\u2018Right, so, I\u2019m at this auction in Wolverhampton, and there\u2019s a lot that\u2019s made up of three boring white bedside\u00a0cabinets and an ordinary-looking plywood chair. But I know that chair is treasure; it\u2019s an original Robin Day Hillestak. The auctioneer opens the bidding at \u00a33.50.<\/p>\n

While thinking to myself, \u2018Are you for real?\u2019 I calmly raise my hand. Someone else bids \u00a34, then I\u2019m in for \u00a34.50 \u2013 and I\u2019m expecting this to rocket at any moment \u2013 but it continues to go up by 50p at a time! At \u00a37, the lady I\u2019m bidding against says, \u2018No.\u2019 \u2018\u00a37 once, \u00a37 twice\u2026\u2019 \u2013 surely someone\u2019s going to jump in and bid me out of the water any second now \u2013 \u2018Sold!\u2019 and the auctioneer\u2019s hammer goes down.<\/p>\n

You might also like<\/strong> antiques fairs and auctions around the UK this month<\/a><\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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Seven pounds for an original Robin Day stacking chair. It\u2019s worth about \u00a3400! That\u2019s the kind of auction I love. Where there\u2019s a load of fishing rods, some broken golf clubs and then an iconic chair in among everything. I love the joy of finding those hidden gems.\u00a0They are the types of auctions that you see advertised on social media \u2013 the ones that are just small, one-person set-ups.<\/p>\n
If they are doing house clearances, they are worth checking out. Anyone that does house clearances and has an auction associated with it, they can sometimes turn up the real gems. And they don\u2019t necessarily know what they\u2019ve got. They don\u2019t know about Robin Day, or Ernest Race<\/a>, and if you can identify it, and you can get it, then that\u2019s the real value of your passion for antiques and good design.<\/p>\n
You might also like<\/strong> George Clarke interview: his converted 1979 caravan and love for Robin Day furniture<\/a><\/p>\n
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There\u2019s this other auction that I love going to \u2013 and I\u2019m keeping the details of this one under my hat because it\u2019s so good \u2013 and it\u2019s the best I\u2019ve ever been to. I missed it last time and boy, did I miss out. There was original Gordon Russell furniture that had come from a nunnery. Some pieces were marked with things like \u20181 out of 10\u2019 \u2013 my friend got a sideboard for under a fiver!<\/p>\n
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I never sold that chair; it\u2019s one of the few items that I\u2019ve kept. Who can say they\u2019ve bought a Robin Day chair for \u00a37! And that lady I was bidding against? She actually wanted the cabinets! I was happy to give them to her.\u2019<\/p>\n
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