It's an exciting time this spring for London's interior designers and home makers. There are many great shows that will inspire you to create those magical interior's, among them is the London design week 2015, which will be held at the Design Centre at Chelsea Harbour between the 8th and 13th of March. also the London BADA antique and fine art fair which will be held at the Duke of York Square, London between 18th and 24th of March. London is also hosting LARTA the London antique rug and Textile fair, which will be held at The Showroom, Penfold Street, between 16th and 19th April. London's Oriental rug warehouses also have a huge selection of antique rugs and carpets from Persia, India, Pakistan and Afghanistan as well as many other rug weaving countries. And the great news is that London's Oriental rug warehouses are open all year round. Make an appointment this spring to visit London's Oriental rug warehouses. www.orientalrugexperts.com Tel:0207 722 7608.

Many painting from the renaissance period feature fine Oriental rugs and carpets, these paintings are an important historical guide to the manufacture of handmade rugs and carpets, and by investigating the movement and dates of a particular artist we can obtain valuable information regarding woven history. The leading carpet scholar Kurt Erdmann first classified rugs and carpets by using the names of the artists who liked to use certain Oriental rugs and carpets in their paintings. Five renaissance artists stand out from the rest, Holbein, Lotto, Bellini, Crivelli and Memling. Probably the most important artist is Hans Holbein 1497-1543 who name is synonymous with Anatolian rug and carpet designs that featured in his paintings. Lorenzo Lotto 1480-1557 is also given his name to a design of Anatolian rug which is also known as Arabesque Ushak, and almost always has a yellow design on a red ground. The works of these great artists can be found in the major museums of the world, and in London's Oriental rug warehouses rugs and carpets can still be found woven with the influence of Anatolian rugs found in the painting of the renaissance artists.

With Christmas over and the New Year beginning, our thoughts turn to those redecorating and interior design project's that we have been pondering over for the last six months. An important part of your new decor is the Oriental rug or carpet, so whether you are looking for a new Afghan Ziegler rug or that special antique Persian carpet then David J.Wilkins Oriental rug experts can help you. Often the Oriental rug or Persian carpet is the very first thing you should purchase for your new room, as matching an Oriental carpet to a all but completed project can be more difficult. London's Oriental rug warehouses are full of beautiful handmade rugs and carpets from all over the rug weaving world, so why not make an appointment to view one of Europe's largest selections of fine Persian and Oriental rugs and carpets at www.orientalrugexperts.com

The Royal carpet company of Persia or Sherkat-e-farsh is a government organization that was founded by the father of Reza Shah Pahlavi. The goal of Sherkat-e-farsh was to set the highest quality standards for the Persian rug and carpet weaving industry. They would gather expert Persian rug weavers from all the Persian rug manufacturing regions and have them weave Persian rugs and carpets using the finest quality materials. Sherkat-e-farsh rugs and carpet are highly prized by dealers and collectors alike, and demand a premium compared to most other Persian rugs.

The story's in the press recently, showing people fighting over so called bargains in their local super market, beggar's belief. It should be clear to most people with any intelligence that the most important strategy is to get as close to the source as possible. And this is certainly the case with Oriental rugs and carpets, the problem is that hunting around the souks of Tehran, Kabul or Islamabad is most likely taking it to extremes. Luckily for people in the UK we have one of the world's largest selection's of Oriental rugs and carpets right here in London. London's Oriental rug warehouses has a vast selection from Persia, Pakistan, India and most other rug and carpet weaving countries. Why not book an appointment with David J.Wilkins Oriental rug experts, who will guide you around the labyrinth of Oriental rug importers, helping you find that very special Persian rug or carpet, now you can't get much closer to the source than that. www.orientalrugexperts.com

David J. Wilkins Oriental rug brokers would like to inform all their customers both past and present that London's Oriental rug warehouses will be open up until Christmas eve lunchtime, and by special appointment between the 29th-31st December, and open as normal from the 2nd January 2015. Please call us as soon as possible to make an appointment to view the largest stock of Oriental rugs and carpets in the UK. And remember that a fine Persian rug would make a beautiful gift that will last a lifetime. Telephone: 0207 722 7608 Mobile: 07850 923471 or rugexpert@btinternet.com or www.orientalrugexperts.com

