Hi, I’m Tom Keene, the owner and person behind Van Gogh Custom Carpets. I’d like to give you a brief history of how I have wound up in the field of custom carpet design & fabrication.

I entered the carpet industry as a helper in 1982. Over the years, I worked my way up to being an installer and eventually a crew leader. For several years, I moved into the office and assumed a managerial role, learning the business about the business. In 1997, I ventured out on my own, starting my own company, Keene Karpets. I made many contacts throughout the industry during this time.  I had as many as 5 employees during this time, and we did all types of installations, ranging from apartment work all the way up to celebrity projects. Because of our accomplishments, we quickly rose to the top of the list at all the places where we gathered work from. In 2012, a decision was made to gear the company to more of a designer-based clientele, and with it came a name change; thus, we became Van Gogh Flooring. I met my wife a couple of years earlier, and we love to go to museums. Vincent Van Gogh is very special to us, so we decided to honor him by naming the company after him. It also gave a more artistic flair to my company's message.

Fast forward to 2020. I began pushing my company into more of the custom market. In early 2021, I met an amazing person, Ms Jan Berglowe. Jan owned Carpets By Design, which is a custom rug-making company. She primarily made custom, hand-carved rugs. Jan was looking into retiring and wanted to sell her business. I went to have a 1-hour sit-down with Jan and wound up staying for nearly 3 hours! The products, and especially the work, are fascinating to me. As it turned out, I bought Carpets By Design in March of 2021. I spent weeks in training with Jan, learning to polish my hand skills to learn the intricacies of rug carving. This propelled me into the “custom market.” From that point to this very day, I’ve put my main emphasis on not only doing custom carpet work but learning new techniques that make me better than I was yesterday! I am part of a network of craftsmen (and women) from around the USA and around the world who help each other and mentor each other to learn new skills. During this time, a small change has been made to the company header, and it has now become Van Gogh Custom Carpets.

Throughout my career, I have been affiliated with several carpet training programs, namely CFI & NFIC. Both are great gateways into developing hand skills. Some of the best training I’ve received has been from those who have cared enough to mentor me. People who take phone calls and discuss how to do certain techniques have been priceless to my training. Making custom rugs, sewing different types of bindings, installing stair runners, and creating room-sized rugs has become a passion. I truly enjoy what I do today. When I do a project, one of the most common bits of feedback I get from clients is “Tom, you really are passionate about what you do!” I am very proud of the work that I do and even more grateful that I get to do it.