Growing Up Around Oriental Rugs

I was born in Tehran, Iran. My father was manufacturer of Persian Meshad and Shiraz rugs, which are two different states in the country of Iran. He sold rugs all over Europe, especially London, Milan, and Hamburg.

I moved to live with my aunt’s family in Milan at a young age. They had an antique and an Oriental rug business. I was surrounded by Oriental rugs all my life. I moved to London for about a year, then at the age of 17 I came to New York by myself.

After college I was fortunate to go into the business I am in now. I opened a store in New York and met a lot of European contacts. At that time I traveled all over the country looking for antique Oriental rugs for my European dealers, which is how I learned my knowledge of the antique Oriental rug business. At the time I was selling many antique rugs to German and Austrian department stores. While I still had my store in New York I opened stores in Atlanta and Tampa. Through my traveling I met Fran Jasper in Louisville, a city I traveled through a lot. We went into business together in Louisville. I sold my businesses in other cities and am still here in Louisville for the past 35 years. We are still in business and doing better than ever…

Joe Tousi