His story is very important for this time and place because carries deep messages about acceptance, coexistence, courage, love, and the fulfillment of a childhood dream. He is a unique phenomenon who succeeded in overcoming numerous prejudices and that with a smile on his face. He opened the eyes of Slovenians, wrote a chapter on success, and between us spilled on hundreds of colored shades because he says that we live in the most beautiful piece of the world.
We met in his studio which is made for every eyewear lover. Ali Kemal Sossa came to us with one purpose: to improve our vision. He was invited by a friend to a light-skinned country that is still too intolerant of foreigners. After three years of urging him to see this dream pocket state, he just talked him into it.
THE NATURE OF WOUND HEALING
¨It wasn’t until I arrived that I realized why people say that they fall in love with Slovenia immediately. This is not a marketing slogan, but a fact. The very first walk around Ljubljana and the surrounding hills, along lakes, rivers, and fields convinced me that I could be at home here. I am a Kurd, and in a violent history they wanted to force us cruelly, that we do not belong to anyone, that we do not have our territory, not even in our homeland. Growing up in Turkey was challenging, and life in the countryside was hard and rough. We are still not allowed to speak our language, and people and whole villages are disappearing in fires and planned massacres, which leave deep wounds in the soul. Fortunately, I did not fill them with anger and rage, rather I began to cultivate encouraging feelings towards myself and nature. That’s why this colorfully charming lump of yours won me over in no time. ” he tells me about the fateful meeting and love at first sight that changed everything. He began to look at the world differently: through new rose-colored glasses. Literally.
HE STARTED KNOCKING ON THE DOOR
After a few-day tourist visit, he returned to Istanbul, to his settled everyday life. But the thought of a green oasis between the Alps, the Pannonian plain, and the Adriatic Sea did not give him peace. “As a metallurgical engineer, I had many opportunities to work, but I was not satisfied with the classic workbook. I wanted to create something of my own to help people. because I believe in the power of positive thoughts and sincere, good intentions, in a few weeks I got an offer for a business challenge. There was an investor from the southern Balkans who wanted a creative operative to take over the business somewhere in Central Europe. I immediately thought of Slovenia and suggested to him that we could try this market. Before I knew it, I was already standing in the middle of Ljubljana with a few suitcases.
From an early age, he wanted to be able to help people through his work. Today, he is happy that he can do that with wooden glasses.
All alone, without influential acquaintances. With an idea and a desire. We focused on selling glasses, sunglasses, and frames for prescription glasses, which I had no idea about before. << That’s why he invited someone from the local industry to participate and started knocking on doors. >>Many remained closed, but I did not give up because I am persistent. Most of them first shuddered when they met me because I don’t look like a classic Slovenian. But that didn’t shake my plans, because I wasn’t going to let the amount of melanin in my skin define my personality. Even more enthusiastically, day after day, I visited opticians in all major cities, and in a short time the first results began to appear,<< outlines his journey with bitter but important insights about people.
MY OWN BOSS
The list of customers for their glasses grew from week to week. Halfway through the year, he impressed already 70 optical shops, and even though this was the profit of his direct approach, the business partner did not agree with it. »>He was convinced that we were successful solely because of the articles, so he nipped my idea of creating my own line of glasses in the bud. His dismissive reaction made me wonder why I was working for someone else when I could be my own boss. We parted amicably and I began my story. I quickly learned the Slovenian language and felt like Slovenia was my homeland. It occurred to me that my time had come and that I should take advantage of the opportunity given. I was very good with wood from a young age, because after being born in Agri, we moved to Izmir, among sheep, goats, and cows, and as the seventh child of a large family, I had to find my way if I wanted to play, so I trained in woodworking of this organic material. Peers, relatives, and teachers noticed this and repeatedly asked me to carve something for them. On top of that, I had problems with my eyesight, and since my mother and I couldn’t find the right glasses for my face, I flirted with the idea of making the frames myself. I have been waiting for this opportunity for more than 25 years and in Slovenia I started to live my childhood dream.<<
LOVES PEOPLE
It astonished him when he realized that he was in the land of wood. >>I am surrounded by thousands of color shades, people are distrustful at first glance, but once they accept you, they feel that you are theirs, and it would be stupid not to combine all of this into a great product. I already knew a little about the providers and it was very clear that other colors than black, brown and gray are hardly to be found on the frames. I traveled to South Korea, where they kindly sent me to the south of the country, as there are masters in woodworking. They liked my idea and we developed high-quality and functional glasses. I forgot to mention that I came to Slovenia just a little over a year before the start of the
pandemic, but not even the global crisis stopped me. In a short time, almost every optician in our country knew about the Sossa brand,<< says the proud creator with passion. >> This is my baby, my love. I like people, and what the interlocutors can sense. One of my biggest clients recently confided in me: ‘You know, Ali, when I first saw you with that briefcase in your hand, I thought you’d give up after six months. After three years, I sell mostly your glasses,'<< jokingly he smiles.
NATURE IS ALSO FULL OF NUANCES
>>I didn’t look for the name in some derivatives, but I started from myself, from my roots, that’s why the family surname Sossa is also the name of the brand,<< he says when he starts to explain the meaning of the logo. “Our trademark is a lotus flower consisting of three S’s rising towards the sky. They grow as my business grows. I hired excellent designers, one in France, and another in Italy, and now we are in contact with someone from Germany. It’s good to have different views because people are stronger when we work together. We are already divided too much by appearance, religion, gender, and everything else, so I try to act in a unifying way,<< he emphasizes and hints that as an engineer he is interested in progress. “Customers appreciate that. I wasn’t satisfied with the first samples, so I started to add on, improve the frames, and combine wood with titanium, and platinum to make it even more durable. We also included other materials, above all colors, colors, colors. We are known for this and are already present in five countries. Someone told me that I brought colors to Slovenia. Literally, because for the start my skin tone is already darker, and as a society, we need diversity, so that everything is not too monotonous. Look at nature, everything there is full of nuances. Can you imagine it being only white, black, brown, and grey? We probably wouldn’t be so excited and relaxed during walks,<«< points out what should connect us, not separate us.
WITH LOVE OVER RACISM
>>My natives in Turkey were amazed at what I had achieved in a different cultural environment. Many things bother me about the system that dictates our pace. In particular, political tyranny, inequality between us, and hatred crush me. I could resist violence with violence, but that is not the answer. I prefer to change society in harmony with nature, with wood and colors. If only we knew how to listen to nature, respect it, nurture it, and appreciate it, we would not be dealing with climate change and constant crises today. Many Slovenians wonder how I managed as a foreigner, how I got through racist remarks, underestimation… It’s not easy when someone judges you by your appearance and you feel contemptuous looks daily. I no longer respond to them. Everyone is what they do and think. If you see beauty in someone, that’s beauty in you, the same is true with ugly, bad. You have to have hope, interest, and desire for everything. Then comes the hard work, and according to all the laws of physics, you should succeed. Of course, there is no set time when, but if you give up, you don’t want it badly enough. It may seem to someone that the road to success is thorny, demanding, and difficult, and he is sure that it will be easier for him if he directs his energy to the blaming side of the human disposition. He will look for the reason for his unhappiness in someone else’s happiness. Such a person will quickly get lost in the darkness of negative thoughts. But man needs light for his existence, and colors for well-being. And they greet us at every step and make our lives better. We just have to see them, through glasses or without them,” he concludes with a wise thought and inspiration to become the best we can be.
Tomaž Mihelič, PHOTO PERSONAL ARCHIVE – ARTICLE LINK
