This is the story of a carpet brand that would later be called a style icon. And indeed, a style invented by one man turned into a global brand. This is the factory of Alexander's Collection. It is named after the person who invented that direction and created such a narrow luxury niche in carpets, that it did not require any advertising at all. The word of mouth about Alexander's Collection spread very quickly. The ability to produce rugs with a design and quality that had never known before made the brand a black sheep in the market. Many people began to imitate it. But how many followers were born? None!
What is the secret?
There is tremendous competition in our world. There is no point in wasting your time in futile competition with others. It is very difficult to win this battle. There is no need to fight without the confidence to win.
The story of the Alexander's Collection brand from its founder
It was my destiny to come to California and enjoy the sun, the ocean, Hollywood, Disney Land, freeways and automobiles. Celebrities at every turn, thankfully I didn't live too far from all this abundance.
My constant desire to paint and invent, to dream big and my great desire to get it all made me sleep in the dullest lectures of University of California, where I began to learn all the basics of the art of design.
Today, as time has passed, I'm sure that my desire to give it all up at the last minute was the right one at the time. You can't put anything into your head if you're not interested. All the things that American professors read can easily be read in books, especially since I had a craving for self-education since childhood, as well as too much ambition.
My ambition was off the charts, and I was sure that my sitting in lectures was a waste of time. I spent more time in public libraries studying my course in art history and the great masters and geniuses of mankind than I did waiting for the end of a lecture.
Eventually, I dropped out of university. Everyone I knew said I had lost my mind, and that it was the stupidest thing I had ever done, especially since the money had already been spent.
Every project is a piece of your soul and happy days of a life lived.
Those hours really should be happy hours. There's nothing worse than a job you don't love. Life is too short to waste.
We have only one place left where there can be no competition, where we have no need to worry about anything that can't bother us. Our niche is that of our individuality. The other places in this world are already taken.
Ambitionwasoffthecharts. There were fewer of them now, but back then there were two opinions: one mine and the other wrong. After my failed education, which ended that way, I was at a loss, because I realized that ambition is ambition, but I needed to do something else.
So I went to look at the largest design center, the Pacific Design Center, in Los Angeles. They were two big skyscrapers with an endless number of different showrooms where factories and numerous design studios showcase their products.
I parked the car and briskly headed out to check out the blue skyscraper, deciding that I would spend the afternoon on the green one. The center is two buildings, blue and green, connected by a walkway.
I spent more than 4 hours, I was completely exhausted with my head was all messed up. Having found nothing interesting, I went to an exit with the only wish to get away from here as fast as possible. Ihadnomoreenergyforthesecondbuilding.
On my way to the parking lot, I came across the last showroom with carpets. They were mostly Persian rugs. By inertia, my feet automatically led me inside, and my completely distracted and tired gaze wandered aimlessly over the dullest creations of human hands.
The carpets were all alike. Boring to death, I thought at the time. How do they ever use all this stuff in interiors? It was the last straw of the day, and I was about to leave, when suddenly a strange thought came to me. It was more like a question.
I caught myself with one question. Why didn't similar thoughts occur to me when I was looking around all these countless showroom interiors? Why, upstairs, didn't it all lead to thoughts of boredom. What's wrong with this place? Why is everything here so dull and uninteresting? What's wrong with the design in principle? Why is everything so boring and monotonous, why is the brain not responding at all. "Who needs all this?" I thought at the time.
There was a feeling of guesswork inside, which I didn't fully understand. I asked if there are still carpet showrooms around, and I made myself go there. It was the same monotony, the same boredom of looking around. Standing in the long traffic on the exit ramp to 57 Highway, a thought suddenly struck me, which then gave me the realization of what to do.
What is the tragedy of the question? Why did the carpets make me mentally go back to the center? The design is what was wrong with the whole thing. It wasn't something that made the eye glimpse beauty. It's a lightning-like feeling, like an epiphany. Here it is one of the secret signs, perhaps one of those clues that suddenly someone gave you.
The ambition takes over, that you can make the whole world wonder at your design. That's the niche in which you can fulfill yourself. But why didn't others see it? The thought seemed strange at the time.
