Fair. Trusted. Reporting in Rappahannock County and across Virginia’s Piedmont.

Donate
Donate

Early’s Carpet shows off new expansion in Amissville

by | Feb 5, 2024

Lorraine Early, Amy Frazier, president and CEO of the Culpeper Chamber of Commerce, and Solon and Sonja Betts pose for a photo before cutting the ribbon to Early's Carpet latest expansion on Friday morning.
Lorraine Early, Amy Frazier, president and CEO of the Culpeper Chamber of Commerce, and Solon and Sonja Betts pose for a photo before cutting the ribbon to Early's Carpet latest expansion on Friday morning.
Surrounded by friends, family, neighbors and staff, Lorraine Early thanked the community for their support over the last 57 years.
Surrounded by friends, family, neighbors and staff, Lorraine Early thanked the community for their support over the last 57 years.
Jason Seamon hangs a rug to finish drying after it has been run through the centrifuge machine.
Jason Seamon hangs a rug to finish drying after it has been run through the centrifuge machine.
Solon Betts shows off the inside of the Early's Carpet cleaning vans in the new garage space.
Solon Betts shows off the inside of the Early's Carpet cleaning vans in the new garage space.
Jason Seamon (left) and Derek Lobe load Early's Carpet's new centrifuge machine, which quickens the rug cleaning and drying process.
Jason Seamon (left) and Derek Lobe load Early's Carpet's new centrifuge machine, which quickens the rug cleaning and drying process.
Guests browse rugs in the Early's Carpet warehouse, where the Amissville business hosted an open house and ribbon-cutting celebrating their newest addition on Friday.
Guests browse rugs in the Early's Carpet warehouse, where the Amissville business hosted an open house and ribbon-cutting celebrating their newest addition on Friday.

early’s ribbon cutting

Lorraine Early, Amy Frazier, president and CEO of the Culpeper Chamber of Commerce, and Solon and Sonja Betts pose for a photo before cutting the ribbon to Early’s Carpet latest expansion on Friday morning.

Early’s Carpet in Amissville unveiled their latest $1.5 million expansion at an open house and ribbon cutting ceremony Friday. 

Visitors filed through the warehouse and garage, toured new and existing facilities, and they watched demonstrations of the store’s new centrifuge machine. After the rug is beaten, treated, scrubbed and rinsed, the new machine spins out remaining water and dirt, speeding up the cleaning and drying process. 

Amy Frazier, president and CEO of the Culpeper Chamber of Commerce, of which Early’s Carpet is a member, kicked off the ribbon-cutting ceremony and thanked the 57-year-old business for their longtime contribution to the local economy. She then introduced Early’s co-owner Lorraine Early, who expressed her gratitude for the support of her family and the communities the business serves.

Lorraine Early

Surrounded by friends, family, neighbors and staff, Lorraine Early thanked the community for their support over the last 57 years. 

“I am blessed for being here 57 years. I’m grateful to the Lord, and give credit for our success to my family and the relationship and workmanship we have with our employees. No one can do it alone” Early said. “I am deeply honored and grateful to my daughter Sonja and son-in-law Solon for their huge investment into this edition and new equipment and the decision to carry forward what John and I started in October 1966.”

Early’s expansion jason seamon

Jason Seamon hangs a rug to finish drying after it has been run through the centrifuge machine.

Solon Betts

Solon Betts shows off the inside of the Early’s Carpet cleaning vans in the new garage space.

Early’s Carpet’s new centrifuge machine

Jason Seamon (left) and Derek Lobe load Early’s Carpet’s new centrifuge machine, which quickens the rug cleaning and drying process. 

Early’s Carpet warehouse

Guests browse rugs in the Early’s Carpet warehouse, where the Amissville business hosted an open house and ribbon-cutting celebrating their newest addition on Friday. 

More about Early’s and their expansion:

Early’s Carpet to showcase its largest expansion

Early’s Carpet, one of Rappahannock County’s oldest businesses, is ready to show off its largest expansion yet. The 57-year-old Amissville company will hold a ribbon-cutting ceremony and open house on Friday, Feb. 2.

Author

  • Ireland Hayes

    Ireland joined Foothills Forum as a full-time reporter in 2023 after graduating from the University of Georgia’s Grady College of Journalism and Mass Communication with a degree in journalism and minor in music. As a student, she gained valuable experience in reporter and editor positions at The Red & Black, an award-winning student newspaper, and contributed to Grady Newsource and the Athens Banner-Herald. She spent three years as an editorial assistant at Georgia Magazine, UGA’s quarterly alumni publication, and interned with The Bitter Southerner. Growing up in a small town in Southeast Georgia, Ireland developed a deep appreciation for rural communities and the unique stories they have to tell. She completed undergraduate research on news deserts, ghost papers and the ways rural communities in Georgia are being forced to adapt to a lack of local news. This research further sparked her interest in a career contributing to the preservation of local and rural news.

Republish License

Our stories may be republished online or in print under Creative Commons license CC BY-NC-ND 4.0. We ask that you edit only for style or to shorten, provide proper attribution and link to our website. AP and Getty images may not be republished. Please see our republishing guidelines for use of any other photos and graphics.

By Ireland Hayes

Read more articles by Ireland Hayes
Ireland joined Foothills Forum as a full-time reporter in 2023 after graduating from the University of Georgia’s Grady College of Journalism and Mass Communication with a degree in journalism and minor in music. As a student, she gained valuable experience in reporter and editor positions at The Red & Black, an award-winning student newspaper, and contributed to Grady Newsource and the Athens Banner-Herald. She spent three years as an editorial assistant at Georgia Magazine, UGA’s quarterly alumni publication, and interned with The Bitter Southerner. Growing up in a small town in Southeast Georgia, Ireland developed a deep appreciation for rural communities and the unique stories they have to tell. She completed undergraduate research on news deserts, ghost papers and the ways rural communities in Georgia are being forced to adapt to a lack of local news. This research further sparked her interest in a career contributing to the preservation of local and rural news.