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MAGIC CARPET RIDE
"There are only so many great rugs in the world," says Ben Soleimani, the owner of Mansour in Los Angeles, "and we aim to get the best of them." Soleimani has been involved in the carpet business since he was a child. "by the time I was eight years old I could identify where a carpet came from and the century in which it was made."
John Cottrell (above, at the shop) can testify to Soleimani's expertise. "He instinctively knows what I like and always chooses the perfect rug," he says. Cottrell began going to Mansour three years ago on a client's recommendation. "They had just purchased an important Aubusson from Ben," Cottrell remembers. "I was told to go and see him before I selectedany other carpets for the house."
Soleimani has more than 30 buyers around the world searching for carpets of exceptional quality. "In india our buyers are going into palaces to purchase Agras from the 1880's" he says. "And recently things have been coming out of Russia and South America." Cottrell especially likes Mansour's Ushaks, which have 'indredible, unusual colors."
mansour, 8600 Melrose Ave., Los Angeles, CA 90069, 310/652-9999.
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