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 […]
Last week, I was delighted to be interviewed by Paul Fraser of Paul Fraser Collectibles. The main focus was the new BBC2 TV series I’m co-hosting with interior designer Kathryn Rayward, but as I’m a man of (too?) many words, we soon moved onto many other subjects such as buying online, the recession, and the […]
Interior designer Kathryn Rayward and antiques expert Mark Hill, from BBC Two’s Cracking Antiques, tell BBC Programme Information‘s Tony Matthews about their plans to fill people’s homes with individuality and vintage quality. Recessions, what are they good for? Not much, but if there’s one thing an economic downturn does encourage it’s thrift and a fresh […]
Mark Hill Publishing Ltd is delighted to announce that ground-breaking books Hi Sklo Lo Sklo and Fat Lava are the company’s two top-selling books in the series of four published to date. A fifth title, on a new area, is currently being researched and written, and will be published in early 2011. Hi Sklo Lo […]
Cracking Antiques is on a myth-busting mission to prove that people can add style and glamour to any type of home by investing in second-hand, vintage and antique furnishings – without breaking the bank. The prime-time series, which aired on BBC Two from 7th April to 12th May 2010, is presented by interior designer Kathryn Rayward […]
Produced in conjunction with BBC2’s exciting new series, Cracking Antiques shows you how vintage and antique furniture and accessories can help you to create a stylish, individual home without setting foot inside a superstore. Take antiques off their pedestal and forget their elitist image. You don’t need to live in an old house to enjoy […]