It’s my first grand fair as an exhibitor! I chose the consistently amazing Battersea Decorative & Antiques Fair to launch my new venture as a dealer in postwar Czech glass design, which I still believe is a hugely under-rated area. I’m standing with Lalique, Gallé and Daum specialist dealers M&D Moir, and I have to […]
The Britain’s Best Antiques Shop awards came to an exciting climax last week at The Bath Decorative Antiques Fair. Organised by Homes & Antiques magazine and Antiques News & Fairs, voting began back in October as part of National Antiques Week. Many thousands of votes were received from across the country – and even from […]
Sometimes in my world, it’s all about ‘dead people’s stuff’. By that, I mean that by virtue of the words ‘antique’, ‘vintage’, or ‘retro’, we tend to focus on things designed and made by people who are sadly no longer with us. That’s the meat and bones of the industry, but it’s refreshing, and correct, […]
Mid-century modern and studio glass lovers out there will love the new (March 2012) edition of Homes & Antiques magazine, as I’ve written new article on the beauty of Mdina Glass for it. Already as popular with collectors as it is with those with an eye for retro, vintage, and modern interiors, you can learn […]
As we didn’t manage a holiday this year, and Summer wasn’t exactly hot, the banker and I decided to cash in some air miles and spend New Year in the hot sun of Florida. When I take a holiday, it doesn’t usually take long for that ‘itch’ to set in and for me to start […]
Earlier on this year, I launched my fifth book on Caithness Glass. Once again, this accompanied a ground-breaking exhibition of glass from the Graham Cooley collection. The exhibition was launched in January at the renowned Broadfield House Glass Museum in Stourbridge, and Graham and I were delighted to welcome Emer OBroin, the daughter of the […]
A little while ago, I was interviewed by the team behind Preloved, one of Britain’s largest and fastest growing alternatives to eBay. Celebrating ‘the joy of secondhand’, the company is right up my street and is a great place to search for retro, vintage, and antique, bargains. Anyway, click here to read my interview. I […]
Being a born and bred Surrey boy, it’s always lovely to escape the big smoke for a bit of the countryside again. On my way back from a healthy walk in the hills overlooking Dorking, I stopped into the Esher Hall Antiques & Fine Art Fair to see what was going on, and say ‘Hi’ […]
Last week was a busy one again – just how I like it. Wednesday saw me travel up to York to attend the Antiques Roadshow in the city’s ‘Museum & Gardens’ the next day. As ever, we were packed out, it was great fun, and some super treasures were found and filmed. The picture above […]
I’m delighted that my new Caithness Glass book has received some great reviews lately. Lesley Jackson, the eminent design historian, curator, and author, has just reviewed it for the Crafts Council‘s prestigious ‘Craft’ magazine and said ‘”Mark Hill has done the design world a valuable service in recording the history of Caithness Glass and the […]
Well, that might be an over-statement, as it has its moments, and I ought to be celebrating it after last night. This weekend I bought a mid-19thc Copeland Late Spode stoneware bottle vase in a junk shop in Edenbridge. Yes, just the one, not a pair. And, I know, it’s not my usual thing at […]
The clever, or observant, amongst you will have noticed that 2011 is the 60th anniversary of the Festival of Britain. A landmark event that buoyed up the nation after the war, it celebrated our culture, developments in technology, manufacturing and design, and looked forward to ‘the world of tomorrow today’. The main event was held […]