Early settlers in America lived in frontier cabins. These cabins were roughly built, and the floors had many cracks. To hide these cracks, settlers used floor coverings as a matter of necessity during cold winter days and nights.
Soon, a new floor covering product appeared among the settlers, the braided rug. These rugs were made of cloth strips torn from old blankets, coats, pieces of canvas, and whatever scrap materials happened to be available at the time. These strips were fashioned into a braid. The braided material was sewn or laced together in an ever-widening circle, forming a rug for the cabin floor. Since the cloth strips for the rug came from many different sources, the rug was multi-colored. It served as a warm and useful floor covering without the need for complicated machinery and perfectly suited the needs of early American settlers.
In March of 1917, when A. Leon Capel, Sr. was 17 years old, he struck on the idea of buying some braiding machines to create rugs more quickly and efficiently. These machines braided the rope, then stitched the braid around and around in concentric circles, making rugs in ever-increasing sizes.
At first, Mr. Capel made only small throw rugs. As his expertise grew, he made larger and larger rugs until a wide range was offered, from 2' x 3' up to 12' x 18' or larger. This was the first time anyone had manufactured braided yarn rugs, and he appropriately named these rugs "New Departure".
New Departure rugs found immediate consumer acceptance, and business grew. In 1926, Mr. Capel purchased some looms and began manufacturing a chenille yarn that could be used on braided rugs. Creation of the first braided chenille rugs followed. These were called "Old Homestead". (In January, 1978, more than fifty years after its conception, the Old Homestead was selected for the Floor Covering Hall of Fame in Chicago.)
The braided rug business continued to grow, and in 1936, Mr. Capel bought a small spinning mill at Capelsie, North Carolina, which closed as a result of the Depression in 1932. The braided rug business demanded more and more yarns for its raw material, so the mill was purchased in order to ensure yarn supply, and to assure better quality control.
Three sons had been born to A. Leon Capel and Clara Capel during the 1930s, A. Leon Capel, Jr., Jesse S. Capel, and Arron W.E. Capel. On July 1, 1957, A. Leon Capel and Sons, Inc. formed as a successor to the braided rug business. The spinning mill at Capelsie was part of the original Corporation, with the same ownership. A separate Corporation formed in 1960, establishing Capelsie Mills, Inc. In 1961, Capel Real Estate and Development Corporation was established to primarily manage the land and buildings occupied by the manufacturing corporations. Mr. A. Leon Capel, Sr. passed away in 1972.
1976 saw the acquisition of a second spinning mill originally built by Arron W.E. Capel, Sr. in 1898. This further increased the manufacturing space available for both spinning yarns and manufacturing braided rugs.
A. Leon Capel & Sons, Inc. changed its name to Capel, Incorporated on July 9, 1980.
Capel is responsible for its own spinning, dyeing, weaving, braiding, sewing and selling. Raw materials consist of all the appropriate floor covering fibers, such as wool, rayon, nylon, and acrylics. Today, Capel employees number approximately 450 people and more than 20 different rug styles are manufactured, utilizing more than 200 different braids, and in excess of 600 different items in finished goods inventory plus many custom sizes and shapes. New styles in both woven and braided rugs are being developed and marketed each year to meet the color and style demands of the new millennium. Capel began its international operations in the early 1960s, offering a broad range of rug styles and colors.
Today, 80 years after stitching that first rug, Capel has become America's largest manufacturer and importer of area rugs. Capel's collection embodies an incredible diversity of handmade and machine-woven rugs made in America, Europe, and the Far East. A member of the Capel family oversees each area of operation. This personal dedication to quality and value is the cornerstone of the Capel heritage.