News — Discussion

Welcome once again to another instalment of "Blog Post Monday"!

I struck lucky with my antique treasure hunting this week, finding a lovely collection of beautiful and interesting items.  One of which was a delightful Victorian glass scent bottle or known by some as a lachrymatory bottle or "tear catcher".  In fact, it's not the first one I've been lucky enough to find, but it is the most beautiful.

This week I'll be looking into these so called "tear catchers" to see exactly what it is that the Victorians used them for, where the myth came from and how they continue to be a popular collectible for some.

So, as always, get that kettle on, cry me a river and let's see how many of those tears we can catch...

Ahoy there, welcome once again to 'Blog Post Monday'.  I hope you're all keeping well.

Now, I don't know about you, but I do love a good antiques TV show.  From 'Bargain Hunt' to 'Antiques Road Trip', to 'Salvage Hunters' and 'The Bidding Room', I enjoy watching them all.  But having worked in the trade for a while, I have noticed a regular occurrence.  Customers use these TV shows as part of their negotiation techniques, as if they are supposed to lend weight to the discounts they receive, and it proper winds me up!

It got me thinking... Whilst I absolutely adore these TV shows, overall, do we think they have a positive or negative impact on the trade?  I need to be careful what I say here because I have interviewed a fair few legends from said shows, but it is an interesting quandary.  This is the subject of today's blog post and I'd love to hear your thoughts on it.

So, as always, get that kettle on, pause this afternoon's episode of [enter favourite antiques show here] and let's discuss the pros and cons of having so many antique TV shows...

Welcome to another instalment of 'Blog Post Monday'!

With so much uncertainty still hovering over us in post lockdown life, the majority of Brits have opted for a staycation this summer.  Your usual popular tourist spots are just as busy and some areas are experiencing mini tourist booms for the first time, as people try to avoid the crowds.  Rumour has it that as a result, a lot of antiques shops and centres across the UK have been rather busy and are feeling the financial benefits of this.

Roll back the clock to the beginning of the pandemic and it was the internet that was proving to be the saviour of the antiques trade.  People who had been too frightened to shop online before had suddenly found the courage to give it a go and boom, antique businesses across the world were experiencing an increase in online sales.

There are obvious 'Pros' and 'Cons' for both, and that's what I'll be discussing with you this week.  So, as always, get that kettle on, fire up that dial up and let's see what comes out on top, in the battle of 'Internet' vs 'Shop'...

Ahoy there shipmates!  It's that time of the week again!

Well, I've been a busy boy this week.  I had a special item of mine valued and put in for auction, so I'll be telling you a little bit about that, and I also ventured out for a little bit of an antiques rail trip.  I visited some lovely shops and centres, and a blimmin' awful one, which I'll be venting about too!

So, as always, get that kettle one, hold on to your hats and let me tell you about my antique rail trip... *cue the jingle*

Welcome once again to another instalment of 'Blog Post Monday'.

This week, I'm going to talk about a subject that I've wanted to talk about for a long time, but have felt too nervous to because of the divisive nature of the subject.  Yes, that's right, I'm talking about 'Brexit'.

I should stress that this post is NOT about whether it was right or wrong for the United Kingdom to leave the European Union.  Quite simply, this post is about the effect that Brexit has had on your antiques business, whether that's positive or negative.  I will be sharing my own personal experiences with you and I hope to encourage you all to share yours too.

So, as always, get that kettle on and buckle yourselves in because this could be quite the ride!