Founders

Geoffrey Orley

When Geoffrey Orley's grandmother offered him an antique Persian carpet for his 15th birthday, he declined the gift. The gesture was nice, but the carpet was not. Inadvertently, Geoffrey's grandmother had ignited his interest in carpets and quest to find the finest carpets worldwide. On this journey, he met Bahram Shabahang in the carpet market of Isfahan, Iran in 1972. Soon to become lifelong friends and business partners, they began importing carpets into the U.S., and the rest is history.

Bahram Shabahang

Bahram Shabahang traces his family heritage to 16th century Isfahan, Iran. The patriarch of the Shabahang family was the son-in-law of King Tahmass Safavieh. He oversaw the work of the rug weavers in the King's workshop and passed this on through the family. Mr.Shabahang holds a degree in Architecture although his passion has always been carpets, which led to the creation of his first store in 1973.

New York

Ashleigh Gersh

Ashleigh Gersh has been an extension of the Orley family for many years, from whom she developed her appreciation for and love of Persian carpets. Although she is an attorney barred in the State of New York, she returned to the carpet business to pursue an unfading interest. She opened the New York gallery and continues to enhance her knowledge of the business, love of the carpets and taste for what is true art.

Brittany Gersh

Brittany Gersh brings extensive knowledge of the art and design world to Orley and Shabahang. She worked as the curatorial and exhibition assistant of the European Sculpture and Decorative Arts department at the Detroit Institute of Arts, after which she moved to New York. In August of 2006, she began working for Orley & Shabahang, and started a Master's Degree shortly after in the history of decorative arts and design, offered collaboratively through Parson's School of Design and the Cooper-Hewitt Museum.

Ethan Orley

Ethan Orley has been an integral part of getting our New York gallery off the ground and running. From organizing our marketing campaign to building our basket displays and pedastals, he has literally framed the look and feel of the gallery. We will greatly miss his input and his energy as he moves forward with his career in the ever expanding New York real estate business.

Alonso Pajon

Alonso Pajon who is originally from Medellin, Columbia, is a trained weaver with over 15 years of experience with the Scalamandre Fabric Company, makers of some of the finest fabrics in the world today.

Whitefish Bay

Mehran A.G. Irivani

Mehran grew up in the carpet business. He studied mechanical design engineering as an undergraduate, however, his longtime passion for Persian carpets took hold and he has been with the Shabahang family since 1987.

Sharif Philip

Mr.Philip worked in Pakistan for 18 years, where he created a name for himself as a restoration specialist, before joining our staff in the United States.