But it doesn’t even look like glass! Sèvres Lithyalin.

Sevres Lithyalin Vase

You’ll no doubt know that I’m a more of 20th century boy in terms of my personal collecting habits. My tastes are much broader, however, but even I was a little surprised when I bought the piece below from my friends the top French and Bohemian art glass dealers M&D Moir at the always-amazing Battersea […]

Millers Collectables Price Guide 2012-13

Published by the internationally known Miller’s Publications, Miller’s Collectables Price Guide is the best full colour fully illustrated collectables price guide in the world. Let expert authors Mark Hill and Judith Miller guide you through the world of collectables today, helping you to learn more with handy ‘Collectors’ Notes’, practical ‘Expert Eye’ features and enlightening footnotes. […]

Who designed this Minton tile..?

Nobody knows everything, and you ought to run away from anyone who says they do. I know very little about tiles, it’s a very specialist market. But a specialist market that is growing in size and appeal as more choose to use antique tiles in fireplaces or hallways or, in fact, all over the house. […]

Britain’s Best Antique Shop Awards

The Britain’s Best Antiques Shop awards came to an exciting climax last week at The Bath Decorative Antiques Fair. Organised by Homes & Antiques magazine and Antiques News & Fairs, voting began back in October as part of National Antiques Week. Many thousands of votes were received from across the country – and even from […]

Edinburgh Weavers’ Textiles Book

Textiles, which are often ignored in favour of furniture, ceramics or glass, have been enjoying a real renaissance recently. I think this is partly down to the current vogue for vintage clothing, particularly from the 1950s & 60s, and partly as people are beginning to wake up from the cold, clean Minimalist look that’s been […]

Will You Seek & Adore? I Did!

Sometimes in my world, it’s all about ‘dead people’s stuff’. By that, I mean that by virtue of the words ‘antique’, ‘vintage’, or ‘retro’, we tend to focus on things designed and made by people who are sadly no longer with us. That’s the meat and bones of the industry, but it’s refreshing, and correct, […]

New Mdina Glass Article & Exhibition

Mid-century modern and studio glass lovers out there will love the new (March 2012) edition of Homes & Antiques magazine, as I’ve written new article on the beauty of Mdina Glass for it. Already as popular with collectors as it is with those with an eye for retro, vintage, and modern interiors, you can learn […]

An American Mall. What no bookshop??

So, as you can see from my last blog post, our mid-century modern shopping excursions were both successful and enjoyable. Fair’s fair and, in return, the banker wanted to go ‘proper’ shopping. So we drove to the famed Aventura Mall, south of Fort Lauderdale. Billed as one of the biggest and best malls in the […]

Mid-Century Modern Shopping in Florida

As we didn’t manage a holiday this year, and Summer wasn’t exactly hot, the banker and I decided to cash in some air miles and spend New Year in the hot sun of Florida. When I take a holiday, it doesn’t usually take long for that ‘itch’ to set in and for me to start […]

Interview In The Chap Magazine

I’ve been a fan of ‘The Chap‘ magazine for quite some time now, having found issue 7 in a vintage clothes shop a fair few years ago. Who couldn’t resist a magazine with a strap-line reading ‘Divinity lies in the insouciance of a moleskin waistcoat‘? Especially as I was wearing one at the time. For […]

Caithness Glass Exhibition in King’s Lynn

Earlier on this year, I launched my fifth book on Caithness Glass. Once again, this accompanied a ground-breaking exhibition of glass from the Graham Cooley collection. The exhibition was launched in January at the renowned Broadfield House Glass Museum in Stourbridge, and Graham and I were delighted to welcome Emer OBroin, the daughter of the […]

Must-Have Mid-Century Magazines

Over the past few years, the mid-century modern look of the 1950s-70s has become THE mainstream look influencing many of our homes. Although many say that the magazine is dead against today’s eReaders and websites, two brave and innovative publishers have launched marvellous magazines focusing on the area. And proving that the magazine isn’t dead, […]