News — Discussion

Welcome to another instalment of 'Blog Post Monday'.

Over the course of the past six months I've been having some mixed fortunes with the parcels I'm sending through Royal Mail.  Some have been destroyed, some have been delayed significantly and some have simply gone missing altogether, but the issues don't end there!  Quite frankly, I think there's something smelly at the core of some of these postal services, something designed to stitch up small businesses, particularly in the antiques trade, and conversely, designed to protect big business at all costs.

This week, I thought I'd share a few of the issues I've experienced and reach out to you lovely lot for some advice on how you go about your shipping and find out if, like me, you've experienced similar issues, not just with Royal Mail, but with other postal services too.

So, as always, get that kettle on and get your stamps out as we talk all things shipping and discuss what happens when it all goes horribly wrong...

It's Monday once again which can mean only one thing... It's 'Blog Post Monday' time!

Last year I wrote a blog post looking at some potential trends within the antiques and collectibles market for that year.  It proved to be one of my top performing posts, so, with it being a new year, I thought I'd have a look at some potential trends for 2022.  After many hours of research, I think I've managed to come up with a few areas where I see growth continuing or potential for new upcoming trends. 

Of course, I'm not a professional trend forecaster, these are simply my own thoughts compiled from my own research, so please take from it what you will, but more importantly, please tell me in the comments below if you have your own predictions for the year ahead!

So, as always, get that kettle on and settle in for my top antique and collectible trends for 2022...

Welcome to another instalment of 'Blog Post Monday'.

This week I found a rather fascinating item with an even more fascinating hallmark.  It confused me and it confused people I showed, and on researching it further, it's confused me even more!  As such, I thought I'd share the confusion because, a problem shared, is, of course, a problem halved...

So, as always, get that kettle on, get your silvery bits out and let's solve the mystery of this mysterious hallmark once and for all!

It's 'Blog Post Monday' time again!  Welcome, welcome one and all!

A while ago now I stumbled across a rather fascinating find which, for some reason, I've failed to mention before now.  You'll know by now that I'm a big fan of miniature scale pieces, novelty pieces and curios.  So when I found this piece, it ticked all the boxes.  This is, or at least it looks very similar to, a 19th century French model 1822 light cavalry trooper's sabre in child size.  An antique child size replica of the original!  Now, what's the story behind this piece you ask...?  Well, the truth is, we'll never know for sure, but I have some theories...

So, as always, get that kettle on, get your swords out and let's compare size and stories as we travel back to the 19th century.

Welcome to this week's instalment of 'Blog Post Monday'!

A couple of weeks ago now I found a rather fascinating piece of art work which, by the looks of it, dates from around the late 19th to early 20th century.  You'll have to read on for the reasons why I find it quite so fascinating, but let's just say, after hours of research, I may have found some rather tenuous links between this piece of art and a gruesome period of British history.

So, as always, get that kettle on and let us respectfully look into the fascinating elements of this antique and a possible link with the Second Boer War.