Angie Burge Finds the Plush Side of Life: English Village Lane

During the height of the pandemic shutdown, Angie Burge was obsessed with buying new rugs for her home. Not only did she shop, she also educated herself about different types of rugs, quality over cost and the ability to get the size she needed. “I recognized the value in a good wool rug the first time my two-year-old spilled something on it,” she recalls. “It cleaned up with water beautifully.” 

Suitably impressed but a little frustrated by the rug buying process, Angie opened an LLC in 2022, started an Instagram shop and messaged 100 rug companies to source rugs. By the end of 2022, she had said goodbye to her corporate sales job and turned her full attention to English Village Lane. The shop offers both in-stock options as well as customizable designs. 

Business has grown quickly organically, which has led Angie to consolidate multiple storage units into her first brick-and-mortar store. Located on Second Avenue South in downtown Birmingham, English Village Lane has the capacity for rug storage, a design studio for local clients and a place for virtual consultations. From the beginning of opening the shop, Angie worked with Sam Renta at Alliance Capital Corporation. “Sam walked me through the SBA process and it was seamless,” she says. “He recognized a good opportunity and saw how well I was doing and believed in me.” 

Customer service is key to Angie’s success, so she now goes directly the looms in India to source custom designs and sizes and to keep the prices lower. “I want my customers to feel like they are part of our company too,” she says. “We aren’t afraid to pay expedited shipping fees to get a rug here on time.” 

Now that everything is under one roof, Angie is hiring additional staff so she has the time to focus on creativity, design and growing the business. “Take the risk and find something you love that is also scalable,” she says. “My goal is to provide rugs for people across the Southeast.”