Introduction, why I started Olive & Loom
Merhaba (Hello)!!! I’m new to this blog thing but I’m also very excited. Even though I’ve been
running my own business since 2013, and have had Olive & Loom since 2016, I made many
excuses not to put myself in the lime light but now after a decade I can say that I am ready to
tell my story.
I’m from Istanbul, Turkey. Moved to the States in 2023 (20 years ago, yikes!!!) for graduate
school. My background is so different than running a retail/wholesale business. I have my
undergrad and grad degrees in Physics. I worked at NASA as an Instrument Project Manager for
several years before I left the federal government to run my business full time.
Without making this post so unbearably long, here’s a quick summary of why I started my
business, lol.
I strongly believe that an entrepreneurship is a personality type. Some people look at owning
their own business as all the things going wrong, the risk they’re taking, the lack of job security.
Some look at it as opportunities, growth, freedom. I’m definitely the latter.
And why Olive & Loom? The minute I decided to start my own business, I knew it had to involve
Turkey. Maybe because it was another way of me feeling connected to my home land while
being far away, or maybe it was my desire to represent my culture in different ways to masses of
people over here in US.
Turkey is known for many things, but among those is its textiles, natural, organic cotton and
other fibers. And of course, the most iconic, historic Turkish towels. The textures, colors, the
uniqueness of it being so thin and light but yet being so absorbent, functional, and the fact that
it is hand loomed, carried over from century to century, never being forgotten.
So, 2016 I started Olive & Loom with 2 simple products. Hand loomed Turkish towels, and olive
oil soaps. Hence the name Olive & Loom. Both olive oil soaps and Turkish towels are the critical
elements of the traditional Turkish bath experience. We knew we would expand our portfolio as
we grew but wanted to start with the basics and make sure we build a strong foundation first.
Now, you can find many other amazing home & bath linen products under our brand umbrella
on our website, at other retailers across the nation as well as our brick & mortar store in
Kensington.
Thanks for joining me in my new journey of taking you through the ins and outs of my business!