A Sunday Without Rug

Since the beginning of 2010, we do not open our rug gallery on Sundays. Therefore, Sunday is to rest and to be with family and friends. My wife loves and I hate shopping. So we cannot get along by going shopping together most of the times. We go out sometimes on Sundays. Sometimes our sons accompany us and sometimes they don't.

This past Sunday, we went to Manhattan Beach, 15 miles south of Los Angeles. It was summer in the winter. Many people were swimming and some were surf riding. While the rest of the country was in snow and had cold/freezing weather, it was 83 degrees (29 degrees in Celsius) in Manhattan Beach. We had lunch and noticed that the police had closed down the street and people were gathering and sitting down on the street waiting for a concert to start.

There were few bands playing Christmas songs and after that there was a beautiful fireworks. It was fun. This was one of those days without rugs!

Dr. Khosrow Sobhe (Dr. Kay)
Certified Rug Specialist (CRS)
www.RugIdea.com
www.LosAngelesRugCleaning.com
310-770-9085

Rug gallery as a Polling Place

We will have election on November 2, 2010 in Clifornia. We will have our rug gallery as a polling place. We have to come to work at 6:00 am and stay up until 10:00 pm. we did the same thing on June 8, 2010 for the first round of election. This is one way we can give back to the city in which we live and work.

Dr. Khosrow Sobhe (Dr. Kay)
Certified Rug Specialist (CRS)
www.RugIdea.com
www.LosAngelesRugCleaning.com
310-770-9085

Rug Appraisers Rug Appraisal

The day before yesterday I went to Venice Beach here in Los Angeles for an in house appraisal of four hand knotted Persian rugs. I got there more than half an hour early. I did not want to bother the customer early in the morning around 8:30. I went to a restaurant for breakfast and had an omelette and coffee. This place was across from the ocean so I took a five minutes walk before I visit the customer for her rug appraisal for insurance purposes. There were so many surf riders in the water at that time. Beautiful scene. I wish I had no work to do and no bills to pay so I could spend few hour there! It is only 30 minutes drive from our rug gallery.

Khosrow Sobhe (Dr. Kay)
Certified Rug Specialist (CRS)
www.RugIdea.com
www.LosAngelesRugCleaning.com

310-770-9085

Polling Place in My Rug Gallery in Los Angeles

I came to work this morning at 6:00 am. Our rug gallery on 1655 South La Cienega Blvd. Los Angeles is a polling place. We have voting in California today. Four people are here from the Office of the Registrar, County of Los Angeles to do the set up and conduct the voting process. An inspector also stopped by to make sure everything is going smoothly. Those who have registered are coming in to cast their ballots.

Today, Tuesday is primary election day in California, and key races are being closely watched, as voters pick the Democratic and Republican nominations for governor and the Republican nomination for the U.S. Senate. Voter turnout is expected to be light, with only about one-third of voters are expected to cast ballots.

I guess we have to stay open until 10:00 pm today. It is going to be a long day.

Dr. Khosrow Sobhe (Dr. Kay)
Certified Rug Specialist (CRS)
www.LosAngelesRugCleaning.com
310-770-9085

Field Trip From Westland School in Los Angeles to Our Rug Gallery

Yesterday was a beautiful and wonderful day. We had a field trip and visit to our rug gallery by 23 bright, polite and smart students from Westland School which is located on Mulholland Drive in Los Angeles. Two teachers and six parents also accompanied these students. We showed them two short videos on how Persian rugs and kilims are made followed by a powerpoint containing many pictures from the Pazyryk carpet, the oldest rug ever, the biggest rug in the world, and rug production process. We started at 10:00 am and finished by 12:00 pm.

Students asked many questions such as the following:

- Wool of how many sheep do you use to make a rug?
- How much do you pay to your weavers to make a rug?
- How much water do you use to wash a rug and where does this water come from?
- Who are the designers of Persian rugs?
- Do you use the wool of live sheep or you can use the wool of dead sheep?

I enjoyed having them in our store. I had provided a package for each student containing two small books (The Mystic of Oriental Rugs, and Carpet Cleaning Tips for Dummies), and few other handouts and rug literature.

