- Jul 1, 2024
- 7 min read
Updated: Sep 23, 2024
No, this is not meant on the dark web. Better. These are the dealers I look to when decorating my home.
So obviously, Lighting, Paintings & Mirrors, first stop Tat. Second stop Tat. Third stop, these guys. The antique world is too desperately exciting to stick to one dealer. So I thought a list of my favourite dealers was a mighty clever idea. These are the dealers who I really admire, whose taste impacts my own and whose pieces I constantly covert.
This is part one in the series, so by the end, you should have an exceedingly useful index of shops and dealers to turn your eye to when needing something for yourself or a client.
How would you describe your style of collecting? E.g. What do you specialise in, what sort of aesthetic?
“It’s all instinct. I try to be brave when buying and ask people to be brave in their choices. My current obsession is one-off obviously hand made sculpture and furniture. With a finely blurred line between the two.”
What is your favourite piece in stock you have at the moment? Please could you provide a picture?
“A pair of 1930s painted plywood side tables. They remind me of British seaside art deco architecture. And cast the most excellent silhouette.”
How would you describe your style of collecting?
“I don’t collect. I’m a dealer. Everything is for sale. Ask and I’ll give you a price. I tend to buy intuitively and preferably when I’m stood in front of it - in ‘cold blood’ as the saying goes. I don’t like buying from photos and almost never from auctions I like there to be a price on the thing I’m looking at. There are guidelines that I stick to - originality, quality, surface, and form. But it’s not hard and fast. Above all I try to buy the best things I possibly can. Even if it’s too much money. I have to tell myself a mantra sometimes when buying and there are a couple of maybes: “always buy the good thing.” I do make mistakes, of course - it’s the nature of the profit motive.”
What do you specialise in, what sort of aesthetic?
“I’m not sure I have one. I buy across the board. I like utilitarian furniture - kitchen furniture in particular; it’s the room where the action is.”
What is your favourite piece in stock you have at the moment?
“A slab top Cricket table, Welsh, late 18th Century / early 19th Century - humble but at the same time masterly and miraculous that it has survived. Again, it cost all the money, but Ive yet to see a better one. Also, recently I’ve been buying north country quilts. I like the design, detail, craft and frivolity - decoration for people who knew only a lifetime of arduous grind.”
How would you describe your style of collecting? E.g. What do you specialise in, what sort of aesthetic?
“We're very eclectic - mixing pieces from the 17th century through to the late 20th century. Predominantly French and Italian, but our collection is rather international. Stylistically, as you would expect given the above, this ranges from early primitive/folk and utilitarian, through to Art Deco and postmodern. We like so many different styles personally, and work with so many interior designers with different briefs, that it feels right to keep our collection varied.”
What is your favourite piece in stock you have at the moment? Please could you provide a picture?
“Our favourite piece at the moment is a superb French modernist steel desk from the early-mid 20th century - we’ve never seen anything like it. It’s likely by a notable designer, as it’s so stylish and well made, but currently unattributed.”
How would you describe your style of collecting? E.g. What do you specialise in, what sort of aesthetic?
“Though it’s become somewhat of a cliché in the antiques world, I buy what I like. It might sound trite, but beauty lies in the eye of the collector; my overarching philosophy doesn’t go much further than seeing something beautiful and buying it. Place and geographic context are integral to my style; where I source pieces plays a big role in exactly what beautiful things I see. Stock is sourced on regular trips to France and throughout Europe, with our depot in Normandy serving our London studio. As a consequence, there is a Gallic flavour to the majority of the collection.
Relatedly, I’m a big fan of where rustic meets modernism, with the likes of Charles Dudouyt, Francis Jourdain and Charlotte Perriand serving as big ongoing inspirations. This means that certain aesthetic threads run through the collection: I tend to value simple, functional pieces, often with humble origins. Ultimately, however, my collection is not confined to any one style or period– farmhouse tables sit happily alongside 20th-century design, lighting, and sculpture.”
What is your favourite piece in stock you have at the moment?
“It’s hard to choose, but, right now, a favourite recent find is a beech and straw lounge chair, very much in the manner of Charlotte Perriand’s No 21 Chamrousse model. Perriand is a true icon of 20th-century design. Her style, often inspired by the bold interplay between urban sensibilities and rural design values, still seems so contemporary. Most importantly, industry and craft each have their place, a constant blend of influences but always accessible.
