Page 43 - VE Magazine - Issue 42

How much of what we read in the press is true?
I’m public property. Out of all the things that
I have been in the press for, from the split up with my wife and various other things, to be perfectly honest with you, only 10 per cent of it is true. The rest of it has just been spun. Someone from the national press got in touch recently with a story they wanted to run about me, I told them there wasn’t any truth to it, and if they print it we’d find out and sue them, they didn’t print it!
Let’s bring it back to reality... You’re often seen flying round fairs, almost in a world of your own. Do you still get that buzz when looking for stock? Yes, I try to be the first through the door. Sometimes I buy incredibly well before
most people get in the place. I’m really
picky, although it doesn’t always look like it, because I can buy a lot at such speed. I don’t necessarily know what I’m looking for, but I know what I don’t want, that’s what makes it easier for me at fairs.
There’s thousands of people selling antiques in this country alone... are too many people ‘having a go’ now, or do you think the decent ones will still shine through, regardless?
In the 70s, 80s and 90s there were 20 times as many as there are now. This is nothing! The only difference these days, with Instagram and social media, is you’re more aware of it! I used to go to Newark, and there were five thousand stalls, and it took three days to get around. So, no matter what anyone says, there aren’t too many people in the business, there could never be too many in the trade. I can count on one hand the ones that I think are any good, or the ones that can keep it going long term, because it’s hard. It’s a hard business to stay in long term, it really is! Out of the younger dealers, the ones who have come through in the last 10 years, there are two who I think have something, and could keep it going. That’s just my opinion, what do I know? I’m not the oracle!
What advice would you give to someone who was thinking of starting up?
I’d say to anyone, get into it, have a go! Be totally honest with yourself, that’s the thing.
The worst thing to come from new dealers, is copying what’s already been done. There is no future in copying somebody else. The minute you step off and completely be yourself and do your own thing, everything will change. Just buy the things that speak to you, trust yourself, if you like it then buy it, the person you bought it from must have liked it, and the person before that. You can’t all be wrong! The best thing anybody can do these days, for new dealers starting out, is turn your computer off, turn Instagram off, turn it all off and just be true to yourself. Stop looking at other people’s websites, it’s the worst thing you can do, be yourself. Passion is everything, originality and soul.
How different is setting up an antiques business these days?
You get some people now, who decide they want
to be an antique dealer, so they open an Instagram account, 15 minutes later they have a Facebook page, half an hour later they open a Twitter account. In 45 minutes, they’ve created a persona and a business. It doesn’t work like that! You need a natural evolution through the business. I started at the bottom, at Newark, renting a 7.5-ton truck with a ton of stuff, sleeping in the back of the van, with £50 in my pocket. I was 23, and that one
fair really changed things for me. I spent the first 10 to 15 years desperately trying to learn the job, I had knowledge of the subject, but still had to learn the trade. These days you can start an antiques business in 45 minutes... it means nothing if
there is no knowledge and no skill. I have huge admiration for traditional dealers, who spend their life on the road.
www.vintagexplorer.co.uk ve / October-November 2018 / 43