Christmas will soon be upon us and with it the need to complete your interior design projects or possibly purchase that very special present. Imagine the scene with your tree richly decorated and the logs crackling on the open fire, all that is needed is a warm Persian rug under your feet to finish off the room. It could also be a present that will be cherished for a lifetime. London's Oriental rug warehouses are reporting a busy period leading up to Christmas. Alex Wilkins from David J.Wilkins Oriental rug brokers has noticed an increased level of interior projects that require an Oriental rug or carpet to complete the room. In fact more colour is the norm now and Persian rugs and carpets in particular old and antique rugs and carpets are popular. New handmade rugs and carpets are also available at considerable less money than you may think. London's Oriental rug warehouses are world famous for being an important source of rare old and antique Persian rugs. These warehouses are best visited with an Oriental rug expert, so if you need that very special handmade rug or carpet to complete your room or as a very special present, why not give Alex Wilkins a call on 0207 722 7608 or www.orientalrugexperts.com

What strange times we live in when exquisite hand-made rugs and carpets are being used as a weapon to deter nuclear proliferation. Beautiful Persian rugs and carpets have been woven in what is now known as Iran for hundreds of years, but this ancient craft is in peril due to the uncertainty of Iran's nuclear ambitions. In September 2010 the U.S. sanctions forbidding the importation of Iranian hand-made rugs and carpets had a devastating effect on the Persian rug production. Even Persian rugs and carpets from a third country were banned, so restricting the trade and movement of Persian rugs and carpets worldwide. This gape in the market was soon filled by cheap Persian imitations from China, Pakistan and India. And even machine made rugs are degrading the hand-made rug market. there is some consolation that London's Oriental rug warehouses still hold a large stock of fine Persian rugs and carpets, but for how much longer. David J.Wilkins one of London's leading Oriental rug dealers has seen this all before, when the first U.S. embargo of Iranian goods was implemented in 1979. Prices of Persian rugs are still steady, but if the production is dramatically reduced then times will change and an escalation in values is sure to occur. We can only hope that international relations improve and that the embargo is lifted, and the Persian weavers can continue their ancient craft and the world is not denied this beautiful artistry.

For over a hundred years London has been an important world centre for trading in Oriental rugs and carpets. This was mainly to do with the British Empire and other countries such as Persia that figured strongly in British interests. Around 1920 a large migration of Oriental rug and carpet dealers from Persia, Turkmenistan, Armenia and other rug producing countries set up there business's in London. This strengthened London as the world centre for Oriental rugs and carpets and a large bonded warehouse complex was established under control of the British customs & excise, as duty was not paid until the rugs were sold and a large percentage were re-exported. Even today some of these old rug and carpet importers are still trading, and although they are no longer bonded due to most of the Oriental rugs and carpets remaining in the UK, you can still visit London's oriental rug warehouses to purchase that fine Persian rug or carpet that will become you're most prized possession. It is recommended that you seek expert advice when visiting these large establishments. One such Oriental rug expert is David J.Wilkins who along with his son Alexander has been guiding his customers around London's Oriental rug warehouses for over 40 years. In that time they have built up an in-depth knowledge of each warehouse and can show you around this fascinating world of Oriental rugs and carpets. www.orientalrugexperts.com Tel:0207 722 7608

Often associated with wealth and majesty, oriental carpets and rugs are heavily steeped in the tales and legends of middle-Eastern beliefs. Read the three examples below about the value and magical associations of carpets. Caesar and Cleopatra In Ancient Egyptian legend dating back to the year 48 BC, Cleopatra’s first meeting with Julius Caesar is an incredibly intriguing story. Legend says that Cleopatra arranged to meet Caesar intimately by having herself rolled up in a carpet which was then delivered to Caesar’s quarters. With the help of her servant Apollodorus, the two travelled across the water by night to Alexandria harbour so that Cleopatra could be smuggled into the palace, past the guards, wrapped up in the carpet. What was an assumed gift was unrolled before the 52-year-old Caesar, to reveal the beautiful and captivating Cleopatra. The young Queen used all her charm and intelligence in order to get Caesar’s help in settling the struggle for the throne. Cleopatra then became Caesar’s mistress and he used his army to defeat and destroy her brother and enemy Ptolemy XIII, bringing order back to the Egypt. Soloman’s Flying Carpet In the Qur’an it is stated that Allah gave Soloman the ability to command the winds. The Muslim tradition follows that Soloman used a carpet to travel around on which was carried by the winds. Said to be made of green silk with golden weaving, the carpet allowed him to travel a two-month journey in less than a day. One Thousand And One Nights Also known as the Arabia Nights, this collection of West and South Asian stories includes many references to magical carpets. The idea of a magical or flying carpet as an element in Arabian and Persian mythologies is now very common in modern fantasy. One story tells how Prince Husain travels to Bisnagar in India and buys a magic carpet. The eldest son of the Sultan of the Indies then flew around on this magical carpet.