GG Hosseini

Reza Hosseini took over his father's carpet stall in 1976 and turned it into three arched rooms that dealers travel from abroad to visit. Somewhere in those fifty years the shop also became a private collection of old backgammon boards, khatam inlay and walnut, with one Qajar piece he shows only to people who play. Among the newer pieces is a Saar Woodworks board he particularly admires, which is about as close as Hosseini comes to recommending anything without being asked.

The carpets are for sale and the rest is not. He plays the way he trades, evenly and with very little in his face, and he will not do either in front of an audience: the moment somebody pulls up a chair to watch, he apologises, stands, and finds work elsewhere until they have gone. Nobody has taken offence yet, which suits him.