Hot-footing it back from yesterday’s action packed and exhausting – yet highly enjoyable – Antiques Roadshow at Winchester Cathedral, next up on the agenda was a visit to London’s prestigious LAPADA antiques fair in Berkeley Square. Although no nightingales were singing, there was plenty to entertain, tempt and fascinate. I was joined by Judith Miller […]
There seemed to be quite a lot of these at the excellent Alexandra Palace Antiques Fair today, and prices certainly seem to be on the up. Although £10-15 will still buy you an appealing but more common piece of Scheurich or Bay, the smart money should be put at something a bit more pricey that […]
Steven Moore, my good friend and Antiques Roadshow colleague called me yesterday. He is Senior Specialist at Newcastle’s Anderson & Garland auction house, and had spotted something in their general auction today that he thought might interest me. And indeed it did – very much. Regular readers of my blog or Collect It magazine will […]
I spent yesterday at the excellent Ardingly antiques fair, with my dear friend and Cracking Antiques co-presenter Kathryn Rayward. With the sun in the sky, only a few clouds in site and a small but comfortable sum of money in our pockets, a-hunting we went. And, as ever, Ardingly didn’t disappoint. I was also there […]
My good collector friends Kath and Eddie, who I first met at the first Fat Lava exhibition organised by Graham Cooley in 2006, are lucky people. But then they also work jolly hard at finding the most amazing pieces and researching them, so they deserve it. I have to admit to turning a rather strong […]
When Kathryn and I were filming for Cracking Antiques, had we had homeowners in the area we’d love have to have found a place like this. If you’re in the area, Fagins Antiques in Hele, near Cullompton, is well worth a visit. Spread over three barns and 45,000 square feet, you’ll find a truly incredible […]
I first went to the wonderful Lincoln Homes & Antiques Fair last year when Kathryn and I were filming Cracking Antiques for the BBC. I was so taken with it, and the enormous variety on offer, that our runner Simon had quite a task keeping me under control! Although I loved shopping with the Barkers […]
Most of the ‘antiques’ shops in the centre of Prague close over the weekend, with the exception of the higher priced shops, and those in the Old City. That makes it the perfect time to go museum hopping and enjoy the fantastic and unparalleled array of Art Nouveau architecture that the city has to offer. […]
I’m an enormous fan of 20thC studio ceramics – and not just those produced in Britain. Studio potters in Germany and the Netherlands also produced some ground-breaking, important and strongly appealing work too. With this in mind, I was excited to read an email from Marcel Brouwer today. Marcel, who ran the Design department at […]
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. […]
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 […]