SUMMER MARKET PEOPLE PIX - 1
AMERICASMART WELCOMES
 NEW SHOWROOMS
AT RIBBON-CUTTING CEREMONIES

At Chandra Rugs (5-A-7): Chas Sydney, senior vice president AmericasMart; licensed designer Thomas Paul; Ravi Tiwari, vice president of Chandra Rugs; Michael Heath, national sales manager of Chandra, and Kevin Malkiewicz, AmericasMart exec director of leasing for area rugs.

AmericasMart welcomes Imperial Rugs (4-E-1). Left to right: Nivedita Maurya;  Tushar Maurya; retailer Ali Inal of Designer Rug Warehouse, Atlanta; Urmilla Maurya; regional sales manager Cem (Jim) Arinik; Imperial president Lalla Maurya doing the ribbon cutting honors; Annat Maurya, and Chas Sydney  and Kevin Malkiewicz of  AmericasMart. Mom and Dad Urmilla and Lalla Maurya are headquartered in India while the younger generation is based in Tucker, GA.

Chas Sydney of AmericasMart with Mark Aziz, Michael Aziz and Jeff Asis of Michael Aziz Oriental Rugs. (4-A-6)

Nimlok (3-E-1) is a cool marketing company with a crisp new showroom at the AmericasMart Area Rug Center. From left: Pam Sheridan, Sage Browning, Julie Buice, Tricia Browning and Mike Wilson.

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ORIENTAL RUG RETAILERS RELAX
AT RITZ-CARLTON RECEPTION
HOSTED BY NO-MUV

Armen C. Babaian of Babaian Rug Co., Chesterfield, MO, with Charles S. Mussallem IV, of No-Muv, Jacksonville, FL. No-Muv sponsored the event for ORRA members.

Allan Furman, left, of Dobbin's Oriental Rug Shop,  Philadelphia; Robert Zakian of Zakian Bros. Oriental Rugs, Philadephia; Manouchehr Yamin of Yamin's Oriental Carpet, Atlanta, and Philip Menendian of Menendian's, Columbus, OH. Zakian is the new president of the Oriental Rug Retailers of America.

Frank Eways, center, of Frank S. Eways Oriental Rugs & Gallery in Ruckersville, VA, with Mike and Dana Joseph of Joseph's Oriental Rug Imports, Indianapolis.

Betsy Arnold, executive director of the ORRA, left, joins Helen Kiser of Kiser Floor, Memphis; Mike Kishline of Emphasis on Rugs, Evansville, IN, and Tara and Jeff Compton of Stonestreet Management, Evansville, IN.

Dr. Khosrow Sobhe, president of Sobco International, Los Angeles, with Johnny Nikbakht of Woven Treasure, Scottsdale, AZ.

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ATLANTA MARKET PEOPLE PIX
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At Momeni: Here's our old pal Ralph Long, center, with Christine Lugo, left, and Erica Heatley of Neiman-Marcus, Dallas.

From left: Maria Metropolous Ward,  vp of national accounts for Oriental Weavers, Elaine Minter and  Mary John Lewis  of FurnitureLand South, Jamestown, NC, and Kim Reynolds of Oriental Weavers.

At Nourison: Joe Ramsey, left, greets Lynne and Terry
Lewis of The Rug Market, Evansville, IN. "Business is still there," says Terry. "It's not as good as it could be, and not as bad as everyone says it is. It will get better. We know Americans can only go so long without buying."

Don Newton, center, vice president of sales and marketing for Kas, with Peyton Lacy and Paige Ward, the always-upbeat folks from Shades of Light, Richmond, VA. Paige tells us that the lmulti-channel lighting and rug retailer is putting greater emphasis on Internet business.

Ken Johnson of Loloi, center, with Karran Kuntz and Valerie Roberts of Roberts Carpet, headquartered in Houston. "Business is still good in Texas," says Valerie, "And even if it wasn't, it wouldn't do any good to complain about it!"

Cyrus Yaraghi, right, a principal of Safavieh, greets Michael Purvakit of Weavers Art, headquartered in Toronto, Ontario.

Lalla Maurya, president of Imperial Rugs, center, with Karen Mudd, left and Don Mudd of Woodlands Oriental Rug Gallery, The Woodlands, TX. The Mudds were on hand for the debut of Imperial's new showroom.

Lucille Laufer, center, executive director of the Oriental Rug Importers Association, with Maurice Harounian and Michael Harounian of Ebisons Harounian. Michael Harounian is also president of the ORIA.

ATLANTA MARKET PEOPLE PIX
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Mark Ferullo, center, always has a hug for gal pals like Gail Pollio, left, and Judy Hadinger of Hadinger Floor Coverings, Naples, FL.

At 828: Mary Raines of Raines Antiques, Ashburn, GA, Amy Delettera of 828 International and Barbara Coley of Lewis &
Farrell, Ashburn, GA.

 L to R: Allen Robertson, Capel  sales vice president, Gail Burger of Williamsburg Market Place in Williamsburg, VA and Bruce Hric Capel president and CEO.

Dan Ross of Couristan is all smiles with Kate Lastowski, Georgia Hare and Meaghan Caulfield of CSN Stores, Boston.