Khosrow Sobhe
Certified Rug Specialist (CRS)
www.rugidea.com
310-770-9085

A Rug Mistake!!

We hang an area rug on a rack outside of our rug gallery on La Cienega Blvd. every day to attract customers. The day before yesterday, I was the last one who left and closed the doors. I totally forgot to take this rug off and put it inside. When I came to work yesterday, I realized the mistake I had made. The rug was still there hanging on the rack!!Why should I forget to take the rug down and bring it back inside. Was I too busy, or it is because of the AGE?!!! :)

Khosrow Sobhe
Certified Rug Specialist (CRS)
www.LosAngelesRugCleaning.com
310-770-9085

My Son's Birthday and His Help in My Rug Gallery

In an earlier post I mentioned that it was my younger son's birthday yesterday. Last night we went to Chili's Restaurant on Westwood Blvd. here in Los Angeles. The food was good and so was the atmosphere. My son Kash received several gifts from the family and friends. We went home and had another birthday and home made cake prepared by my wife.

Kash came to my work to day. He helped me and also did some home work. Kash is a good salesman and asks me not to interfere with his sales when he is in my rug gallery and we have customers. In many instances he has been able to close the deals and sell rugs.

Khosrow Sobhe
Certified Rug Specialist (CRS)
www.RugIdea.com
310-770-9085

Sunny Saturday and My Rug Gallery in Los Angeles

It is a beautiful sunny Saturday and I am in our rug gallery in Los Angeles. I had an appointment with a client who showed up. We are expecting two more customers to stop by today.

It is my younger son's birthday today. He is turning 17. His name is Khashaiar (Xerxes, The Persian king who lived around 480 B.C.) but his friends call him Kash. He is a junior at the eleventh grade in Beverly Hills High School. This semester he is taking several college-level AP courses. Like his older brother Ashkan, he wants to study Information Technology and Information Systems. He is a very dedicated, hard working and ambitious young man. He has designed a web site called: www.ShareSchoolNotes.com
Students can upload their homework on this web site and share them with other students and work on their homework and assignments from anywhere they go. We are supposed to go out for dinner tonight. Kash is supposed to choose the place. He is more like to go to a younger generation type of restaurant such as In-N-Out or Chillie's compared with traditional Italian or Persian cuisins. It is his birthday and he should decide where to eat (only today!)

Khosrow Sobhe
www.LosAngelesRugCleaning.com
319-770-9085

Valentine's Day, Rain and Rugs in Los Angeles

Today is the valentine's day and it is supposed to rain here in Los Angeles. We have had rainy days for the past few days. I proposed to my wife last night to go for a breakfast this morning to a nearby Panini restaurant. We have no intention of taking our two sons with us. She said OK, but you never know if we go or not; ladies change their minds so often.

Anyway, it is early morning here in Los Angeles and I thought I could say "Happy valentine's day" to those who celebrate this lovely day. A little touch of love can make a great difference. If a cook prepares a dish with love and passion, the taste is different. If a composer produces a music with love and passion, it sounds different and goes to the heart. Even when a weaver makes a rug with love and passion it is different and much better than a rug which is merely produced for the market.

I will go to work today at 12:00 pm and will stay in my rug gallery until 5:00 pm. I have appointments with three customers today.

Khosrow Sobhe
Certified Rug Specialist (CRS)
www.LosAngelesRugCleaning.com
310-770-9085

Internet Marketing Is Not Rocket Science!

My older son Ashkan who turned 22 in November is a certified search engine optimization expert. He just finished writing a book called "Internet Marketing Is Not Rocket Science". He sells this e-book online for $19.95. This eBook is designed to create awareness and introduce the many new, different, and innovative ways of marketing anything online.

When he has time, Ashkan helps me at my rug gallery. He loves to learn more about rugs. He identifies himself to my customers as a third generation rug man. The web site he has designed for our rug company provides me with many good contacts and Internet presence.

Khosrow Sobhe
www.RugIdea.com
310-770-9085

Christmas Is The Time For Giving

Recently, we have had few customers who came into our rug gallery with their kids. We made the kids happy with giving them toys. The kids were surprised why we gave them toys and dolls, but this is Christmass time and the time for giving and making people specially kids happy. It is an art to make people happy. We try to become artist in this regard. We're practicing.

