Leon Eve to open his shop, Bare Essence.

"It really happened when I came back from a trip to Morocco where I had bought myself rugs that were made there,'' he said.

"People who saw them were always trying to buy them from me but I wanted to keep them,'' he added.

And keep them he did. Mr. Eve didn't sell them but said he felt badly that he didn't realise he should have brought more back to share.

"It really is funny how it happened,'' he said.

"I was actually looking to start up a pedal cycle shop with repairs and I found this location. But this wasn't suitable for a cycle shop so I thought about what else I could do here,'' he added.

"Then it hit me that I could look into having the Moroccan rugs as a business.'' Mr. Eve made another trip to Morocco and this time bought rugs in bulk.

The small store at 55 Court Street now has in stock close to 100 rugs of various sizes, many of them in silk.

In addition to the rich textured rugs, Mr. Eve also has a few antique candle holders, lamps and vases, that he brought back from Morocco.

"I saw these pieces and thought that they were so wonderful, so I brought them back as well,'' he said.

People can use their imagination with how to best utilise silk runners he also keeps on hand.

Leon finds `bare essence' of life "These can be used as table cloths or bed throws, or whatever people like,'' he said.

Finding that most of his business comes in the late afternoon, Mr. Eve who also works as a painting contractor, said it has been convenient for him to have late opening hours.

"I usually open around 4 p.m.,'' he said.

Rugs in the store range in price from $125 to $2,500 largely determined by size.

While Mr. Eve has not figured out a good way to display the beautiful rugs, he is most agreeable to having customers come in and open up as many as they like.

"These rugs are just absolutely beautiful and I do have to find a good way to display them,'' he said.

Still awaiting his awning, he explained he had not done any publicity yet.

But he's already looking into expanding the small business to include a bridal registry.