There can be two identical chairs, made on the same day by the same man, but one will be more desirable than the other. It might come down to a slight difference in shade, a quirk in the way it\u2019s made or the way it commands attention when it\u2019s placed in a room. Any of these things might give a piece an edge. These are the pieces that often appeal to other people too, and they fly out of the door when I come across them.<\/p>\n
I\u2019ll never forget coming across a tiny, very stylised robin at a stained-glass dealer once. I took one look at it and thought, \u2018That\u2019s a bit special.\u2019 When I got it back to work, I propped it up against a window to admire it. It had perfect proportions. No single piece of lead was too long or too short, everything was exactly right in the design: the colours of the stained glass, the way it was painted. You could see the years of craftsmanship, knowledge and skill in that little bird.<\/p>\n
You might also like<\/strong> 10 antiques you need to own according to experts<\/a><\/p>\n Later that day, a client we called Gothic Gary (because he\u2019d buy anything we had in that was Gothic) turned up. He spotted the robin instantly. \u2018What\u2019s that?\u2019 he asked me. \u2018This? It\u2019s just come in,\u2019 I told him. \u2018I think it\u2019s a bit special.\u2019 \u2018Name your price,\u2019 he replied without hesitation. Now, this guy has a very high-profile job. He drives an Aston Martin and always rocks up with a carrier bag full of cash. The stained-glass dealer I\u2019d bought the bird from wasn\u2019t sure what it was, so I put an ambitious price on it. If Gothic Gary was willing to pay, I would, of course, sell. To my amazement he took my hand off.<\/p>\n When I went home that night, something about the sale bugged me, and I looked through all of my books until I found the robin. I almost wished I hadn\u2019t. I discovered that it had come from one of the houses that the renowned English architect and Gothic designer Augustus Pugin had owned. Anything connected with Pugin is incredibly rare and highly desirable, and I\u2019d let it slip through my hands.<\/p>\n There\u2019s a saying in the antiques business that you should never buy and sell something on the same day, and it\u2019s good advice. You need time to investigate anything you suspect is good and check its provenance. I once bought a pair of stools from Forde Abbey in Somerset, which I was told were 19th-century reproductions. I only discovered after selling them quickly for a small profit that they were 18th-century originals worth a fortune. But I\u2019ve always held on to the fact that I knew these pieces were good enough to buy in the first place.<\/p>\n You might also like<\/strong> where to shop for antiques according to experts<\/a><\/p>\n I once found a beautiful pair of 19th-century West Country stick-back armchairs in their original green paint. The unique way they\u2019d worn made them that extra bit special and I fell in love with them. We decided to put them into our concession at Liberty with a fitting price tag and they were, perhaps, the most expensive stick-back chairs in the world at the time. Every time I handled them there was a bit of magic and a small part of me wanted to put them into the back of my car to take home. But the same day we put them on the shop floor, they sold.<\/p>\n The guy who bought them fell in love with them too. He understood them and didn\u2019t flinch at the \u00a36,500 price tag. They went to the right buyer, at the right price. Through the learning that follows the mistakes, you have the knowledge to bring it all together as a dealer and it all pays off, just in time for you to start the search for that extra-special piece once more.<\/p>\n Inside Drew Pritchard\u2019s converted Methodist chapel<\/a><\/p>\n Drew Pritchard\u2019s sofa collection with Barker & Stonehouse<\/a><\/p>\n How I became an antiques dealer<\/a><\/p>\n How to be a successful antiques dealer<\/a><\/p>\n How to create country house style<\/a><\/p>\n Why patina is king<\/a><\/p>\n Drew Pritchard on his book, favourite antiques and upcoming ventures<\/a><\/p>\n Why I love industrial design<\/a><\/p>\n The thrill of an unexpected find<\/a><\/p>\n Must find garden antiques<\/a><\/p>\n Behind the scenes at an antiques fair<\/a><\/p>\n![\"""\"](\""https:\/\/images.immediate.co.uk\/production\/volatile\/sites\/19\/2022\/03\/Screen-Shot-2022-03-21-at-11.19.04-0989e39.png?quality=90&resize=620%2C825"\" "\\"\"\"\\"\/")
<\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/picture><\/div>More from Drew Pritchard:<\/h2>\n