Day Trips
By Gerald E. McLeod, Fri., Jan. 22, 1999
At Ingrid's Custom Hand Woven, Inc. in Paint Rock, the term "snug as bug in a rug" has new meaning. The clacking of the looms in the back of the shop creates a cacophony of mechanical sounds as the weavers create rugs and saddle blankets for customers around the world.
Most of the businesses have moved from the dusty streets of the Concho County seat 35 miles west to San Angelo or faded away like paint on the few buildings that line the two blocks of US83 that run through town. In a town that looks more like a set for a John Wayne movie it is amazing to find a world-class rug manufacturer. The tiny factory sells its goods in 300 outlets around the country and ships the soft wool rugs to the finer shops of Europe.
Perhaps even more amazing is that the factory on this dusty stretch of highway in the middle of the Texas plains is owned and operated by a tall Austrian who looks more like a cowboy than a weaver and talks with a thick European accent. Reinhard Schoffthaler, the owner of Ingrid's Custom Hand Woven Rugs, is reminiscent of the German pioneers that settled this part of the Texas frontier more than a generation ago.
A chef by training, Schoffthaler spent 20 years working in New York City before moving to Paint Rock 18 years ago when he bought half of the business from his cousin Leopold Haas. He says he misses friends in New York, but the rat race of the big city gets to you after a while. "My favorite thing here is that the people are so nice and it's so much slower-paced. In New York everybody is always in such a hurry," he says.
The day that I discovered the rug shop I was looking for the Indian pictographs across the river that give the town its name and put the county seat on the map. David Condra, an employee of the shop, called the tour guide and left a message for me. When the guide called back, Condra came running out of the shop to give me the updated information. "That's just how people are here," Schoffthaler says, "friendly and helpful. That's one of the advantages [of living here]. You can't beat it."
Schoffthaler employs four or five weavers at a time to make the beautifully patterned rugs in an assortment of colors. His primary customer is Ethan Allen Home Interiors. The shop also does a good business in saddle blankets, but cheap imitations from Mexico have cut into the business since the North American Free Trade Agreement opened up the borders. He has lost two-thirds of his saddle blanket business since the trade agreement began.
"Wool is one of the best natural fibers," Schoffthaler says. It is soft, versatile, and strong. One of their rugs "will probably outlast you," he says with a laugh. Cowboys take their saddle blankets to the car wash and hose them down to clean them. As long as you let the blanket or rug dry thoroughly it will last almost forever. Moisture is one of the biggest enemies of wool.
Texas was once the wool-producing "capital of the world," Schoffthaler says. Australia has overtaken the state in wool production, but much of Schoffthaler's wool still comes from local producers. He mixes it with course fibers produced in New Zealand. The wool is dyed at the International Textile Institute in Lubbock at Texas Tech.
Most of the locally grown wool is now shipped out of the country, Schoffthaler says. It used to be that most of the manufacturing was done on the East Coast, but now even that is moving overseas. Cheap labor in Eastern Europe is taking many of the manufacturing jobs. He points to the Levi Strauss plant that recently closed in San Angelo with 600 jobs moving to the Czech Republic.
"Ethan Allen wants American-made," Schoffthaler says. The little shop spins the raw wool around a jute cord that makes a rope-like yarn on a 1950s machine that still works fine. The weavers work on machines that are operated by compressed air. The looms have been built, fixed, and customized by Condra, who is a jack-of-all-trades around the shop.
Ingrid's can make a rug up to 28 feet long and 12 feet wide in one-inch increments. The catalogs lists 20 different styles, from Southwestern accents to Modern and Ethnic styles. Schoffthaler says they recently added a Scottish plaid design. Prices range from $39 to more than $1,000 depending on size and design. Of course, you get a better deal by dealing directly with the factory. Between Thanksgiving and Christmas the shop runs their annual Christmas sale, offering 30-50% discounts on rugs in stock. "People come from hundreds of miles away for the sale," he says, so they try to have a good selection.
To see the weavers working, stop by the shop on Main Street across from the 19th-century courthouse in Paint Rock. They are also open on Saturdays for sales only. To make an order or for more information, call Schoffthaler at 800/752-8004 or 915/732-4370.
Coming up this weekend ...
Southwestern Exposition, Livestock Show & Rodeo in Fort Worth is an internationally known event that originated the indoor rodeo in the Will Rogers Coliseum in 1917 and has grown bigger every year since. The event mixes Texas agricultural products with a county fair atmosphere, Jan. 22-Feb. 7. 817/877-2400.
Coming up ...
Barn to Yarn Festival in Fredericksburg on the grounds of the Pioneer Museum shows visitors how various fibers are woven into final products, sheepdog demonstrations, and a chance to kiss a llama, Jan. 30. 512/440-1025.
Found Objects Exhibit at the Duncan-McAshan Visual Arts Center in Ingram displays artwork from bottle caps to hubcaps by Texas artists, through Feb. 13. 830/367-5120.
Inkeepers Seminar at Ant Street Inn in Brenham sponsored by the Historic Accommodations of Texas has member innkeepers presenting workshops for aspiring innkeepers, Feb. 7-9. 281/403-6567.
Day Trips, Vol.2, a book of Day Trips 101-200, is now available for $8.95, plus $3.05 for shipping, handling, and tax. Mail to: Day Trips, P.O. Box 33284, South Austin, TX 78704.
400th in a Series. Collect them all.
