Set to air in January, PBS’s hit show “This Old House” will feature Merida and our Fall River manufacturing facility! Boston-based designer Melissa Gulley worked with a local Auburndale family to bring their design vision to fruition and infuse their Charles River-side home with style, charm, and personality.

Melissa worked closely with the family to select a beautiful floral fabric in organic earth tones as the basis for the first floor living spaces. From there, she came up with concepts for the living room and the family room that featured different looks with an overall cohesive feel that tied these spaces together.

Conceptual Pieces

Prepping for the first scene

In the living room, Melissa chose a custom colored Viewpoint Aventura rug featuring a small, clean flat-weave that allows for the precise and elaborate floral pattern. View the Aventura rug and all of the designs in our Viewpoint Collection here.

For the sunroom, also on the first floor, Melissa selected Merida’s tufted Solar rug in a similar custom brown and burnt sienna color palette. Melissa went with a tufted wool rug since it has added cushion and support when sitting or laying on it – perfect for the relaxed and casual family hang-out room. Check out our tufted designs here and know that we can custom color any pattern to fit your project/design needs.

On the second floor Melissa went with a different color palette to create a softer, more relaxing vibe for the bedrooms. To complete the master bedroom sanctuary Melissa had us weave a Sweater Cable un-dyed wool rug. The natural cream tone has a tranquil effect that is perfect for bedrooms. View our Sweater Rug Collection here.

This Old House Checking out their Rug Being Made

Merida's John Carvalho Making His Big Debut

Solar Rug in Production

Throughout the day of filming we showed the This Old House team how we locally manufacture our rugs in the USA – from the initial conceptual design process to weaving the rugs, backing them and finishing them. We are grateful that they are inspired by our story and impressed by our endless customization options…so much so that they want to share it with their viewers!

We had fun on set watching the behind-the-scenes action and getting a glimpse into the world of TV production. Keep an eye out for the segment airing this January.

Filming the Sweater Rug Loom

Filming the Backing Process

Filming the Edge Finishing Process

John Carvalho, Maegan Fee, Kevin O'Connor, Whitney Palmedo, Melissa Gulley

Seaming Detail

Did you know that Merida was the first US rug manufacturer to create area rugs from sisal? Before Merida, sisal could only be installed wall-to-wall. Merida has always been a leader in custom finishing options for area rugs and we stand out as one of the best resources for exemplary hand craftsmanship.

This month marks a new step in the evolution of our natural fiber craftsmanship- hand seamed rugs! We are continuously working to improve and expand on our skills and the recent hand-seamed rugs for the Wiseman Group mark another leap in Merida’s custom capabilities.

Edge Finishing

The Wiseman Group approached Merida with their vision of obtaining three authentic tiled looking rugs. From there, Merida superstars Paul Rizzo (Vice President of Sales) and Steven Ho (Materials Analyst) worked together to come up with a design to bring the Wiseman Group’s vision to life. After conceptualizing the design on paper, Steven led the team in our Boston facility in creating three physical mock-ups.

Since this was the first intricate in-rug seaming project Merida has tackled, there were a few valuable lessons learned along the way. The Wiseman Group initially specified a Seagrass rug, however, Steven’s team discovered that the binding fell straighter and the stitching was tighter on sisal due to the backing, so they recommended that the order be switched to Tiger Eyes Natural. It also took a few trials to get a design that looked tiled but still lay flat.

In the end, we are proud to say that, after 4 craftsmen worked for 35 hours, Merida pulled off the feat perfectly! This means that we now not only have the capability to create rugs in any size or shape, but to also add any number of custom designs.

The sky is the limit, so put on your creative hats and start dreaming!

Would you like to design a custom seamed rug? Email us for details!

Last Thursday morning Merida employees gathered at our Boston office bright and early to set off on a volunteer project with the Greater Boston Food Bank. Dressed in matching shirts designed exclusively for the event by resident design intern Lauren Song, we were greeted by the GBFB staff upon arrival and escorted to a classroom upstairs to learn the drill. Funnyman Kelly gave us an overview of the process and instructions on how the food is sorted. Sorting categories range from health products (toothpaste, deodorant, make-up, etc) to protein (beans, hash, tuna fish, etc.) to beverages. We got a detailed overview on acceptable products versus waste products – waste products are defined as specific expired products, cans with multiple dents, and opened or used products.

Not having any personal experience with the Food Bank myself, I was floored with the staff, facility and organization of the company. That being said, I thought I was a sorting expert after our extensive introductory classroom training….until I hit the sorting floor where all the action happens!!

Each sorter chose a category or two to cover; I had protein/beans and simple starches. Once situated, a few of my fellow volunteers loaded up a conveyor belt with donated products (mainly waste and/or defective items from large retailers such as Stop & Shop, CVS, and Walgreens). The conveyor belt then moved the products down the line and each person was responsible for spotting their particular products, snatching them off the conveyor belt, inspecting them and putting the good products aside in a box. Sounds like a cinch, but I was pleasantly surprised at how fast-paced and friendly the environment was.

We finished our sorting shift in the early afternoon, and I was astonished to learn what a huge contribution we made – and all while having fun! In just a few short hours 37 people were able to sort 5,434 pounds of food, 80% of which was salvageable. That totals to 3,330 meals made possible for people in need.

Merida is proud to have contributed to such a great cause and I urge others to try to take some time out of your busy schedules to give back to the community – you might just surprise yourself and enjoy doing it!

T-shirt Designer Lauren Song (center)

The Merida Team