I think that’s why I like this piece so much. Its structure evokes the peasant armchairs of rural France, both in the overall line and in the carving of the wood and other details worked by hand, and recalls Perriand's organic use of material and form. The craft is wonderfully careful but accessible; it plays to my belief in the importance of authenticity and the honesty of things.”
How would you describe your style of collecting? E.g. What do you specialise in, what sort of aesthetic?
“I collect ceramics and other homeware smalls from across Europe and sometimes beyond. A mixture of practical and decorative pieces that are usually made by hand, always in natural materials and mostly of organic forms and tones. I never set out sourcing pieces with an intended aesthetic in mind, but a distinctive style always forms as I start to gather pieces I'm drawn to. There is so much pleasure in sourcing items that are made decades apart yet sit happily together today.”
What is your favourite piece in stock you have at the moment? Please could you provide a picture?
“A favourite at the moment is a large-footed vessel made by the Bamana people of Mali. Their pottery is exclusively made by women, using techniques and knowledge refined through generations. Their vessels are not easy to come by so I’m very pleased to have one. It’s a lovely combination of utilitarian design and meaningful decoration. The raised nubs of this vessel signify its contents are not to be touched, so this was possibly used to make and store medicines.”
How would you describe your style of collecting? E.g. What do you specialise in, what sort of aesthetic?
“Our buying style is eclectic. Our tastes are always changing and developing with our knowledge. Enjoying Brutalist design at the moment.”
What is your favourite piece in stock you have at the moment? Please could you provide a picture?
“The Maxi Lane bench is currently our favourite piece.”
How would you describe your style of collecting? E.g. What do you specialise in, what sort of aesthetic?
“We are drawn towards anything folky and love the character and texture of a hand-made piece of furniture. It's interesting to think about who made it and where it has come from.
We’d like to think our style is pared back and unfussy and like to mix pieces of a similar aesthetic from around the world.”
What is your favourite piece in stock you have at the moment? Please could you provide a picture?
“One of our favourite pieces in at the moment is a Swedish marriage chest which would have been a wedding gift in 1819 which has been hand-painted with the couples initials and floral motifs. It probably would have stayed with them their whole lives!”
How would you describe your style of collecting? E.g. What do you specialise in, what sort of aesthetic?
“I would say my style of collecting is pretty all over the place, that cliche antique dealer thing of basically just buying what takes your fancy. My tastes seem to change quite a lot but if I had to pick at the moment I would probably go for early 20th century Modernism, Art Deco, postwar art and a bit of Postmodern.”
What is your favourite piece in stock you have at the moment? Please could you provide a picture?
“My favourite piece in stock right now would have to be this French folding dining table.”
How would you describe your style of collecting? E.g. What do you specialise in, what sort of aesthetic?
“Mantel specialises in Art Deco and Modernist objects and jewellery focusing on timeless, distinctive and conversational pieces with a sculptural sense of proportion. I am mostly drawn to Art Deco, Secessionist and Modernist design and mixing these references - I enjoy the balance between decorative details and refined forms - but I like to keep an open mind when I’m out buying. You never know what you’re going to find that gives you that feeling, and I love that unexpected element.”
What is your favourite piece in stock you have at the moment? Please could you provide a picture?
“At the moment I’d say my favourite piece is this Alexandre Prevot hammered pewter vase. I got it in France, and I always enjoy finding examples of this type of dinanderie work from the 1920s and 30s. I think it looks so beautiful on its own or holding some wilted white tulips!”
How would you describe your style of collecting?
“My tastes and stock are varied with several different styles and movements but mostly I specialise in 20th Century British Studio Pottery. That’s what makes my heart beat the hardest. Especially the potters that were inspired by the East such as Bernard Leach, Katherine Pleydell Bouverie and William Staite Murray. Their works have a beautiful calmness and poetry to them.”
What is your favourite piece in stock you have at the moment?
“My favourite piece of stock at the moment is this beautiful little Lucie Rie vase C1972. It was gifted by Rie to her florist in exchange for flowers. She used to fill her Hans Coper vases with peonies.”
How would you describe your style of collecting? E.g. What do you specialise in, what sort of aesthetic?
“Our house style:
Opportunistic salvaging of London’s broad and rich heritage without snobbery or datelines. Intelligent and ecologically aware, we are a conduit for reusing materials that don’t deserve to be carelessly condemned.”
What is your favourite piece in stock you have at the moment? Please could you provide a picture?
“My favourite item is always the most recently acquired. So today it is this (slightly atypical for us) grotto / garden furniture.”
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