Have you ever though that one day you would wake up in the morning, go to work planning your day ahead and find out you can't even get in. Your boss went bankrupt and left the country! You saw him the day before, talking, laughing, working and now you don't even know where he is. No one knows.
To make matters worse you just got married and have been shopping with your excited wife, who is ready to decorate your new apartment. All paid for by checks that will bounce because you no longer have a job. Your wife's job is temporary and barely makes enough to pay the rent. Throw in a personal family crisis you and your wife have been dealing with and you have a situation that's too much to handle.
It can happen to anyone. It happened to us. Nothing went right. Now what? We decided to take time off to clear our heads. We decided a vacation was in order. No planning involved. We decided to pack and leave and America was our first stop.
Landing at JFK exhausted but excited, we were ready to start our vacation. We had every intention to make beautiful memories and share them with our families, whom we already missed very much. Little did we know that this "clear our head" trip would turn into a journey. A journey that turned into a once in a lifetime opportunity.
A few days before our trip back home from the United States, filled with memories, loaded with photos, and almost no money, we took the subway to Brooklyn for last minute shopping. We visited the first store we saw. It was dark, small, and half emtpy but it had some "chuchkiz" for sale. While paying for the things we found, the cashier opened a friendly conversation with us with the store manager joining in a few moments later. The conversation was a welcome respite and we were feeling better. The conversation went on for more than an hour with us talking about our backgrounds, jobs, and how much we missed our families.
Towards the end of the conversation the manager, perhaps out of feeling sorry for us, handed us a present: four hand painted ceramic bowls. We couldn't help but think how generous of this man, but there was more. Within one of the bowls was a business card with a woman's name and phone number. "Call Her", said the store manager, "Maybe she'll give you some advice. You never know.". "I'll tell her you will call", he continued, "...life in America is like a big university."
We promised the store manager we'd call the woman. We shook hands and left the store to return to our hotel room. That night we called the woman and she asked to meet with us. Our curiosity was piqued to be sure. After all, we had nothing to loose.
During the conversation with the woman we got to know a little bit about each other. She owned a business in the heart of New York City that sells rugs and home furnishings imported from Turkey. Knowing we have a turkish background, including speaking and reading turkish, the woman extended a business offer that no one could refuse. It was an opportunity out of thin air, like an unexpected thunder, but it came with a price. We would have to change our plans, and by extensions our lives, and remain in the United States.
With this opportunity, the proverb "Fools rush in", certainly came to mind, but it was the basis of our life story. We thought to ourselves that we'd be fools if we didn't take the opportunity and the price was worth paying.
Looking back at our journey, the people we've met, the places we've been to, the obstacles we've overcome along the way, without any of that we wouldn't be where we are or who we are today. We continue to celebrate life and most of all working on our passion, designing and producing the most beautiful works of art for the floor with purpose and meaning.
Our promise - to deliver the unexpected. Work mimicking life.
Yours Truly,
Vidal H. & Sigal Sasson
After nearly a decade of importing and exporting rugs and antiques from around the world the husband and wife team started their own line of hand knotted Tibetian rugs - RUG ART.