Quality, innovation and
efficiency
For many years, the factory was the backbone of local
industry until 1976 when, after years of downsizing and
dwindling profits, the company relocated the only remaining
financially viable division (tufted carpet) to permit
the sale of one full city block of multi-storey factory
building, a decision that also allowed it to pay off creditors
in full with interest.
In its prime, the Carpet Manufacturing Company, Ltd. established
a reputation for quality, innovation and efficiency. As
a purely Canadian enterprise, it maintained a policy to
“study and cater to the requirements of the Canadian
trade and consumers”.
During World War I, the company devoted some of its production
efforts to assisting the war effort. Within 3 weeks of
the government’s request for assistance, the company
had shipped Canada’s first army blankets to forces
overseas. Over 300,000 blankets were produced in all.
In addition, the company manufactured 1,250,000 yards
of khaki cloth for uniforms.
After the armistice, the cloth plant was incorporated
as a subsidiary company, later named the Barrymore Cloth
Company, Limited which, in peace time, converted its production
of khaki cloth to the production of fine suit and cloaking
fabric for men and women.
Invisible Mending
When the present owners bought the building in 1995,
they set to work rescuing the site from a state of disrepair
and atrophy that had resulted in a third of the building
remaining vacant. Repairs included restoration of the
chimney, with the help of a restoration grant from the
Toronto Historic Board, and office space conversion,
including
mezzanine lofts. Alterations to the buildings have been
undertaken with the utmost care to retain the integrity
of all original architectural detail.
Bob Eisenberg and Michael Cruickshank, owners of the Carpet
Factory, like to refer to their method of renovations
as “invisible mending” – repairs that
don’t draw attention to themselves.
