This month’s BBC Homes & Antiques magazine is even more than packed than ever with inspirational and practical information about collecting and living with antiques and collectables. In this month’s issue, insiders reveal their ‘trade secret’ favourite hunting grounds, be they antiques centres, specialists, auctions or junk shops. I was delighted to be asked to […]
Having seen so many prehistoric, neolithic and paleolithic designs on modern ceramics and glass, I’ve often wondered how much these were inspired and driven by the discovery of some caves. In Summer 1940, four French teenagers out walking their dog in the Dordogne discovered a cave, the walls of which were covered with prehistoric cave […]
Last weekend was spent in Berlin, visiting friends, but also indulging in more than a little hunting around the flea markets and vintage shops of this trendy city. First stop was Deco Arts in Motzstrasse, in the Schoneberg district. I had passed this shop many a time, and each time it was closed. Thankfully, this […]
July has been a busy month for me. In addition to my usual jobs, this month I enjoyed three Antiques Roadshows in nearly as many weeks. I wrote about Melrose below, and that was followed up a few days later by an event at Bletchley Park, just outside Milton Keynes. If you think you recognise […]
I’ve just got back from a charity auction held to benefit the Prince’s Trust at the Guildhall in London. Alas, I am empty handed. Eric Knowles, my friend and colleague on the BBC’s Antiques Roadshow, is taking part in another series of ‘Put Your Money Where Your Mouth Is’ for the BBC. Here, two well-known […]
…but with no fuzzy TV screens in sight. I am, of course, referring to Kevin Graham’s long-awaited magnum opus (or 0pi) on postwar West German Ceramics. With nearly a decade of research behind him, my good friend Kevin will finally be publishing two books on 1st July. The first is ‘From Spritzdekor to Fat Lava’, […]
…before we move on from Fat Lava. Many collectors choose one shape, and then try to find as many different glazes as they can on the same shape. In the past year, Graham Cooley has found 136 different glaze treatments on the popular Scheurich 401 jug vase – he and independent filmmaker Nigel Edwards of […]
If you’re into Fat Lava, the crazy and unique ceramics produced in West Germany from the 1960s-70s, you simply must take a trip to Reading this month. I’ve just got back from the grand opening today, and my jaw is still on the floor. Eminent private collector Graham Cooley and progressive dealer Al Baynham of […]
It’s finally here! The second, revised and expanded edition of Fat Lava has finally arrived! After a couple of glitches, a long lorry drew up outside today to deliver a palette of boxes. The moment it did this, the clouds opened and the rain poured down. With no trolley, each and every box had to […]
…and I inadvertently saved the best for last. Before I travel anywhere, I always spend an evening trawling the web for places to visit. This time I found a new gallery, Gallery 567 on Benczur Utca, which I hadn’t come across before and looked right up my street. Open by appointment only, it’s well worth […]
On my many visits to Canada, I’ve always been delighted by the enormous level of interest in West German ceramics of the 1960s & 70s. The country was a major export market for makers such as Bay, Scheurich and ES Keramik, and Fat Lava has become a firm favourite amongst collectors there. My good friends […]
One of my favourite tasks each month is writing my regular column for Collect It! magazine. I’m lucky enough to enjoy free-reign on the target of my articles, which is a luxury indeed. Just before heading north to work on another Antiques Roadshow, I researched the history behind a little known pottery I’m rather fond […]