Little-Persia Rug Gallery

The Little-Persia rug gallery was opened to the public in April 2003 by owner, Dr Reza Cheshmehdoost. His passion for rugs began with a rug gifted to him by his father fifteen years earlier. The gift on the floor of his study became fine threads tied to a distant homeland, and the memory of his father who had given him a love for these beautiful rugs, each of which is a little piece of history in itself.

Reza's hobby of collecting rugs grew for 15 years before it was transformed into a business, first collecting rugs then sourcing them for other handmade carpet stores. As a highly respected rug specialist Little-Persia has the finest and most varied range of carpets in Scotland with over 1,500 pieces from Iran, Afghanistan, Turkey and India. Reza has an established network of businesses connections around the world for sourcing the very best rugs on the market.

The Showpiece

Despite its origins in ancient Asia, the Persian rug is now the showpiece of many British homes. In a traditional setting, a Persian rug brings warmth and beauty to the living spaces; in a contemporary interior it compliments wooden floors and modern furniture modern furniture becoming a focal point for your friends and family to admire. Examples of Persian rugs placed in modern as well as traditional homes can be viewed in our Interior Design page for some inspiration.

With their subtly brilliant colours and wonderful patterns, handmade Persian carpets add pleasure and warmth to peoples' lives in residential and office surroundings. A Persian rug can also be a financial asset, its value increasing with age, making each purchase a worthwhile investment to be passed down the generations.

As a result of their popularity, the market is flooded with imitations, and for the general public it has become increasingly difficult to distinguish authentic Persian rugs from the fakes on offer. Furthermore, some rug traders sell rugs as Persian when in fact their origin is a neighbouring country, while the rug may still be of a good quality the description is misleading. These risks are removed at Little-Persia, Scotland's leading Persian & Oriental rug specialist. All our rugs are shown not only with the name of the design but also the country of origin.

Traditional and Contemporary

People from all over the UK visit Little-Persia's rug gallery and our online catalogue because we offer the widest selection of original Persian and Oriental rugs; our range includes antique and new carpets, traditional and contemporary designs, large and small sized rugs in normal shapes as well as runners and circular rugs.

While one handmade rug dealer may have popular types of rugs and another more unsual pieces from remote areas, here at Little-Persia we are proud to offer a complete selection from all over the middle-east.

Stringent Selection Criteria

Little-Persia selects its rugs on the basis of stringent criteria based on originality and craftsmanship. Using our experience and knowledge we also look at the weaver's choice of materials, including wool, silk and cotton, and the dyes used to colour the yarn before weaving beings. We determine the materials, the dye, the design and structure before bringing the rugs to our showroom.

A Reliable Trader

Little-Persia is a reliable trader of 14 years who provides expert advice and a wide choice of rugs with quick delivery and no quibbles returns. Reza's dream would be to place an authentic Persian rug in every home in the UK. He passionately believes a home with a Persian carpet is one with style, warmth and comfort; moreover he wishes everyone to experience the magic which made him a Persian rug collector all those years ago.

Little-Persia is RugRag certified, a global community of trusted rug dealers, so you can be safe in the knowledge that we maintain the highest of standards in rugs and in customer care.

Staff

As a specialist trader Little-Persia has a main staff of just two. Reza Cheshmehdoost, the founder of the company has been involved with Persian rugs his whole life and in the business for 20 years. Ryan Malone the company's Marketing Manager joined Little-Persia while still a student in 2006 and has built up a vast knowledge of handmade rugs. In 2008 Ryan began work to launch the Love-Rugs platforms, Little-Persia's sister company which operates under the one roof. Love-Rugs provides modern and traditional machine-made rugs separate to Little-Persia as well as custom-made hand-tufted rug, made to clients' own design and specification.

Persian & Oriental

Persian rugs (from Iran) are considered to be the best handmade rugs available anywhere in the world and we are very proud of our extensive range, however, Oriental rugs from India, Turkey and Afghanistan also offer excellent quality and provide value that may not be possible to procure from Iran today. The price of rugs in Iran has increased exponentially in the past five years as the trade has become less mainstream. It has become increasingly difficult to source rugs that are affordable for ourselves and for our customers. This is due to inflation rates in Iran of 25%, increasing transportation costs and the weakness of the pound. It is estimated that a high-end rug would cost around three times as much to source today than it would have only five years ago. Luckily, Little-Persia has built up a broad selection of Persian rugs before the cost of importing rugs from Iran soared. Although good rugs from Iran are still considered the ultimate, Oriental and Turkish rugs offer excellent durability and design and often equal if not out-shine many of their Iranian counterparts. Each country has their own strengths, the ever popular Ziegler rugs are made in Afghanistan along with Kazak and Khal Mohammadi rugs, these rugs are not made in Iran and are copied to a lesser standard in India. Likewise India produce certain rugs better than in its neighbouring countires. It is important to note that all rug weaving countries can produce excellent carpets, but all also produce poor ones, it is good to do a bit of research (which is why we have provided rug guides) or use a trusted dealer. Origin does not provide a guarantee of quality, only one indication of potential value.

For the sake of collectors who may only want to buy a rug from a certain country (e.g. Iran, Afghanistan, Turkey or India), or a particular region within them (e.g. Tabriz, Kazak or Kashan) Little-Persia clearly label and communicate the origin of all our rugs. More details on rug weaving cities and regions can be found on our Rug Origins Guide.