I am writing to urge you to retain an exception for rugs in the sanctions on Iranian imports. The reversal of this exception on rug imports from Iran has come to my attention through a family-owned business in San Francisco, Peace Industry, whose business entirely depends on such imports. While I understand why the embargo is a favored strategy in this context, I also know the isolation and polarization that it engenders. The extremism that goes along with isolation is already too well known.

Exceptions to embargos maintain connections while also empowering the sanction strategy. It is a carrot and stick approach. In the case of rugs and carpets, commercial exchange acknowledges a tradition of appreciation between the West and the East. Such deep cultural traditions are critical portholes, through which “the better angles of our nature” may seed the basis for understanding and cooperation.

You should know there is a complex economic matrix around the rug business, which is not only a question of large department stores and anonymous ‘goods.’ Peace Industry is one example I know, a San Francisco-based company run by the family of Dodd and Melina Raissnia. They design felt carpets and have developed a workshop in Iran for producing them. In the process their business has gradually worked to revive a centuries-old craft tradition in Iran, creating a source of pride and connection between everyday Iranians and the company’s mostly North American market. They run their business out of a small store in a neighborhood shopping district in San Francisco, participating in our local economy at many levels.

I enjoy two of their felts in my apartment, one is a traditional design and one is designed by Melina. They do not fail to receive comments from visitors, and so act to provoke a sense of global interdependence and shared contributions – the curiosity and respect through which peaceful and productive relationships can grow.

By severing the connection between global markets and the textile businesses of Iran, much more will be lost than a flow of capital: our mutual opportunity to make a cultural connection, to value and seek to understand each other’s lifeways will also be cut. I urge you to retain an exception for rug export in the sanctions.

The local design community here in SF goes out of its way to utilize local vendors and we are doing our best to keep real, specialized crafts alive – woodworkers, weavers, glass blowers. These are the things that cannot be mass produced in China, but rely on the expertise of people who have handed down the knowledge and training through generations. How favorably will the people of Iran view the American government if we take away their ability to support themselves, if we take away the opportunity for them to feel pride in their work?

Please take a few seconds to look at the Peace Industry website to learn about the company and the many jobs you are about to eliminate: www.peaceindustry.com

We have recently learned that when the latest sanctions against Iran, signed by the president, go into effect we will no longer be able to get rugs from Iran. This will obviously force us to close. We are hoping to be able to receive one more shipment of rugs in the middle of September before the deadline which is the 28th of September. This will probably be the last.

Dodd and I strongly disagree with this new policy towards Iranian rugs. We believe that business relationships between Americans and Iranians encourages cooperation and ensures that we hold mutual interests of maintaining peace. We now know that the sanctions against Iraq punished the people of Iraq while further entrenching Saddam’s regime. Our country is the only one in the world to sanction Iranian rugs and it is not a part of the U.N. sanctions.

We have expressed our views to our political leaders but are not very hopeful of changing the outcome. We would appreciate anyone who wants to email their representatives on our behalf if only to have it on the public record. Below is what I wrote to Nancy Pelosi:

Dear Ms. Pelosi,

I would like to inform you that the newest sanctions against Iran would remove the exemption on rugs that have been allowed since 1999 and threatens small businesses like ours across the U.S. As a constituent who voted for you and President Obama I am writing to make an appeal to the administration with respect to keeping the exemption for rugs. I have a very successful and beloved felt rug store in San Francisco. My husband and I have revitalized an ancient felt rug tradition from Central Asia and the workshop that supplies our store is in Iran. It is the only one in the world. Thus, these new sanctions, if adopted as is, would effectively put us out of business. At a time when there are so few jobs it seems amazingly wasteful to prevent us from continuing our business. Our customers, overwhelmingly Obama voters, are shocked that our administration would take such drastic measures that seem counterproductive to our national security goals. I would also like to direct you to a Clinton administration opinion on similar sanctions proposed in 1997. Here is a link http://www.whitehouse.gov/omb/legislative_sap_105-1_hr2709-hTo paraphrase, the administration threatened to veto the legislation based on their belief that such broad sanctions could actually harm the U.S.’ ability to prevent Iran from developing weapons by making it difficult for other countries to cooperate with us. This is our website: peaceindustry.com. Thank you, Melina

You can also help us spread the word via Facebook.

We thank you for your support through the years. We are very proud of what we’ve built and will most likely remember this experience as our life’s work.

It has already left us but you can order one and have it in six weeks.

Here are a few snapshots from the Poppy pop-up shop that happened last weekend. We showed the Vessel rug and the Lace rug. Check out the Poppy pop-up shop for a list of all of the artists that exhibited. thepoppyshop.com

While we were visiting Oakland, we made a stop at Lola who carries our rugs from time to time. Lola has an incredible selection of beautiful objects including the lamp above which I’m madly in love with. Check out their website here for a taste but it’s worth making a trip just to go there. Next door to Lola is a fantastic place to have lunch called Summer Kitchen and Bake Shop which features some classics like fried chicken and cobblers.