01907 Winter 2022

WINTER 2022 | 33
But, Fahad Bashir said, they opened
the store with the knowledge that not
every business is going to succeed, and
ultimately made the most of the experience.
“It was around August 2021, I was
like ‘Dad we've been open right around
six months and … I don't think they're
responding so well. ‘Which is fine, not
every business is going to succeed, but
we had a really cool time because I got to
spend a lot of time with my dad. I would
come in a few days a week, on the days
that my schedule allowed,” he said. “It
was a labor of love … because I got to
spend a lot of time with my dad, which
was really awesome. The best thing was
we got to meet a lot of really, really great
people that had an appreciation for rugs.”
“It was a phenomenal experience, we
met so many awesome people, my real
heartfelt appreciation to the people of
Swampscott and also Marblehead, genuinely,
not only were there some really cool
pieces of my dad's heart, really because
they were part of his collection went to
some really awesome people. But I got to
spend so much time with my dad, which
I didn't know was gonna be the last deal
that we were going to ever do together
and it was fun as heck,” Bashir continued.
“I take that as really, really fond memories.”
Despite living in Holliston nearly
40 miles from The Rug Gallery, Aftab
Bashir, a former squadrom leader in the
Pakistani Air Force, commuted to the
store each and every day while it was
open. Fahad Bashir said the galleries
grew directly out of his father’s love for
rugs, and even though the businesses faltered
towards the end, Aftab Bashir never
lost sight of his love for what he did.
“Over the last, let's say, five to seven
years, I was like, ‘you know, the numbers
really don't make sense. Why don't you
do something else?’ … he was like ‘it's not
just about money’ and he basically told
me ‘It's about the passion. I like going in
and teaching,’” Fahad Bashir said, recalling
a conversation he had with his father.
“It's not just about the thing that you're
acquiring, That's just a thing, a product.
There's something beyond that, which
is the meaning behind the production of
it. There are master weavers that spend
months if not years of their lives, creating
this one singular piece that will then
be around for hundreds of years, ideally
speaking.”
Part of the appeal of the business for
X, continued on page 34
A sample of the wide variety of rugs Aftab Bashir
had collected over the decades.