Someone said to me recently, "Nothing in life is constant except change."  I can tell you that's exactly how I feel right now as my family and I get ready to auction off our inventory.  We have had a retail arm of our business since we opened our doors in 1910.  With this auction, we are closing our retail business in Milwaukee, WI.  The cleaning & services business in St Louis will support our customers in Milwaukee.  I will still do the cleaning just like I have for the last 40 years, but it's still a sweeping change for my family.  Another quote I've thought about lately is "When God closes a door, He opens a window."  I know it's corny, but I also know it's true and it's this hope & faith that will get us through this time of change.

In today's cyber age, every business has to have a website.  It's assumed, it's expected and it's not a "real" business unless there's a website.  But this is an amazing accomplishment for me.  My small family business, built by my father & grandfather, started in 1910 on a concrete driveway, in the backyard of our house with scrub brushes and homemade soap.  My elders could not have imagined that business would be transacted via cyber space instead of a handshake.  My family's tradition of selling & caring for area rugs dates back thousands of years to the time when business was transacted on the Silk Road.  My website marks the intersection of ancient techniques and modern technology.  I am immensely proud to launch babaianrugs.com.