Nicola Mallouk and Nicola Abo Samra had sold "Oriental" or "Turkish" goods at the Chicago World's Fair of 1893, the San Francisco Midwinter Fair of 1894, and the Tacoma (Washington) Interstate Fair of 1894. Turkish goods could include tapestries, embroideries, and carpets; Damascene daggers and armor; or inlaid furniture. In New York, they opened a business to import the same goods, working out of a storefront at 77 Washington Street.