I stood Newark for 13 years. You have to be there at the crack of dawn, not only to set up your stand but to get a handle on what your favourite dealers are selling so that you can cherry pick what you want before the gates open and ideally before they\u2019ve unpacked their vans.<\/p>\n
You might also like<\/strong> Drew Pritchard on his book, favourite antiques and upcoming ventures<\/a><\/p>\n Every month for 13 years I slept in the back of my battered old van, fully clothed, in a sleeping bag with my Russian army hat pulled down tightly on my head. I only stopped when, at 36 years old, I awoke one morning to find that a leak from the roof had frozen on my head in a solid ice drip.<\/p>\n During those years I made decent money but dealing always had its losses and gains. One good choice at an antiques fair would pay for 14 mistakes. But even when I was making good money, I\u2019d find myself sleeping in my car and driving hundreds of miles a week.<\/p>\n Competition time!<\/strong> Win a copy of Drew Pritchard\u2019s book Man With A Van<\/em><\/a><\/p>\n When I trekked one time to the Hebrides with a couple of the guys, I started to wonder if things were getting out of hand. We had heard that there were 36 beautiful opaline ceiling lights dating from 1910 we could buy from a church on the Isle of Islay \u2013 but there was a big catch. The journey to get them would involve a drive followed by two boat crossings. It would take 24 hours one way.<\/p>\n Now, if there\u2019s one thing I hate it\u2019s being in a boat on the sea and we were crossing on open-deck vessels holding just 10 cars, in winter, in choppy waters. We were blown to bits and everyone was unwell. But when we reached dry land we went straight to the church to get the lights, which were just as good as we\u2019d been promised.<\/p>\n You might also like<\/strong> inside Drew Pritchard\u2019s converted Methodist chapel<\/a><\/p>\n The guy selling the lights on behalf of the church was amiable. \u2018I know you\u2019ve had to come a long way, so I\u2019ll take that into consideration with the price,\u2019 he told us, and we bought the lights for half their value.<\/p>\n We thought our luck had changed. But that night, the weather took a turn for the worse and we ended up being stranded on the island for a whole week. We stayed in a local pub. There was nothing to do and no licensing laws. Needless to say we ate and drank the profits before a 15-hour drive home after another rough boat crossing, knowing that, even if we sold the lights for the best price, we\u2019d be penniless.<\/p>\n While not all of our adventures paid off, the disasters never deterred us. I love old cars and I also deal in them. A friend of my father\u2019s knew that I was into old Volkswagens and told me about a seriously rare split-screen pick-up truck that he had once owned.<\/p>\n \u2018I\u2019d love to see a picture of it,\u2019 I told him, having only ever heard about three or four in existence. We were in north Wales visiting him in Corwen. \u2018Don\u2019t worry about a picture,\u2019 he told me, \u2018it\u2019s still here.\u2019 \u2018Where?\u2019 I asked. To my amazement, they\u2019d buried it. \u2018If you dig it up and tidy up after yourselves, you can have it,\u2019 he told us.<\/p>\n So that\u2019s how we found ourselves on a windswept hill, putting spades to good use to unearth buried treasure. The truck was 50 or so years old and it had been underground for at least a decade. It was in a terrible state when we finally unearthed it, but it was a rare barn-door model and it was ours for free.<\/p>\n We pulled it out of the ground with the Morris Minor pick-up we had arrived in and sold it to a specialist restorer in Germany for a fair profit. I\u2019ve owned about a hundred Volkswagens throughout my career but that was the only one I\u2019ve dug up from the ground. Who knows where the next piece lies? Or where the thrill of the chase will lead us?<\/p>\n See Drew\u2019s vehicles at dpclassics.co.uk<\/a>.\u00a0<\/em><\/p>\n How I got into the antiques trade<\/a><\/p>\n Drew Pritchard\u2019s sofa collection with Barker and Stonehouse<\/a><\/p>\n Why patina is king<\/a><\/p>\n How to create country house style<\/a><\/p>\n How to be a successful antiques dealer<\/a><\/p>\n Why I love industrial design<\/a><\/p>\n The antique that got away<\/a><\/p>\n The thrill of an unexpected find<\/a><\/p>\n Must-find garden antiques<\/a><\/p>\n![\""Drew\"](\""https:\/\/images.immediate.co.uk\/production\/volatile\/sites\/19\/2022\/03\/Screen-Shot-2022-03-14-at-15.32.12-4895cb1.png?quality=90&resize=1024%2C1211"\" "\\"\"Drew\\"\/")
<\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/picture><\/div>![\""Drew\"](\""https:\/\/images.immediate.co.uk\/production\/volatile\/sites\/19\/2016\/04\/1-9d10506.jpg?quality=90&resize=320%2C240"\" "\\"\"1\"\\"\/")
<\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/picture><\/div>More from Drew Pritchard:<\/h2>\n