Summer Turner, manager of House of Carpet in Murfreesboro, TN; Jeff Whited 828 International regional
 sales manager and Tricia Liles of House of Carpet

Jim Curtin, left,  vice president of sales for Shaw Living,
with Yvonne Kelleher, The Rug Place, Baton Rouge, LA

COME INTO MY PARLOR: Andy Brumlow, vice president of
the new patterned broadloom division of Oriental Weavers, welcomes buyers to the cozy carpet room at OW's Atlanta showroom. This week marked the debut of the new division, which will have products in stock and ready to ship in September.

Richard Habib, left, of Alexander's in San Francisco, has suddenly come to the realization that the 60's are so over. He FINALLY removed the ponytail and now sports a kool John Waters look. Paul Constantino of Nargizian congratulates Richard on his entry into the 21st Century.
 

ATLANTA MARKET PEOPLE PIX
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Kane Carpet welcomes the Ross Stores buying team. From left: Brad Goldman Ross merchandise manager; Tanya Fykes Ross  senior assistant buyer; Jeff Katz, northeast sales agent, for Kane; Emmanuel Steren, Ross  divisional merchandise manager and group VP, and  Stephen Hoberman, director of sales and marketing for Kane. Ross is based in Pleasanton, CA, with buying offices in New York.

Jim Thompson, left, vice president of sales and marketing for Central Oriental, with Scott Hayim, president of Rug Decor, St. Louis. Scott, who was the first guy we saw on Saturday,  was still working the market on Wednesday.

In the Trans-Ocean showroom: Edmond Hagopian and
Adam Grigoryan of Hagopian World of Rugs in
Birmingham, MI, take a moment to pose for Rugnews.com.

Lee Harounian, center, a principal of Harounian Rugs International, greets Abe Jahromi and Jamie Metrick of Elte Carpets & Home in Toronto. Later that day, Elte won one of the coveted Retailer of the Year Awards.

Jon Morrison, sales and marketing manager for Dynamic Rugs, left, with Matthew Rouhanian, president of Dynamic.

Jeff Hagedorn, southeast sales rep for Surya, left, with
Miriam and Mike Thompson of The Rug Rack, Chattanooga, TN. The Thompsons started diversifying into new product categories a couple years ago, which has helped make their store a fashion destination

Kami Navid, executive vice president of Jaunty, with a unit from the company's Show Time merchandising program. Navid said stores are responding to the concept of selling rugs from samples in a self-contained educational unit. It's a cost-effective way to present a big rug story using a minimum amount of floor space.

Monte Radhe, ceo of Kaleen, with Blake Dennard, Kaleen's vice president of sales.

ATLANTA MARKET PEOPLE PIX
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At Surya: Satya Tiwari, left, president, and Jeff Gonzalez, right, vice president of sales for Surya,  with Cathy Baer and David Cashner of Baer's Furniture, headquartered in  Boca Raton, FL.

Eileen Applebaum of Crate & Barrel, Northbrook, IL, with Asha Chaudhary, ceo of Jaipur.

At Safavieh: Connie Pugh and Lesley Adam from MBS, Columbia, MO with Vanessa Schipilliti, international account exec for Safavieh, and Sherry Mare, Safavieh territory rep.

At Central Oriental: From left, Mary Jane Connell,
northeast regional sales manager; Fred Arthur, Marvin's Building Materials, Leeds, AL, and Chuck Hanhauser,
Central sales rep.

Celeste Casale, left, director of sales and marketing for Paramount Rugs; Faramarz Asef, Windsor Rug Gallery, Atlanta, and Roshan Bhattarai, president of Paramount Rugs.
 

See, we actually have some hair. Lissa Wyman, center, editor and publisher of Rugnews.com shares a rare capless moment with Wes Connolly, left, and Elise Demboski of Wools of New Zealand.

ATLANTA MARKET PEOPLE PIX
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At Couristan, from left: Steve Bright, Couristan rep; Steve Issis of Issis & Sons, Pelham, AL; Lynne Dunn, Couristan rep, and Mo Chaudry, Issis & Sons.

At Orian: Paul Sullivan, senior vice president of sales and marketing with Stefan Ducchi, Orian president.

David Raff, floor covering category manager for Badcock, Mulberry, FL, and Dimitri Verhoye,
 vp sales and marketing for Balta area rugs.

Matt Tollison, national sales manager for Jaipur, with David Lewis, World of Rugs & Furniture, Atlanta.

Amir Loloi, left, president of Loloi Rugs, Thomas Johnson of Rug & Home Warehouse, Atlanta, and Chas Sydney, senior vice president of AmericasMart Atlanta.

Lissa Wyman, editor and publisher of Rugnews.com, with Igor Yakovenko, Airbase Carpet Mart, New Castle, DE. Igor tell us his company saw the current downturn coming last year, and started to restructure the business back then. "We're promoting like crazy," he said. "You have to do it, or you'll sink." Igor also stressed the importance of staying on top of trends. "Consumers will pay for fresh products. They won't pay for old stuff," he said.
Sounds like great parting words from Atlanta, and that's why we're sticking with smart guys like Igor.

See Ya Next Time!