The World Heritage Site of Saltaire, founded in 1853 by Titus Salt largely for the benefit of his workers but also his business, provided the perfect backdrop to yesterday’s Antiques Roadshow. Despite the predicted rain, the good folk of Saltaire turned in force, and the queue was already stretching around the block when I arrived […]
Kathryn and I hope you all tuned in and enjoyed last night’s episode of Cracking Antiques, where we helped Jodie & Adrian from Stockport find Victorian and Edwardian antiques for their living room with their limited budget. So, if previous weeks are anything to go by, you’ll all be wondering where we went! Well, here […]
Leafing through this morning’s Metro newspaper, I spotted this advertisement for HSBC mortgages. I smiled as the quirky and appealing arrangement of antique pieces, including frames, mirrors, furniture, and glass decanters, is exactly the sort of look that we love on Cracking Antiques. It’s interesting to see how the look is really moving into the […]
With the sun shining and temperatures nearing 20 degrees, this weekend was perfect for a country jaunt and some antiquing. Although the streets of Brighton have been well-trodden lately, I hadn’t been to neighbouring Sussex town Lewes for some years. Which is strangely remiss of me, as I remembered it as being very good indeed. […]
Kathryn and I hope that you enjoyed last night’s episode of Cracking Antiques, with Ellen & Dean. Kathryn did a super job on their room, and it’s one I’m rather green with envy about as I’d love to live in it myself! Once again, the usual flurry of emails has prompted me to post details […]
I can’t resist an antiques fair. I get all itchy and jumpy if I drive past one, and usually end up turning my car around. Exactly that happened yesterday as I went down to visit my parents for lunch. As I passed through Ripley in Surrey, I noticed that a small Sunday fair I used […]
Both Kathryn and I have had loads of emails and tweets asking us where we found the antiques and vintage pieces we used in the series. None more so than for Karen Jones and her ‘shabby chic’ dining room this week! So, to save some time, here goes. The chairs, ceramics and wonderful French ceiling […]
I’m not an expert in every area of antiques and collectables, and you should immediately mistrust anyone who says they are. I’ve always admired my colleagues, both on and off the Antiques Roadshow, who know about 18th & 19th century English porcelain. I’m always impressed how they can hold a piece to the light and […]
I’ve just got back from attending the four day Antiques For Everyone fair at the NEC in Birmingham with Judith Miller. And what a wonderful – and incredibly busy – four days we had! Hundreds of people stopped by to say hello and chat to Judith and I – and queue for signed books. We […]
Amidst the many reviews of ‘Cracking Antiques’ last week, two made me giggle. The first was courtesy of The Guardian TV Guide, whose reviewer thought I was ‘possibly part Vulcan‘, and the second was in the Leicester Mercury, whose reviewer thought I was ‘like a grown up Thunderbird in a suit‘. I have to say […]
The Guardian newspaper had an interesting article on antiques becoming fashionable and desirable last Thursday. Also covering price rises in silver, click here to read it. I was particularly happy to read this part: “Auction houses suffered a tough recession, with the RICS (Royal Institute of Chartered Surveyors) survey revealing price drops across virtually every […]
I must admit my first reaction was to ask her “What have you been doing? Hammering nails in with it?” The rim was covered in chips, and there were a couple of large chunks missing from the acid-frosted moulded pattern of satyrs bounding around in grape vines. The truth was even more surprising – the […]