About Adem

Adem Solak was born in 1955 in Aksaray and grew up in both Aksaray and Istanbul. In Turkey after his education, he worked at his father’s coffee business and learned how to trade. After he moved to Istanbul he opened up Shirvan Carpeting which he ran until 1997. After this, he came to Seattle with his wife to see the lifestyle with a tourist visa initially. After falling in love with the PNW, he and his wife officially moved. He opened up Shirvan Rug Gallery in Bainbridge and has managed the store ever since. He has very good relations with the Turkish community here and loves to take part in festivals like Turkfest. He reiterates the importance of bilinguality and how language is one of the most powerful tools people have.