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Exotic Rug Store Slashing Prices as It Prepares to Close After 50 Years

 Nemati Collection offers 60 percent or more off all rugs until end of May, when it will close for good.
Nemati Collection
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MIDTOWN — A family-owned rug business that has operated in Manhattan for decades is slashing prices in a monthlong push to sell 3,000 carpets before it’s forced to put everything into storage.

Nemati Collection — seller of Iranian, Pakistani and European antique carpets — is knocking 60 percent or more off all rugs so that it can get rid of its inventory before it closes next month.

The business was based in a 5,000-square-foot space in a design building at 1059 Third Ave. for 20 years. But the building is being demolished to make way for luxury condos, and Nemati Collection has moved into a temporary space for its liquidation sale, owner Darius Nemati said.

“We had no choice but to leave, but we didn’t have time to do a proper sale,” Nemati said. “It’s not the most genteel way as we would’ve wanted, but we’re just trying to get people through the door.”

The landlord did not respond to a request for comment.

The business is currently showcasing its products temporarily from a two-floor space at 212 E. 57th St. until the end of May, but the shop will fold after that, said Nemati, who took over the 50-year-old business from his father in 1991.

“I have to look for a new line of work," said Nemati. "We can’t afford to open another showroom. We live in a throw-away society where people don’t care about quality as much.

“But I’m not going to lower my standard of quality,” he continued. “Even on my way out, I want my reputation to be good.”

Nemati's collection includes rugs, tapestries and some contemporary carpets from Iran that can’t even be imported anymore because of an embargo and are usually very expensive, said Nemati, who lives on the Upper East Side with his wife and two children.

“We bought things from every country that sells rugs,” Nemati said. “That’s what’s unusual about us. You’re not buying labor — you’re buying art.”

Nemati highlighted one Iranian carpet hanging on the wall at the front of the store that is colored in waves of different shades of blue. The rug normally costs $6,000, but the sale brings the price to $2,400.

“We asked them to do something that looks like the sea,” said Nemati. “It’s fantastic quality, but it’s subtle. This one’s a good buy.”

Other deals include a Persian silk rug from Iran, priced at $5,500, down from $13,000. And a large carpet made in Pakistan with antique Kazak design elements is priced down from $3,200 to $1,200.

Rarer items include a silk and wool tapestry from Brussels, depicting a scene in which the world is being presented to Zeus and Hera. It's on sale for $64,000, down from $140,000.

The clients at Nemati Collection were mostly limited to interior designers and architects, but now Nemati is looking for anyone decorating their home to stop by the store.

“All the paint colors or furnishings of a room start from the rug,” said Nemati. "If someone really likes the rug, they can make the rest of the room work off of it."