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PRESENTS FROM THE PAST BOX RIVER NEWS. Your monthly Antiques and Art column from Art Expert, Iain Brunt.
Posted by Trudi on 01/05/2021
I have always loved small antiques shops. Many amazing finds over the years have been in these little blink and you’ll miss it, tucked-out-of-the-way gems. Even if you don’t
find something earth-shattering, very often you can find fascinating and inspiring trinkets and treasures that will never fail to delight. You can also usually guarantee that you’ll find knowledgeable advice and sometimes even a fascinat- ing yarn or two from the custodians of these retail delights who, more often that not, are genuinely pleased for you to walk in and take an interest in their wares, and who can always play the game when it comes to the fun of haggling over price.
Suffolk of course enjoys having a number of beautiful towns that seem perfectly set for these retail fascinations. As many of you obviously know, the TV series Lovejoy filmed widely in Suffolk, the producers having fallen in love with the unspoilt aesthetic of the rural villages such as Woolpit, Lavenham, Kersey, Bildeston and Long Melford with their antiques-trade connections (for me, no antiques-buying trip to Suffolk is complete without a trip to Timbers in Lavenham!).
Some years ago I petitioned the government to consider relieving the financial and regulatory pressure faced by many of our small antiques shops. I lobbied that they should pay less business rates and VAT.
Unfortunately, despite a well-publicised and well-coordinated campaign, our pleas fell on deaf ears and so of course many have since closed down and our high streets have begun looking more like ghost towns.
Antiques fairs began to materialise as a result with many fairs, flea markets and antiques-themed car boot fairs having a regular fixture in our industry calendars. Sadly, lockdown has meant that the vast majority of these disappeared as well.
And so, the internet has of course been a huge benefit throughout and many of the auction houses have done extremely well but with Antiques.co.uk I have always sought to represent the professional dealers as well as smaller collectors. It has been hard - as an industry antiques and fine art has always been about meeting the sellers and talking with the experts as a way of learning.
With the general opening of retail following the pandemic I would urge you all to (safely, of course) get out there and visit your wonderful local antiques shops. Rekindle the spark you get when under a pile of rugs you find a pile of old comics or books that you, or perhaps your parents, once read as children. Or perhaps you’ll find an item (a painting, a toy, or a random kitchen item for instance) that triggers a strong memory for you. Even if it isn’t of high investment-value, the joy seeing these items in your home on a daily basis can bring transcends their material worth.
I’d love to hear your stories of fun finds in antique shops, however large or small, expensive or cheap. Feel free to send them (and photos) to me at iain@antiques.co.uk and I’ll feature them in an upcoming Magazine section on Antiques.co.uk.
In the meantime, stay safe and enjoy the limited shops and cen- tres that are open and do keep visiting us to see our new items that arrive daily on www.antiques.co.uk
Let us keep this great British industry alive for the future generations.
https://www.boxfordsuffolk.com/_files/BRN/2021_05.pdf