Last month, I was lucky enough to be asked to be the special guest at the biannual SylvaC collectors’ event in Peterborough. After a thoroughly fascinating day with friendly, warm and dedicated collectors, I was presented with a thank you gift of a piece of SylvaC for my collection – how incredibly kind! I had […]
Visiting the ‘OstBerlin‘ exhibition in the Museum Ephraim-Palais in Berlin last weekend, I was impressed by the quality and quantity of period paintings, drawings and prints of the developing East German part of the city, dating from the 1950s-80s. So, when I stumbled across an etching of a notable West German building from the same […]
This Christmas and New Year (December 2018 & January 2019), the banker and I decided to continue the holidays we’ve taken in South America over the years and cashed in our air miles to make a trip to Colombia. Despite what you may think, and the large numbers of policemen and soldiers on many streets, […]
I love finding a piece with its original label or sticker still attached, as it can yield a lot of useful information, especially if the piece is otherwise unmarked. Most labels were washed off, or otherwise removed, by the original owner when they got home, so survivors are scarce. Obviously, the first indication a label […]
Anyone who has seen glass being made will know mesmerising the process is, from the silent dance of the skilled glassmaking team to the transformation of a blob of hot, orange glass into a three dimensional artwork. My good friend and colleague Graham Cooley recently told me about a fascinating film produced in 1980 by […]
When I was pulling together my ‘Design At Home’ 20th century design auction for Dawson’s Auctioneers earlier this year, a vendor contacted me wishing to sell a group of British postwar furniture owned by his uncle, who had sadly recently died. His uncle had bought all the pieces brand new in 1961, and had looked […]
The third Bruton Decorative Antiques Fair will be held from the 19th to 21st October 2018, near the beautiful and deeply trendy Somerset town of Bruton. I’ve been attending since it began in 2016, having been a fan of its big sister, the Bath Decorative Antiques Fair, which was first held in 1989! At the […]
When I attend the Antiques For Everyone fairs in Birmingham, or the Art, Antiques & Interiors Fair in London’s ExCel, I generally tend to give a short afternoon talk. In these, I always say that these fairs are great places to buy – which they are. I believe in practising what I preach, so I […]
I’m a great believer in supporting contemporary glassmakers and artists where I can. After all, they’re creating the treasures that future generations will treasure. Visiting Belfast to film for the Antiques Roadshow at the Stormont Parliament Buildings late last year, I managed to find some time to visit the city’s historic St George’s Market early […]
I’m a great believer in writing verbal history down when possible. I always advise it when I hear family stories relating to a treasured object on the Antiques Roadshow – go home and write the story down. People forget, or stories get warped, and then it just becomes an ‘object’ that is devoid of context. […]
Next fair: 13th-15th October 2017 Click here for more information and FREE entry tickets. The inexorable rise of decorative antiques has seen the development of a vast number of antiques fairs tastefully packed with carefully curated stands showing off each dealer’s unique eye. Some reflect fashion – others make it. At the top in tree […]
As regular readers of my blog will know, I’m a huge fan of etchings and have bought them since I was schoolboy. I never spend much, I just buy what I like. The more bizarre or bonkers they are, the better. I usually buy without knowing much or anything about the etching or the artist, […]