News — Favourite Finds

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

Sometimes in this job you stumble across the most unbelievable pieces in the most unlikeliest of places.  Sometimes you find an incredible piece and decide not to trust your gut, and you then have to live with the subsequent regret of not having bought that special piece.  Well, both scenarios happened to me recently and I've been waking up most mornings since thinking about the item...  In fact, I've become so obsessed that I decided to spend countless hours researching the piece, despite not owning it and furthermore, without any means of finding or contacting the person who was selling it!  I've got myself in a right ol' pickle over this!

So, as always, get that kettle on and sit tight as I share with you an incredible piece, with an incredible story, with incredible value, which was offered to me and I regretfully turned down...

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

In North Yorkshire, nestled just outside of the lovely town of Knaresborough, you'll find the birthplace of Ursula Southeil, or as she's more famously known, Mother Shipton.  Born in 1488, Mother Shipton is England's most famous prophetess.  During her lifetime she made several premonitions about some of the most significant historical events to take place in England, including the Great Fire of London and the Spanish Armada.  This week's post is about the life of Mother Shipton and how a rather fascinating recent find of mine links in with her story. 

So, as always, get that kettle on and get your crystal balls out as we take a look at the story behind my recent find and its link to Yorkshire's own, Mother Shipton... 

Happy Monday one and all!  It's that time again... Time for another instalment of 'Blog Post Monday'.

During my rounds this week I found a rather fascinating piece.  A piece that I was drawn to through my love of folk art and the mystery of what the imagery on the piece could possibly mean.  I'm pleased to say that after some thorough research, I've managed to get to the bottom of this mystery and it's quite a fascinating story.  In fact, it has a connection to Britain's most important railway engineers of the 19th century and I just had to tell you all about it!

So, as always, get that kettle on, mind the gap and have your tickets out ready for inspection, as we examine a link between my folk art find and a significant event in the history of British and European railway...  *All Aboard...!*

Hello and welcome to another instalment of 'Blog Post Monday'.

I was visiting the Red House antiques centre in York last week when I got chatting to Matt and Val, the dealers behind the cabinet, 'Not Just Glass', in the centre.  We were sharing stories of recent finds and our love of folk art when they began telling me about their collection of something called 'Disaster Glass'. 

Now, I'd not heard of 'Disaster Glass' before so I was quite intrigued.  They told a story about one piece in particular which, while tragic, highlighted just how poignant these pieces are.  We agreed that this was something that needed to be shared, so I offered my blog writing services.

So, join me as we take a look at the stories behind these collectible pieces of glass, with one story so tragic, it's classed as the worst of its kind in British history...

!!! The following blog post contains material that may be traumatising to some audiences !!!

Welcome to another instalment of 'Blog Post Monday', a bank holiday special here in the UK.

I've been hard at it again this week travelling around searching for interesting pieces for you lovely lot.  One of my finds was a rather fascinating piece with a local Yorkshire connection and we all know how much I love a piece of local social history!  It's a motorcycle helmet which dates from around the 1920's / 30's with an intriguing hand painted map of Yorkshire on the front.  I've been doing some research into it and it just so happens that I may have found some rather tenuous links to a bit of a superstar of motorsport, so I've decided to dedicate this week's blog post to it.

So, as always, get that kettle on, start those engines and hold on tight as we go racing around Yorkshire...