In October 2005 Richard Morant became the sole owner of the business trading as David Black Carpets. He has been an integral part in the success and development of the partnership of David Black Carpets. Following a stroke and ill health last year David Black has taken early retirement after nearly 40 years in the carpet business. Happily he is now much better and is currently preparing work for a new book to add to his several publications.

Richard has decided to continue the business in his own name and the new gallery

'RICHARD MORANT'

in London's fashionable Notting Hill is a wonderful introduction to a world of colour and strikingly modern design in carpets and textiles for the home.

"Establishing a close working relationship with our weavers and dyers to produce new custom made carpets, cotton dhurries and textiles of exceptional quality, has been both my aim and inspiration. The craftsmen and women have the knowledge and experience of years, dyeing wool and weaving on traditional handlooms. I am constantly learning, developing and hopefully encouraging these skills to continue and thrive within the culture and community. So in quite a simple way we can enrich and expand this vision to a wider world"    Richard Morant

Richard makes frequent visits to his weavers in Central and Western Anatolia in Turkey. This year he will also travel to Rajasthan in India to work on similar projects.

Having traded in the Holland Park area since 1965, the gallery had always stocked a comprehensive range of antique decorative furnishing carpets and kilims, tribal and village rugs, silk embroideries and a fine selection of Indian dhurries. With good antique pieces increasingly difficult to find at affordable prices the market for custom made carpets has become much more active in recent years. We were one of the first specialists to introduce collectors and interior designers to twentieth century carpets, and in the last few years fine carpets, kilims and cotton dhurries are once again being woven.

These new carpets will sit alongside antique carpets without looking out of place. A well made new carpet has a life expectancy of at least 100 years. As they acquire a patina from use their appearance and quality will improve.

With our years of experience we are happy to advise newcomers to the field of oriental carpets, which can be daunting. We have visited many hundreds of clients in their homes and also operate an approval scheme allowing clients to consider a purchase in the quiet of their own homes.

The gallery regularly mounts exhibitions devoted to various themes and aspects of the world of carpets, textiles and embroideries - antique and contemporary. We welcome new names to our e-mailing list and we can supply images of our stock by email.

All of the photographs you see on these pages were taken by Richard Morant.