Friday 24 June 2016

Cricket at Lord's

The cricket season is well and truly underway at Lord's Cricket Ground in St John's Wood. For those of you who are cricket widows or widowers, Alfies is just up the road from Lord's (take the 139 or 189 bus from Hall Road Abbey Road and get off at Church Street Lisson Grove) and is the perfect place to while away an afternoon shopping for antiques, collectables, 20th century design and much more.

Today, Thursday 23 June
Middlesex v Sussex
6.15pm
More information here

At Alfies we have a wonderful selection of Cricket related items, here's a small pick of what our dealers have on offer...

Signed 1950s cricket bat, from Eclectic Antiques & Contemporary

Cricket card print, framed, from Diplomat Treasures International at stands F042-45, F046-49 & F057/58


1950s Cricket bat tie bar, offered by Connie Speight


1950s silk scarf by Jacqmar designed by their in house designer Arnold Lever, highlighting
the rules and etiquette of cricket, offered by Tin Tin Collectables


Upcoming England internationals at Lord's in 2016:
Thursday 14 - Monday 18 July - First Investec Test match v Pakistan
Saturday 27 August - 2nd Royal London ODI v Pakistan

Visit Alfies Tuesday - Saturday, 10am-6pm.

Thursday 16 June 2016

New Dealer: Henrietta Harper Antiques & Vintage

We are pleased to announce we have another new dealer who has recently joined Alfies: Henrietta Harper.

Can you tell us a little bit about yourself and your company?
I have always been fascinated and surrounded by beautiful objects. I had also recently been spending a lot of time in auctions and simply couldn't help myself but buy everything and anything that caught my eye, and I quite quickly got to the point where I had more than enough objects to easily fill a little shop. I spent a lot of time researching it all and I knew everything there was to know about the items that I was clogging up my apartment with, and so I decided to move out of working in art galleries and focus all my time and energy on buying and selling the objects that I was truly passionate about, and here I am. 

How did your interest in antiques develop?
I think it's in the blood! My Father has been an antique dealer all my life and my childhood was spent crammed into the back of estate cars with all his antiques, paintings, and anything he could physically fit in the car. As I got older I actually started to appreciate the things he filled the house with and gradually spent more and more time learning about his pieces with him. When I eventually left school, I went straight into the business instead of University and just never left. 

Contemporary jug vase, offered by Henrietta Harper Antiques & Vintage

Contemporary ribbed vase, offered by Henrietta Harper Antiques & Vintage



What is the most interesting part of your job? 
Buying! Auctions are just so exciting to me and I get to play with my competitive nature a little. I also get to learn about a fresh, new object every time I buy something, which is what this business is really all about.   

Do you have any personal favourites in your collection?
I think my favourite item I have at the moment is quite a rare 1920s Art Nouveau pewter and green glass vase by Liberty & Co. It was an item that I hadn't spotted on first look at an auction catalogue and it caught my eye at the last minute whilst I was bidding on other things and it turned out to be pretty extraordinary 

1920s Art Nouveau vase by Liberty & Co, available at Henrietta Harper Antiques & Vintage

If you could own any piece of art from history what would it be?
I would absolutely love to own Joan Miros 'Femme devant la lune' from 1944. It used to hang in the last gallery I worked for and I just became obsessed with it. It is actually my phone screensaver and I just think it's a magical piece of art. 

Joan Miro 'Femme devant la lune'


Do you have a favourite gallery to visit in London?
I really enjoy the quiet little galleries in strange locations where you can spend hours without anyone bothering you. I went to Maureen Paleys peaceful gallery in Bethnal Green recently which is one of my favourite spaces that I've been to but I still think the Royal Academy still has to take the title, especially with its wonderful history and the current summer exhibition.

What antiques, besides those you already deal in, would you be interested in collecting?
I really love Oriental pieces. Although I have bought and sold a few, I would really like to bring some more into my stock. They have amazing histories, the culture is fascinating and you can mix them beautifully with all sorts of other pieces, of any age.

