The latest issue of the consistently enjoyable BBC Homes & Antiques magazine is out now, and includes an ‘Instant Expert’ article I wrote on Venini glass. A truly legendary name from the Italian island of Murano, the company has a global reputation for its fabulous glass. Read about the history of the company, the most […]
Well, my last post seems to have caused quite a stir in the Filofax world! I’ve had rather a large amount of emails from Filofax fans who are, naturally, still using theirs and have pointed out the (many) obvious benefits to me. Perhaps I was a little hasty in saying that the smartphone and PDA […]
I had to buy a new Blackberry last weekend, after my previous one died. Standing in the queue to pay, I mulled over how the PDA and smartphone have completely replaced the Filofax. A trusty companion of the Sloane Ranger and Yuppie (remember them?), the fad for these luxury leather small folders has almost completely […]
I’ve had a lot of questions and emails lately about when the next edition of the Miller’s Collectables Price Guide will be available. We usually publish it in Autumn each year but, partly taking into account the hard year we all had, we took the difficult decision to delay it until the official start of […]
This month’s edition of BBC Homes & antiques magazine contains a fantastic article on elegant vintage barware. As ever, the specially commissioned photography is fabulous, and the text is filled with facts and, as one would expect with this subject, fun. The majority of the article covers the vintage cocktail shaker, something I hold close […]
Tipped off by a good friend who knows how I like to spot things I’m interested in on TV, I watched a couple of episodes of the very amusing new BBC Two comedy ‘Miranda’ last night. And sure enough, the Fat Lava vases I was promised were there. The series details the haphazard and hilarious […]
Going to and from work in the dark over and over again at this time of year can prove to be a little joyless and depressing. Then I found this. I used to love them as a child, and now I love them all over again…
Back in January, I was delighted to come across my friend and old Sotheby’s colleague Sara Covelli and her new business Covelli Tennant. This week another one of my old friends and erstwhile colleagues at Sotheby’s, James Bridges of Martel Maides in Guernsey, hit the news. Undertaking a house contents valuation for a Channel Islands […]
Every now and again, I get sent an amusing image. Two arrived in the same week, so here they are for your delectation. The first is thanks to my friends Marc & Maiken at the marvellous Utopia2000 in Germany. It shows their dog on top of his new friend – a sheep designed by Hanns-Peter […]
In today’s Evening Standard, City Spy revealed that global coffee chain Starbucks was excited about the imminent redecoration of all its UK stores. Rather than the bland, blond wood, laminate floored, Ikea look we’re all used to, a “retro” style will be ushered in. Apparently the “antiques” to be used were sourced in Turkish bazaars, […]
I haven’t found too many books that discuss antiques from social, historical, economic or, indeed other, perspectives. So I was delighted to stumble across this book in Waterstone’s last Sunday. Professor Rosenstein is a philosopher who also has also dealt in antiques for the past 25 years, so offers us a unique view of the […]
I’ve just returned from a visit to the wonderful Bushwood Antiques, and am truly excited. Based in the beautiful countryside near Hemel Hempstead, the drive there is fantastic enough, but not as fantastic as the place itself. Over 7,500 pieces of antique furniture await you, ranging in date from the 16th to early 20th centuries, […]