This bank holiday weekend, I find myself in Budapest, where it’s very warm (32 degrees) and very muggy. A quick lunch after touching down left me ready to hit the shops. First stop was Kiraly Utca, where I had been into a truly superb (and also truly tiny) shop specialising in 20th century ceramics and […]
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 […]
Sunday meant the (reputedly even better) flea market between 38th & 39th off 9th Ave, which we went to after an ‘interesting’ visit to the stunning Guggenheim Museum near Central Park. To look after bodily hunger as well as collecting hunger, the banker and I booked ourselves in for brunch at the perfectly situated and […]
This weekend, I flew to New York — for lunch! I was lucky enough to be flying out to the Big Apple to meet my old business colleague and good friend Julian Ellison, founder and CEO of LiveAuctioneers. Julian founded the company after leaving our alma mater icollector, which we both ended up effectively running […]
Spotted in Vancouver’s main branch of Chapters today!
The next day began with a gentle walk around historic Gastown, and down to the harbour. Watching seaplanes take off and land made us curious and, before we knew it, the banker and I had booked ourselves in for a 20 minute airborn tour of the city and nearby mountains with Harbour Air Seaplanes. I’m […]
After the excitement of the wedding, we drove and flew on to Vancouver to see in the new year…and do a bit of shopping. After hitting the chain stores along Robson St, some time was found for purchases of a more vintage nature. Searches on the internet had shown Main Street, between 6th St and […]
The highlight of, and reason for, the visit to Western Canada was to attend the wedding of Darla and Wayne. Held in a small town in western Saskatchewan, some 5 hours drive northwest from Calgary, two grand prairie families were brought together with over 400 guests helping them celebrate. The bride was supremely elegant in […]
In search of the elusive ‘White Christmas’, this year the banker and I travelled to the Canadian Rockies, where snow is pretty much guaranteed. So is icy cold, and with temperatures as low as -27 degrees, it’s certainly the coldest I have ever been. Still that didn’t stop us getting around, driving through the beautiful […]
A note about days, before I continue my Buenos Aires collecting blog. Plan your visit well! The main day for browsing and buying is Sunday. On Mondays, and often Saturdays, many of not all stores, malls and arcades are closed. You’ll notice that my last blog entry was on Tuesday – plenty of time to […]
The undoubted heart of BA’s antiques scene is the historic San Telmo district, the first district of this mega-city to be settled and built. Divided into a grid, head towards Defensa, starting at the crossing with Av. Belgrano, only minutes walk from the famous Plaza de Mayo. You’ll soon be confronted with an unparalleled array […]
Our flight back from Cusco to Lima has been ‘delayed’. Apparently, the airline sent a smaller plane than was expected, so it was either a seat on the wing or a later flight. I opted for the latter! This means I am writing this entry sitting on a balcony in a fabulous eaterie in Cusco […]