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- One of the top 100 Karastan Dealers
- One of only 77 Wools of New Zealand Premier Partners
- Wools of New Zealand Premier Partners Advisory Council
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Russell Martin owner, Dave Martin learned the carpet cleaning trade first-hand from Russell’s Cleaners in downtown Naperville. Dave worked cleaning rugs and pressing pants at Russell's while attending North Central College, learning about fabrics, materials and stains. In addition, Dave learned from Russell what they didn’t teach in school; the fine art of customer service.
In 1978, Dave and his wife, Rae bought the carpet cleaning side of the business from Russell. Those first years in the business were tough for Dave and Rae. They had just purchased the house at 221 W. Jefferson, the beautiful Victorian home which now houses the offices of Hitchcock Design Group. When Dave and Rae bought the home, however, it was a real “fixer-upper,” complete with 26 broken windows and a refusal from every agent in town to insure it.
The carpet cleaning business continued to grow, despite high interest rates, the pain-staking remodel of their home, crippling snowstorms and the birth of two babies, Sam in 1977 and Kate in 1978. As things got better, Dave built the coach house that now sits behind the Victorian as his carpet cleaning shop. In 1984, Dave and Rae added carpet sales to the business because his clients frequently asked for recommendations about new carpeting. As professionals who had worked with carpets for many years, they took a logical step and began selling carpets and rugs. Again, however, success did not necessarily come easily.
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Unlike many other carpet dealers, Dave and Rae did not want to sell entry level or builder’s grade carpeting. They wanted to sell high-end replacement carpeting which would allow them to deliver the same quality Naperville area homeowners had come to expect from his cleaning service. When Dave initially approached Karastan Carpets about selling their product, they turned him down flat. He persisted, and today Russell Martin Carpet is the second largest independent Karastan dealer in Illinois.
Over the years, Russell Martin Carpet eventually moved from their lovely rehabbed Victorian to the industrial park behind Naperville North High School, then to downtown Naperville and finally to 633 North Washington Street, where they bought an old auto repair shop and devotedly transformed it into their beautiful new showroom you see today.
Today, Russell Martin Carpet is the premier carpet dealer in the Naperville area.
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