However, the feeling and the hunch was getting stronger. I'm going to be the world's first carpet designer in a completely different direction, I know how to surprise the world, and I can do anything, I told myself then.
Of course, the first flash of desire usually goes out as easily as it ignites. In the morning, the idea no longer seemed so revolutionary to me, and I forgot it after a while, and probably would never remember it, if it were not for the case of my new secret signs.
Autumn, with its riot of colors. The yellow and bright red leaves of the maples slowly fall from the trees. I walk through my favorite park in the suburbs of St. Petersburg toward the former residence of Russian Emperor Paul I.
How beautiful! I thought, and suddenly I caught myself thinking. Los Angeles, Design Center, carpets. Here it is - nature's priceless creation, here it is - one of her best designs. There it is, my secret sign again, stubbornly leading me toward some goal. Nature has played a funny joke on me, as if telling me, "Get again what you never saw. Pay attention to it at last."
Autumn leaves quietly rustle under my feet, as if whispering to you, "Look, look, look." The yellow building of the luxurious palace with its snow-white colonnade has already appeared when suddenly the puzzles came together like a colorful mosaic folded into a bizarre pattern.
Leaffall. As if by the blowing of the autumn wind, the autumn leaves gathered in an amazing composition, as if an invisible hand carelessly scattered the leaves. The chaos of the leaves turned into harmony. My desire for detail created the complete illusion of realism.
The wind nailed multicolored autumn leaves from the edge of the path, as if gathering them into a border of a luxurious carpet. The only thing left was to take a picture immediately, so the picture would not be erased from my memory. Nature herself had done everything for me, and my secret sign simply pointed it out. Thank God, I was able to recognize its secret meaning.
A new wave of excitement swept over me, a new lightning bolt pierced me. I suddenly felt clearly that something else was about to happen. And, strangely enough, it happened, finally putting an end to my choice of profession.
My private guide, who met me on the steps of the palace, took me for a long time through the halls, telling me about the life of one of the most interesting women in history, a woman with an amazing sense of taste, Empress Maria, wife of Emperor Paul I.
All the interiors were made with her personal involvement, and many of the decorative objects, paintings, china, sculpture, and many of the decorative trinkets that make our home so lovely to the heart were personally brought by the empress for her home from France.
She was shrouded in legends. One of them says that after she returned from her journey to Europe with her husband, Emperor Paul, she appeared at a ball with a small bouquet of wild flowers attached to her ball gown, rather than wear a diamond brooch, as etiquette dictated. The court decided that this was the new fashion in Europe, and all the ladies also began to decorate their evening dresses with small bunches of flowers.
The empress's favorite flowers were lily of the valley. She grew them herself in her garden and tended the flowers every day.
This was one of my guide's stories. In one of the halls of the palace my decisive secret sign was waiting for me. But, I hadn't even guessed about it yet. And in vain!
I could not believe my eyes when I saw the little fan of the Empress, on which were painted the lilies of the valley, the flowers of amazing beauty and simplicity, with a beautiful and very unusual smell. I thought I even felt it at that moment. It lay quietly in the museum window.
It was the second picture of the day that a finished design idea had been so tactfully prompted again. There was no doubt-it couldn't have been an accident. There are no two accidents in one day.
That day was decisive in my choice of profession. When I returned home, 2 gorgeous designs were born, 2 signature designs of my first collection, and I was called to serve this vocation for many years, making me a carpet designer. Thus began my exciting journey into the world of design.
Ambition dictated to be better than everyone else, there is no limit to perfection, a monstrous capacity for work, ambition and an unfulfilled sense of fulfillment kept me going.
And here is the Empress' fan, her favorite flowers - lily of the valley.
A blooming meadow of lilies of the valley, where you can relax and enjoy the enchanting aroma of these wildflowers. Subsequently, this design became a best seller and my most famous design that the whole world knows. The best creation!
What followed was the creation of many themed collections, public recognition, going to Milan, building a large dealer network, orders for royal houses, collaborations with great brands and much more.
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