6 Stars
It is…read morepossible that Mansour's Oriental Rug Gallery in Sacramento has some of the best handmade area rugs in the nation.
I've owned a number of modern, one-of-a-kind, very exotic floor carpets from Tibet and Nepal. Those have been my favorite makes, but I'm always open to learning about new creations and like to have one eye on floor fashion. So, when I moved to Sierra Oaks in 2018, there a mere hundred yards from my house, was Mansour's Sacramento store.
I didn't actually go in to buy something new. My Tibetan carpets needed expert cleaning that only a few high-end, very experienced tradesmen know how to do. Handmade wool and silk carpets require delicate work, specialized detergents and tools, with steady hands and eyes to be cleaned harmlessly. It also takes time.
You can't just pour Woolite and scrub like synthetic wall-to-wall carpeting. No steam cleaning . . . and no dry cleaning. These are fine Oriental Carpets, man.
I first met the store manager, Rebecca, and discussed her inventory, countries of origin and make, my taste and desire to find a new statement in "textile floor art." She and her staff showed me dozens of choices. I was very impressed with Rebecca's business astuteness, professionalism, and keen knowledge of their entire inventory.
Though I didn't find anything to buy that day, she scheduled the owner (and her father) Mansour, to come to my house to pick up my Tibetan carpets for cleaning. A few hours later, Mansour and his assistant folded up my carpets and efficiently placed them in the company van.
Mansour is a kind, gentle, and extremely observant man who is also a skilled businessman intent on providing outstanding service as much as selling products. What makes Mansour truly exceptional is that like a great art dealer in a gallery, or a diamond merchant at a jewelry boutique, he can ascertain quickly what type of rug will touch his customers.
After a few minutes of discussion and seeing my existing taste in Tibetan carpets, Mansour was able to determine what carpets would truly move me.
Several weeks later, he personally brought my bright and freshly cleaned Tibetans to my new home in Rancho Cordova, along with brand-new custom-sized mats, and observed the new space. I told him what I envisioned for my new empty spaces and he said he would call me when he had something.
A few weeks later, Mansour called and asked to come over to show me two rugs he located in his collection he felt would be perfect for my house. Wow, he could not have been more right-on with every possible detail that I could ever wish for in specialized Oriental Rugs for my home!
One small tangent; the word "oriental" has long been considered impolite when discussing people of Asian ethnicity (I happen to be of Asian descent). It may seem that the Oriental Rug industry is mired with an outdated and obsolete moniker. Yet, these types of handmade artisan artworks from Iran (Persia), Afghanistan, India, China, and a few other countries in the Middle East or Asia, may best be described as oriental.
Back to the moral of the story: Mansour chooses individual carpets as he would match a pet to an owner, or match something very precious to the exact right soul. He is quite gifted in this regard.
He feels so strongly that certain one-of-kind carpets should be with the one-and-only correct person, he is willing to take risks in making the match. Because these new carpets were so expensive, and because I had just tapped out my savings getting a new place, incurring packing-moving-unpacking expenses, and having to replace an engine in my Volvo, I offered to make layaway payments.
Mansour did something I have not seen since the 1960's and was exceptionally rare even then. He insisted that I live with and enjoy my two new carpets and "pay him when I can." I was astonished . . . grateful and blown away.
How many people in this world would be willing to do something like this? . . . this trusting . . . this generous . . . this honorable?
I'll tell you---Mansour of Mansour's Oriental Rug Gallery.
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