About Us

We have always collected beautiful things: furniture - particularly arts and crafts, art, and ceramics.   That lifetime habit of sourcing interesting old antique, art and decorative items, restoring them as best we can, and passing them on for another generation of use, is what this shop is about.    

Sourcing

We buy what we like:  anything interesting, or beautiful, or well designed.  Most of it is antique or vintage, but we do include the occasional contemporary item that fits the bill.  The common denominator is good quality and craftsmanship.  

We love the sense of history that comes with old furniture: how and when it was made, the craftsmanship and materials used to make it,  how and who it was used by.  It all adds to the character of every piece we source and sell.

We think mixing it up is important.  Antique furniture can work well alongside mid-century modern and contemporary designer pieces.  It can also look great in modern apartments complementing high street design. Old furniture and new fabrics can make a stunning combination.  We try to source pieces that work equally well in contemporary and traditional settings. 

Our Ethos

We take good design for granted in the 21st century.  Every product that is mass produced today has had a significant design effort built into it.  What is not always valued is that skill, craftsmanship and quality in many things from the past, and those artisan makers who produced them. We owe them a great debt for their efforts, the skills they have passed down, and the beautiful things they have left us with. It is important their legacy is still accessible and loved by future generations. 

Restoration

Our objective is to do what restoration we can, but without losing authenticity. The pieces are old, and will never be perfect, but we do try to make them as good as they can possibly be, given their age and history. 

Furniture renovation: we clean it,  correct any structural problems, minimise any surface imperfections and apply the most appropriate finish.  All the restoration is done professionally by skilled craftsmen in the Northwest of England. 

Upholstery: where it makes sense we will keep the original upholstery.  If not, then we mix the old furniture with contemporary fabrics, but try to keep the upholstery itself as authentic as we can.  All our upholstery is done by specialist upholsterers in the North West.   

Fabrics:  where new fabrics are required,  we choose the best quality: velvets by Romo and Linwood, kaleidoscope colours by Timorous Beasties,  Manuel Canovas and Andrew Martin prints,  traditional French toiles and Irish linens.   

Framing: we sell any paintings in their original frames. If you would like to have them re-framed, we can do that for you.  Please contact us to discuss specifications and quotations for framing. 

Ceramics: we source ceramics for their aesthetic appeal rather than their collectible value.  If there is any historic damage or restoration, we will make that clear in the listing. We don't undertake any restoration work on ceramics ourselves. 

Selling

Our main outlet is this shop.  We have a warehouse in Cheshire where we collect and restore the stock,  and a base for distribution in London.  If you would like to view specific items at the warehouse then please contact us to make an appointment for viewing.