James and Ruth Wilson opened their first retail gift shop in their garage in Cleveland, Ohio during World War II to meet their family's needs. At that point the main inventory was handmade hooked rugs that came from their family in the Mars Hill area of North Carolina.
From this humble beginning they launched several other gift shops and helped Ruth's brothers and sisters open their own places from New York to Florida. Today there are seven family owned businesses being run by children or grandchildren of the original owners.