Antiques shipment arrived!!!

After much anticipation our shipment of antiques has finally arrived!  It seems like an age ago that I hit the ground in England, scouring the country side looking for the most fabulous and interesting antiques.  We are all unloaded and are closed until 10am Saturday the 6th September while we unpack, sort everything and get set up.  We are sure to be overflowing with treasures.

Until next time, 

Masterpiece antique art and design fair in London

We decided to give ourselves a "day off" and visit the wonderful Masterpiece London fair which exhibits some of the top dealers from around the world.  I was so excited walking up to the facade of the fair, which is actually just a pop-up tent, can you believe?  It looks like a Georgian brick three story building.

The red carpet signifies the prestige of the event.  I couldn't wait to get inside.

This was the type of antique I was expecting to see, Italian marble statues and the like.  And I was not disappointed.  There was also amazing furniture, art, vintage cars and plenty of jewellery stands (most of which with Cartier jewels from what I could see).  

But my favourite exhibitor was Robert Young who specialises in folk art such as this amazing Noah's Ark complete with animal figures. 

And I loved his French artists model displayed on an early table.

 And this folky figure.

I know someone in particular who would love this piece, which was described as a "fantasy temple" on a furntiure dealer's stand.

And lastly this horse made it into my favourite objects, it is a life-sized Indian horse and was just beautiful.  Masterpiece London was like a great museum the only difference being everything was for sale!  My splurge?  A cup of tea and a fudgy chocolate brownie...

melbourne antique fair highlights including country oak dresser!

I have returned from the AAADA (Australian Antiques and Art Dealers Association) antiques fair which was held last weekend in Melbourne at the Royal Exhibition building in Carlton Gardens.  I may have seen you there, but if not, I have taken some pictures to give you an idea of what I was involved in and a few of my favourite pieces... 

Image from here

During fair set up, I managed to sneak away to buy some flowers on Brunswick Street for Richmond Antiques' stand.  I was told to go to Vasette, an amazing florist shop that had every type of flower imaginable.  A flower lover's dream, that is for sure.

The choice was difficult but I settled on some white hyacinths, I love white flowers.  I just love white, full stop.

The hyacinths were for a pair of 19th century garden urns, I wanted to make the flowers look "planted" rather than displayed as you would in a vase.  But don't worry, they all had water underneath the moss.

This is the country area of Richmond Antiques' stand, it was much admired during the event.

Including this gorgeous English c.1800 country oak dresser with green plates.  Isn't it delightful?

And this is a French folding wine tasting or vendange table, originally used during the wine harvest seasons in France.  It is in cherrywood and has a wonderful patina. 

An English 19th century decoy duck kept watch over the stand.  Or maybe he did a lot of people watching?

 Also to be found on Richmond Antiques' stand were these amonites on museum stands, as well as a whale vertebrae. 

 Next door to us was this Persian hall runner, I fell in love with it immediately and drooled over it throughout the weekend.  It was exhibited by Behruz studio.

More rugs with Behruz studio.  I love the colours of the two rugs on the left wall.  They were a little outside my budget (and would probably not fit any of my rooms) but it costs nothing to admire...

 This marble figure is Italian, was originally part of a fountain and dates to the 16th century.  It was exhibited on Brans stand, all the way from Perth.

More delectable items on the carefully edited Brans stand.  I love the blue and white Chinese porcelain pots with the orchids.

Image from here

Another stand that I admired belonged to Brownlow Interiors.  Alexandra Brownlow did a fantastic job setting up her stand to show how antiques are used to great effect in the modern interior.  Above is a 19th Century centre table with a marble top, with a pair of giant clam shells. 

Image from here

Image from here

Alex has a natural flair for decorating as you can see from her display, above. 

Overall, I had a tiring but very enjoyable time at the antiques fair.  I returned to Tasmania to a busy store at The Drill Hall Emporium, hence the delay in sharing my images.  I hope they were worth the wait and that you get a bit of a feel for what went on at the AAADA antiques fair...

antique shopping and French linen in country Victoria

At the beginning of the month I had the opportunity to explore one of my favourite getaway places, the Daylesford area in country Victoria. I once again stayed at Hepburn at Hepburn (see previous post). Would you believe it if I told you that I was there for work purposes? Probably not. Especially as I did seem find the time to visit some of my favourite stores, including Lavender and Lace Living in the town of Maldon, north of Daylesford. Dianne who owns the store is surrounded by gorgeous vintage and new linens and lace for the homemaker and romantic in us all. Check out the monogrammed linen shades on the lamp, above.

I also love the detail in this panel, above, with the embroidered chickens.

Damask tablecloths are beautifully laundered and are piled up on a table. These tablecloths are becoming increasingly hard to find, I have noticed.

More antique linens stacked into a shelf. Very dreamy!

And antique floral quilts. Perfect for a little girl's room.

Another shop I couldn't wait to visit since reading about it in the April 2011 Australian Country Style was Peonies and Picnics, in the town of Daylesford. Look at the wonderful shopfront, above.

Peonies and Picnics is a delight inside, filled with all sorts of goodies including antiques, vintage wares and carefully selected gifts and home wares.

A central table in the middle of the store with soaps and other gifts.

Spanish oil jars are displayed on a sideboard.

A basket filled with brushes. I have such a brush at the sink for scrubbing potatoes and find it very useful.

And a polished milk churn.

The gorgeous window display must have great success in tempting people passing by in to the store. Who could resist?

Peonies and Picnics also stocks a selection of vintage French including ticking. Adjoining the store is a little cafe, a perfect little reward for a tiring day exploring!

antique inspiration in Sydney

On a recent trip to Sydney, and with only a few days to spend, I couldn't resist a hunt in a few antiques stores.

This lamp has been made from an 18th century shoe. Isn't it exquisite?

And even more stylish is this lamp made from an plaster corbel. In this case, it can double as a bookend.

These light shades are actually 19th century French glass garden cloches. We have sold out of such cloches in our store, but I will be on the hunt for some more on my next overseas buying trip.

The pair of mirrors above are made from from original zinc window pediments from French châteaux which are known as oeil de boeuf or "bull's eye". These are highly sort after. I didn't check the price but they would have been pretty expensive.

I fell in love with these gorgeous marble topped side tables. They appear to be Italian and early 19th century . Wouldn't they be great as bedside tables? Or perhaps in a very decadent bathroom or dressing room...

And this little antique shop guard dog found a friend in this tiger. Hmmm. Whilst I was watching the dog sniffed around the tiger's head and then jumped back in surprise and fright as one of the tiger's whiskers happened to tickle his face. Too cute.

And we were fortunate enough to catch the wonderful Picasso exhibition at the Art Gallery NSW. It runs until March 2012. For more information visit here. A perfect way to finish a little break in Sydney.