18_can102607lettersi.. - California Apparel News

Rug-Store Owner Killed in Fashion District
A 71-year-old Iranian immigrant who owned a rug store
in the Fashion District was shot and killed during an armed
robbery on Oct. 23.
It was the first murder in the Fashion District since
2002, said Lt. Paul Vernon of the Los Angeles Police Department.
Ebrahim Torbati was sitting at his desk at the front of
Rug City at 840 S. Santee St. when an African-American
man came in to look at rugs, Vernon said.
“He came back with a gun and robbed the owner, demanding
money,” Vernon said.
There was a scuffle, and the robber, aged 20 to 25 years
old, shot Torbati in the neck at 4:15 p.m., Vernon said. The
store owner was rushed to County-USC Hospital, where
he later died, police said.
The robber fled, getting into a white Toyota Camry that
was waiting with two women inside about a block away,
Vernon said.
Police are looking for the below-five-foot-five-inch suspect,
who was wearing a gray T-shirt and gray baseball
hat when the robbery occurred. It was unclear how much
money was taken.
“We will put a composite
[sketch] together, and we’re running
down other leads,” Vernon
said, noting there was one eyewitness
in the store when the
robbery occurred.
Police noted that Torbati’s
desk, where he kept his cash in
a cardboard box, was near the
store’s front door and visible to
passersby. “It might be the reason
for a robber to pick one business
over another,” Vernon said,
cautioning store owners to keep
their money out of sight and farther
from the front windows.
Torbati, who lived in Tarzana,
Calif., came to the United States
about 20 years ago. He imported
Persian-style rugs from Belgium,
China and Egypt. He never married
and had no immediate family
in the area, police said.
Friends said he had a sister in
New York, who was flying to Los
Angeles after she learned of her
brother’s death, and another sister
in Israel.
Rug City was closed the day after
the murder, but someone had
left a white glass candle burning
on Torbati’s desk, where a bloodsplattered
newspaper lay. A narrow,
empty cardboard box where
Torbati kept his cash sat nearby.
Merchants in the mostly Iranian
enclave of Santee Street were
shocked by their friend’s death.
Next door at J. & R. Textile,
which sells sheets and bedspreads,
owner Jacob Molaei said
he was busy with a customer and
didn’t hear anything until an ambulance
pulled up. “I walked out,
and suddenly I see my friend has
been shot,” Molaei said.
Molaei had known his neighbor
for about six or seven years.
“He was a happy man, talking to
everyone and laughing,” he said.
Ebrahim Rafy, who had known
Torbati for 10 years, had a desk
inside Rug City, where he conducted
his business as a middleman
for fabric and other goods.
Every day, he and Torbati each
bought a different Persian newspaper
and worked on the crossword
puzzles together. Rafy left
the store at 2 p.m., before the
armed robbery occurred, but got
a call at 5 p.m. that his friend had
been shot.
“I can’t believe he’s dead,” Rafy
said. “I couldn’t sleep all night. I
felt he was talking to me, working
on a crossword puzzle.”
Anyone with information about
the robbery and murder can call
LAPD Det. Al Marengo at (213)
972-1249.—Deborah Belgum
High-End Contractor to Grow Production
The Evans Group, the high-end contractor that specializes
in contemporary and young-designer production, will
be moving its production facilities to a larger space. The
new space, at 7,500 square feet, is twice as big as the Evans
Group’s current facility, which also houses patternmakers,
samplemakers and other personnel. Currently, the Evans
Group reserves 2,000 square feet for production at its facility
in Los Angeles’ Toy District.
The move, which is set for Dec. 1, will allow the company
to increase its cutting capabilities by four times, and
add upwards of 70 additional sewers, said Jennifer Evans,
the company’s founder. “We’re beginning to hire sewers
now,” Evans said, adding that she hopes to complete all
new hires within the next six months. Designers will see
the contractor’s new production capabilities for the Spring
2008 season.
Besides giving the company room to grow, the move may
also have the effect of lowering its production prices. “With
a solid system now in place and the added space to grow,
we will be able to reach economies of scale there by offset-
ting the high management costs of our company and ultimately
lower costs,” Evans said. Additional hands will also
ease production scheduling, which has been an issue for the
boutique contractor.
When the production department moves to its new
home, which is just one mile from the Evans Group’s current
location, the patternmakers, samplemakers, a complete
fitting room and small retail area will take over the
original space. “We are very excited about finally reaching
this point, which we had aimed for the end of the year to
do. We feel this will allow us to truly service the market of
smaller designers and revive domestic, high-end production,”
Evans said.
Earlier this fall, the company opened a new San Francisco
office, which is being used for fittings and sample sewing.
Evans hopes to continue to open similar locations in other
cities. The Evans Group’s clients include Cosa Nostra, Society
for Rational Dress, Jeremy Scott, Morphine Generation,
Geren Ford, Juan Carlos Obando, Anzevino &
Florence and Grey Ant.—Erin Barajas
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©2007 Parametric Technology Corporation (PTC). PTC and the PTC logo are trademarks or registered trademarks of PTC.
OCTOBER 26–NOVEMBER 1, 2007 CALIFORNIA APPAREL NEWS 5