"It's a labor of love for me" says David Martinous, "and we only offer top quality products coupled with personal service and knowledge that draws customers from around the state."

Martinous Oriental Rug Company is family owned and operated and has been serving Arkansas since 1923. Our showroom has over 2,000 new and antique rugs in stock from Pakistan, Iran, India and other exotic locales. Our focus is service as well as sales, as we are one of only a few companies in the nation that offer the submersion handwash cleaning process.

Founded in 1923 in Springfield, Missouri, Martinous Oriental Rug Company was then operated by Carl John Martinous and his cousin Charles Malick, along with Carl's three brothers Phil, Shamel and Ben (pictured at right with their mother Mary Joseph Martinous). The Martinous brothers traveled throughout the region the bring their exotic Persian and Oriental carpets and rugs to the people of Arkansas, Oklahoma and Missouri.

Their first storefront was established by Carl John and his wife Dorothy (at right) in 1939 on Rogers Avenue in Fort Smith in the town's first shopping center. That year also saw the introduction of professional carpet and rug cleaning to the state of Arkansas, offered exclusively by the Martinous family.

Oriental Rugs Arrive in Little Rock

In 1940 the operation expanded to Little Rock with a location at 23rd and Arch Street. It moved to East 21st Street in 1945. In 1958 Dorothy Martinous took over the business following the death of her husband. By 1966, Carl's son David Martinous had assumed the management reins. In 1976, Martinous Oriental Rug Company was officially incorporated and relocated to an address on Cantrell Road, and the Fort Smith operation (today known as Spring Carpet Cleaning) was sold to cousin Ross Flanary. Following the explosive growth of West Little Rock in the 1980's the company moved into its own building in 1985 on Macon Drive, where it resides today.

In 2000, www.Martinous.com was launched to assist both local customers and those across the nation.

May of 2004 brought to Arkansas a new level of professional rug cleaning with the construction of a submersion handwash cleaning facility inside the Martinous Oriental Rug Company building. Also, in September of that year, a redesigned version of www.Martinous.com was launched.

For over 80 years, the Martinous family has been the state's leading source for Persian and Oriental rugs from mat to palace size. With state-of-the-art cleaning facilities and an expansive showroom, Martinous Oriental Rug Company continues to bring the old world into the new.