'Carpets of Caring' Given New Meaning at Langhorne Carpet With Gift of Two Tons of Wool to Charities

PENNDEL, Pa., Feb. 24, 2014 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- Bill Morrow, the ever-optimistic President of Langhorne Carpet Company, always knew that much good would eventually result from last summer's electrical fire near the shipping dock of the century-old, one-story Pennsylvania mill. But he had no idea that in the aftermath of the quickly-contained fire (the mill is back in full operation) in which none of its 16 legendary looms were damaged, the mill would be able to gift to non-profit, textile-focused organizations more than two tons of the finest fleece from New Zealand and Britain.

"Our expertise is weaving wonderful Jacquard Wilton carpets for homes and historic sites worldwide," he explained, "so we paused when the adjuster said part of our re-start plan involved restocking our wool inventory despite the fact that not one yard of fiber was in the fire. We never considered a landfill to be a suitable distribution site for this precious natural resource."

Morrow, whose family-owned mill was recently featured in the New York Times Magazine, said they quickly turned their attention to finding 'good homes' for the yarn. "The response from local hand weavers and artisans to colleges and universities, textile museums and social service-vocational training organizations has been fabulous," he explained. "When we started our 'Carpets of Caring' program to benefit non-profit organizations like Habitat for Humanity, we never thought that would include what might be the largest wool giveaway ever," he added. To date the mill has given away more than 2,000 pounds, and Morrow says they are just getting started, with more than two tons available for weaving. Those interested should contact Langhorne (215) 757-5155.

Perhaps the most unusual – and public - application of Langhorne's charitable wool distribution is the shipment to the Textile Center of Minneapolis, Minnesota. Jenny Jones, the center's marketing director explained, "We are honored to be partnering with Langhorne on what will be a truly unique wool sculpture we hope to unveil in the spring in time for the launch of the new light rail Green Line." Textile Center is collaborating with established fiber artists as well as students at the University of Minnesota and the University of Minnesota ReUse program in creating a truly "green" work of public art with the recycled wool. "This donation will enable us to turn the heads of the hundreds of thousands of people who will ride the Green Line, and in the process promote fiber art"

Marcia Weiss, Professor of Textile Design at Philadelphia University, quickly accepted Morrow's offer.  "We have long partnered with Langhorne, including in its student design competition, and welcomed the opportunity to have our undergraduate and graduate students work with their wool yarn. A visit to Langhorne is a highlight of every student's educational experience and working with their wool just adds to that experience."

SOURCE Langhorne Carpet Company