Khosrow Sobhe

http://www.rugidea.com/

310-770-9085

Rug Importers in Los Angeles: Leslie and Tom Atiyeh

Last evening before we close our rug gallery, Leslie and Tom Atieyh walked into our store and spent an hour with me and my son Ashkan. Atiyeh family has been involved in rug production and import for more than a century. They are based in Newbury, Oregon.

I met Tom in 1992 in Tehran during the first Persian Carpet Grand Exhibition and Conference for the fist time and we became friends. For many years, we produced fine rugs for them in Iran in different provinces and cities such as Kerman, Shiraz and Varamin. Tom's father, Victor Atiyeh, was the governor of Oregon for two terms.

Atiyeh Brothers produced fine Kerman rugs in Kerman, Iran from early 1900 up to the Iranian Revolution of 1979. They have always cared and loved fine rugs and have nevered lowered the quality of their productions. They are lovely people. We have taken many trips together inside Iran to very remote places. Leslie has been to Iran several times by herself. Once we went to the city of Bam before its destructive earthquake which turned that ancient city upside down in 2003.

Khosrow Sobhe
www.RugIdea.com
www.LosngelesRugCleaning.com
310-770-9085

A Young Third Generation in Rug Business

The day before yesterday, Sunday November 9, 2008 was my older son's birthday. Ashkan turned 22 on this day. He is a senior at California State University Northridge here in Los Angeles. He has one more semester to go to get his bachelor's degree in Information Technology and Information Systems. He established his own company in 2007. He does web designing, search engine optimization and online marketing.

Ashkan is a member and also board member in different nonprofit professional organizations. He knows he should give back to the society in which he lives and works. In his university, they have roughly 1,500 Iranian American students with a very active Persian club, of which Ashkan has been the president for the past year and a half.

Ashkan helps me a lot not only with web mastering my company's web site, but in sales, marketing and its management whenever he has time. When he is in my rug gallery and a customer comes in, he usually gets up and helps the customer. Although he is still very young, he acts so maturely and presents himself proudly to the customers as a third generation rug man.

I believe in supporting local businesses, therefore on Sunday evening, we all went to our next door Mexican restaurant, La Cienega Mexican Grill & Cafe for dinner. The food was great and so was the service and the atmosphere. The owner of the restaurant, Ignazio who somehow knew it was Ashkan's birthday, provided us with a beautiful and well decorated cake with candles and the waiters and waitresses who brought in the cake while singing HAPPY BIRTHDAY TO YOU. We were all surprised because we did not expect that.

As a father, I let Ashkan make his own decisions. I watch him doing so but try not to interfere and let him make acceptable mistakes. In my philosophy, making affordable mistakes is acceptable as long as you learn from it and do not repeat that mistake twice. It only has to be done once.

Khosrow Sobhe
www.RugIdea.com
310-770-9085

Our Rug Gallery in Los Angeles

Our rug gallery in Los Angeles is on 1655 South La Cienega Blvd. in Los Angeles. We are south of a major street called Pico Blvd. and north of a major free way called Santa Monica or 10-Freeway. Our big parking lot is in the back of the showroom with a door to the rug gallery.

Our rug repair and stain removal workshop is next door in our parking lot.

I am posting few photos from the front of the rug gallery and our parking lot.

Khosrow Sobhe
www.RugIdea.com
310-770-9085

My First Rug Was a Persian Lilian Rug I bought 40 Years Ago!

This Persian Lilian rug was the first rug I bought for $15 about 40 years ago. I helped my father in his retail rug store in Tehran when I bought this rug. It is 2' 5" x 4' 7". A customer wanted to buy it for $500 last year in my rug gallery in Los Angeles. It is not for sale. My 21 year old son Ashkan will have this piece after me to pass on to his children. Ashkan helps me at my store whenever he has free time and has no school. He studies Information Technology and Information Sciences at the California State University Northridge here in Los Angeles. He is a third generation young man who loves and appreciates Persian carpets. Although Ashkan is very young, he is a dedicated and hardworking web developer and search Engine Optimization expert. He has his own company called Itchair. His company's website is www.ITchair.com

Khosrow Sobhe
www.RugIdea.com
310-770-9085