Fran Jasper

Owner & Founder

Having an innate gift for design, Jasper backed it up with a degree in design from the University of Louisville and attended Parsons School of Design in New York City. Her eye for quality was firmly rooted very early on. When she was just a college student, she took her entire savings and bought five rugs at an estate sale. Even though they were not to her liking, she knew they were quality rugs. So, taking them to a rug store, she traded them for rugs more to her taste. Six years later, equipped with knowledge, she went out on her own and bought the firehouse which now serves to house an enormous collection of oriental rugs. Fran’s love of design can be seen everyday in the active selection of both new and antique oriental rugs from her worldwide travels to locations such as India, Turkey, and Morocco.

When she is not at the shop or traveling, Fran finds time to serve on numerous charity boards including Wellstone Hospital and Whitehall. In addition, she is an active philanthropist for the Kentucky Humane Society.

Joe Tousi

Owner

Joe was born in Tehran, Iran. His father was a manufacturer of Persian Meshad and Shiraz rugs (names for two different states in the country of Iran) and he sold his masterpieces all over Europe, especially London, Milan, and Hamburg. Eventually, Joe moved to live with his aunt’s family in Italy and, at age 17, moved to New York where he opened his own store and met many European rug dealers. From there, he traveled across the United States in search of antique oriental rugs for these dealers, which is how he gained extensive knowledge of the antique rug business. Through his traveling, he met Fran Jasper in Louisville and they went into business together. He has since sold his businesses in other cities and has lived in Louisville for the past 35 years. Their business continues to grow and is doing better than ever.