Henrietta Harper Antiques & Vintage
Stand G100
Tel: 07593178005
Henriettaharper@yahoo.co.uk

Friday 10 June 2016

New Dealer: Creative Jewellery Company

This week we put the spotlight on Creative Jewellery Company, who have recently joined Alfies.

Can you tell us a little bit about yourself and your company?

I come from a family of talented creative people, grandmother who was wardrobe mistress and dressmaker at the Old Vic Theatre, father and grandfather bespoke tailors to the entertainment and sporting industry.

I started off training at the Central St Martins school in Aldgate, (formally Sir John Cass School of Art), gained further knowledge at a jewellery company in Greater London, after two years was asked to join an upmarket fine jewellery company, in London's fashionable Marylebone High Street whose clients included celebrities and dignitaries, I setup a workshop there where I developed my abilities of designing and making fine jewellery to understanding and interpreting customers'  needs and requirements in the field of jewellery making, repairing and restoring.

Being passionate about jewellery making is something that comes from the heart (in my opinion).

My work varies from a silver range of jewellery with a very unusual range of "ripple effect" items, where no two pieces are the same, to alterations and restorations, (example, a ring that was driven over and was completely flat, was restored to its former glory rather than being scrapped), to creating unique bespoke creations from paper sketch to works of art.

Do you have a personal favourite in your collection? 

The diamond heart and tsavorite hinged bracelt, the Mimi Cross, the diamond flower & petal ring which is made of 29 seperate components of platinum, the Gold Flying V guitar pendant and the silver "Elements of inner earth" pendant, that took many attempts to create the design I was looking for.

"Elements of inner earth" pendant

Gold flying V guitar pendant

Mimi Cross


What is your favourite metal to work with ?

I prefer 18 carat gold and platinum, but love silver as well.

You also do jewellery repair are there any differences in doing repairs to new, vintage and antique jewellery?

Yes, there are many differences, most important for me is checking for any previous repairs before starting work on the item.

Crushed Ring
Crushed ring being repaired
Crushed ring restored to its former glory

What would you recommend for maintenance and care of jewellery, gold and silver?

TLC, treat jewellery with care, clean and gently polish the metal with soft silver or jewellery cleaning cloths, never use oil based solutions for cleaning any stones... Always get advice from a reputable jeweller for liquid cleaning any jewellery with stones in.

What is your favourite part of the job in your work as a jewellery designer and repair expert?

That's easy, the look of joy and excitement on clients faces when they finally see the finished article, the hugs are bonus too.

It's a great feeling as a craftsman to be able to put a smile on so many people's face and to create objects of art that hopefully will last a lifetime.

Creative Jewellery Company
Stand S052
Tel: 07754 059 856



Friday 3 June 2016

New stand: Horner Antiques

Michael Horner of Horner Antiques has recently moved into a larger unit (G012-13) with a window display, which has been fantastically dressed in Chinese and Japanese blue and white. It is the first time these chargers have been seen in the UK.

We had a fascinating glimpse in Michael's stunning new stand...

Horner Antiques Chinese and Japanese blue and white window display

Horner Antiques specialises in Oriental wares and have an extensive range of items

Snuff bottles

Snuff bottles
Horner Antiques have a great selection of Chinese snuff bottles in various materials such as bone, porcelain, stone, jasper and china. They date from 1850 onwards. Up until cocaine was banned they were used for cocaine as well as snuff. They were not made for any particular market. Examples have been collected for centuries and can be found in all manner of colour and decoration from incredibly plain to very fancy, including erotic.


A selection of Imari

Imari
An extensive range of Imari, mostly dating to the Meiji period (1863-1912) are on display. Imari is a port in Japan, the wares are actually made in Arita and shipped through the port of Imari. They were shipped in packing cases that were stencilled Imari, hence when they came to the West they were thought of as Imari wares rather than Arita.


Kutani

Kutani
Horner Antiques Kutani collection. Ku means nine, Tani means Valley – 9 valleys - the name of the place the items come from in Japan. The traditional colour pigments used in Kutani ware are found in the area.


Horner Antiques
Stand G012-13
Tel: 07748 653 580
mhornerantiques@gmail.com

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