"made mostly from recycled textile scraps" Are you looking for a word? "Rags" maybe? And maybe they're called Rag Rugs? And for how many years have these been made by Midwestern hausfraus and ladies clubs and sod at church sales for $5? Sheesh! Talk about pretentious...

I think if someone is putting in the time and effort to make a good rug, and someone else is willing to pay $200, kudos to both of them. It's better then buying a mystery rug that was crafting by some child somehwere.

And more to point, I have had a few hand-made rugs that were cheap to buy, but they were just plain cheap, too. Just because you are charging a lot doesn't mean you are pretentious.

Calling rags "recycled textile scraps" is pretentious.

I do have to say that this post is pretty hilarious. I agree with quiltmaster. Not to dog on rag rugs....they have their place and time but they are what they are. (And $200 for a 3x5 rag rug is not exactly what I would call affordable.)

"Geez, rag rugs can't be fashionable again" was my first impression too. But the rugs below the first pic are actually kinda nice. I hate rag rugs, my aunt made them (and I think she was colourblind) and I just recently got rid of the very last one. Moving out of the country helped. Well, actually the darn rugs are still in my mums attic "waiting for my return". Let them wait, I say! Hahaaaa! ;)

you can get the exact same thing at IKEA for I think $1.99, and they have better colors there, too. just saying.

quiltmaster,
Who made you the word sheriff around here?
Is "Apartment Therapy" pretentious because it's not called "Apartment Help"? Is "Automobile Magazine" pretentious because it's not called "Car Magazine"?
People should have the liberty to express themselves as they see fit, without some linguistic fascist like you telling them what words they should use, and drawing conclusions about them or their motives if they don't.

If I read "rag" I think of a dirty cloth used for cleaning. "Recycled textile scraps" tells me exactly what the product is made of, with no ambiguity. Also, when I look at the product link I can see that these are far more artistic in the pattern design and better executed than any "rag rug" I've ever seen.

Maybe they're trying to distinguish their product from generic rag rugs?
Maybe they're aiming for a market that doesn't even know what a rag rug is?

Uh...guys...these are not rag rugs....my grandmother made rag rugs...and she didn't have a huge loom in her living room. These are woven on a loom...and are much more durable than the rag rugs pieced together with thread and needle by our grandmothers. Nothing wrong with rag rugs...I love them....but from what I see from the website these guys use pendleton wool and leather....that ain't your grandma's rag rug!!!!

There's a whole community of creative textile artists who have embraced the term "rag rug" and are turning out new, beautiful interpretations of the old concept. They rely on our familiarity with the word and our expectations of seeing something that is extremely utilitarian....turned into something remarkably graceful. An example of an artist working around the corner from me:
http://claudiamills.com/