The bottle of champagne I mentioned in my last entry has now finally sold – for £350! Congratulations Steve, I hope that you and your team have a great night out. I wonder if the lucky winner of the auction will be drinking it to toast his success? Good on him, whatever.
I’ve just got back from the BBC where I took part in an interview for BBC Radio 5 Live about the value of the large amount of Woolworths memorabilia that has come onto the market since the sad closure of the chain at the beginning of the year. The spark that set the market alight […]
It’s always nice to find out that friends are doing well, especially those that you have sadly lost touch with. Reading the ‘Style’ section of the Sunday Times over breakfast this morning, I spotted a large article on my old colleague and friend Sara Covelli. Sara, and her friend Janie Tennant, have founded Covelli Tennant […]
I’ve just got back from a fruitful day’s worth of photography for the next edition of the Miller’s Collectables Price Guide. Today I travelled to West London to visit the lovely Lesley of Retropolitan. We spent a fun and interesting day together chatting about favourite items and recent trends in the market. Of course, it […]
Spotted in Vancouver’s main branch of Chapters today!
The next day began with a gentle walk around historic Gastown, and down to the harbour. Watching seaplanes take off and land made us curious and, before we knew it, the banker and I had booked ourselves in for a 20 minute airborn tour of the city and nearby mountains with Harbour Air Seaplanes. I’m […]
After the excitement of the wedding, we drove and flew on to Vancouver to see in the new year…and do a bit of shopping. After hitting the chain stores along Robson St, some time was found for purchases of a more vintage nature. Searches on the internet had shown Main Street, between 6th St and […]
The highlight of, and reason for, the visit to Western Canada was to attend the wedding of Darla and Wayne. Held in a small town in western Saskatchewan, some 5 hours drive northwest from Calgary, two grand prairie families were brought together with over 400 guests helping them celebrate. The bride was supremely elegant in […]
In search of the elusive ‘White Christmas’, this year the banker and I travelled to the Canadian Rockies, where snow is pretty much guaranteed. So is icy cold, and with temperatures as low as -27 degrees, it’s certainly the coldest I have ever been. Still that didn’t stop us getting around, driving through the beautiful […]
I’ve just spent one of the most enjoyable days of the year in Reading, Berkshire, at Mid20C, owned by my friend and long-time antique and 20thC design dealer Al Baynham. Those who have bought the Fat Lava DVD will have seen him being interviewed at the original Fat Lava exhibition in 2006. It was unsurprising, […]
This weekend saw a series of special events at Isle of Wight Studio Glass, nestled under the cliffs near Ventnor. I had been invited down to sign copies of my book, and to chat to collectors about pieces from their collections. And collectors and glass fans certainly turned up, creating a buzzy atmosphere that was […]
Last night, cool collectors and fabulous 20thC design fans gathered for one of my favourite pre-Christmas events – the Christmas party at Alfie’s Antiques Market in Marylebone, London. Drinks flowed and the live music, provided by a gypsy band walking around the centre, was punctuated with excited conversation and laughter. It’s always a superb time […]