Rug Repair in Toronto and Greater Toronto Area. We caught up with John at his Roncesvalles Atelier to get the scoop.
John and Miriam in front of Mellah, a Moroccan rug store in Toronto. It’s also the headquarters of Mellah Home and Rug Care, a rug cleaning and home services company in Toronto.
Q) After 8 years of selling Moroccan rugs in Toronto, why have you started Mellah Home and Rug Care?
A) We realized that we could better serve our clients by offering very high quality hand area rug washing, with a level of expertise never seen before in cleaning rugs Toronto. Of course this applies to Moroccan rugs, but also to any other type if rug, whether it be viscose or natural fibre, silk or cotton, Persian or Turkish, Modern or antique…you get the idea.
A very clean, very white rug in the Forest Hill area of Toronto. This rug was cleaned by Mellah Home and Rug Care. They do free pickups and deliveries all over Toronto.
Q) Wow, that all sounds super exciting! We’re always very stoked to hear about a new operator cleaning area rugs in Toronto, and we here at Rug Cleaning Quarterly Magazine extend a really warm welcome to you guys. We know you were killing the game selling Moroccan rugs in Toronto, but cleaning them is so next level! We saw your mobile service command unit vehicle, and it looks sick as hell. Would you mind telling us: just what is the Rugrunner, and what role do you see it playing in Mellah Home and Rug Care?
Rugrunner, our mobile rug services unit. If you see Rugrunner on the streets of Toronto, tag it and post on social media with the hashtag #rugrunner. You’ll receive $50 rug cleaning voucher!
A) Great question. Rugrunner (no need for the definite article before) is our mascot, our soul, our workhorse, our voice, our rock and our force of life. More specifically, Rugrunner is a 2015 Chevrolet City Express that we’ve wrapped in Satin black vinyl and put a few sweet decals on, that advertise our services. You know, upholstery cleaning, rug repair, carpet cleaning, and of course our bread and butter, area rug cleaning in Toronto. The interesting thing about Rugrunner is that it’s actually a Nissan NV200, but they branded it as a Chevy in the North American market for some reason, or something.
A modern Moroccan rug in Mellah, a Roncesvalles showroom of amazing Moroccan rugs.
Q) How often would you recommend clients get their rugs cleaned in Toronto?
A) Well, Toronto’s climate presents several issues to rug maintenance. The winter salt, slush and snow doesn’t do the rugs any favours, so a refresh in the spring could be what’s needed for rugs that are in high traffic areas, or if you have a household where people wear shoes (not judging but…yuck). The humidity in the Toronto summer can sometimes present odour issues, so an enzyme treatment to get rid of any kind of mildew or moldy smell is recommended. And lastly, Toronto does have thriving moth populations that absolutely love to munch on high quality wool rugs, so a moth treatment every few years is the way to go.
A truly beautiful vintage Moroccan rug. Available in Mellah’s Toronto showroom
Q) Thank you so much for sitting down with us here to discuss your new venture. We wish you all the best for Mellah Home and Rug Care. Now let’s get to cleaning these Toronto rugs!!!