Judith Miller's blog

Last week was very busy, what with the London Book Fair and a Feedback meeting with the Antiques Roadshow team at BBC TV Centre. It is amazing to think we start filming our new series on 26th April in Cheltenham.

All of this has meant that I haven’t had time to blog about Antiques For Everyone! It goes without saying that the fair was very enjoyable and it was great to spend time with so many of my friends in the antiques business, particularly Mark Hill. For two days Mark and I were also joined by my great friend from Octopus Publishing, Tracey Smith, who was kind enough to travel up from London to help us sell our books.

Tracey was particularly useful this year as every day Mark and I had to leave the stand to give a brief talk to a group of antiques lovers. Mark talked about the effect fashion has on value, and I talked about a range of things I’d seen at the fair, including 18th century blue and white porcelain, early 19th century Staffordshire pottery, Chinese shipwreck cargos and some truly amazing bronze and ivory figures.

I couldn’t resist talking about costume jewellery. My good friends, Alan and Sue Poultney of Scarab Antiques, offered to let me use some of their pieces to illustrate how beautifully designed so much costume jewellery is. One piece they gave me was a stunning Ben Amun necklace, similar to one worn by Joan Collins on ‘Dynasty’ in the 1970s (or could it be the very one?). It was perfect for my talk, as it had been beautifully finished and the back was as much a piece of art as the front. Perhaps, by now, you’ve guessed where this story is going, but if not I should tell you that (urged, I might add, by Tracey) I bought the necklace and wore it on my first day back in the office! I’m also planning on wearing it on a very special Antiques Roadshow, filmed at Kensington Palace, which is coming up soon.You can see me wearing the necklace on the right.

Unfortunately for my bank account, the necklace (and matching earrings) was not my only purchase! I also bought a necklace and earrings set by Matisse - one of my favourite costume jewellery manufacturers. Both the best and worst thing about antiques fairs, particularly Antiques for Everyone, is that there are always so many wonderful things to buy.

The summer fair is not too far away, either. It runs from the 19th to the 22nd of July and hopefully I will be there again.
 

The Spring Antiques for Everyone fair is only two weeks away and I’m really looking forward to it already!

It’s always a wonderful fair, but this year is going to be quite special. I’ve been told that the central area of the exhibition will be devoted to a special Downton Abbey inspired feature, which will include a dramatic period home and room set showcasing furniture and art from the early 1900s. The rest of the massive hall will, as always, be filled with a wide array of items, ranging from £20 kitchenalia right through to works of fine art worth well over £100,000. My friend Mark Hill and I are part of the team of specialists who will be vetting the objects in the show, which is always an interesting experience.

Mark and I will also be hosting special talks, one each, once every day, in which we’ll talk about our favourite pieces from the fair, share our advice about buying antiques and answer any questions you might have. If you can’t make it to the talk, Mark and I also have our own stand (G36) where we’ll be selling and signing the brand new ‘Collectables Handbook 2012-2013’. We’ll also have a variety of other Miller’s books, including the ‘Antiques Handbook & Price Guide 2012-2013’ and my ‘Costume Jewellery’ book, which I’ll also be very happy to sign. If you are at the fair, please do come and say hello – and hopefully you’ll find something in one of our books to interest you!

The fair runs at the Birmingham NEC from the 12th of April to the 15th of April. It’s a great venue and there are plenty of hotels near by if you don’t live near Birmingham.

Admission is £12 in advance and £15 on the day, including free parking and visitor guide.

For advanced bookings call 0844 581 0827 or visit www.antiquesforeveryone.co.uk.

Here are some pictures of what you could expect at the fair:

I was very excited to receive an email this morning about the newest selling exhibition at the London Silver Vaults in Chancery Lane. Entitled ‘Post War Winners: 60 Years of British Silver’ the exhibition will focus on the work of smiths such as Gerald Benney, Stuart Devlin and Robert Welch and features pieces from all thirty shops located within the vaults.

You may know by now that one of the two books I’m working on at the moment is about Mid-Century Modern design. Obviously, we discuss all these smiths, but there’s a particular focus on Devlin, who has, I think, designed some really amazing things in both silver and stainless steel. (Robert Welch also famously designed stainless steel objects – his were manufactured by Old Hall, whereas Devlin’s were made by Viner’s.)

Post-war silver is a really exciting collecting area that, as with most Mid-Century Modern design, is growing rapidly in interest. Before this period, most silver was manufactured by long-established firms with the actual designer often not credited. Less silverware was produced in general following the war, which led to more individual silver craftsmen setting up their own studios and workshops. Taking inspiration from abstract art and modernist architecture and design, these designers created new geometric forms with textural surfaces. They also explored a range of additional materials and decorative techniques, often from other cultures, to enhance the silver.

Apparently there will be a good selection of well-priced pieces alongside lots of important commissioned and one-off works to look at and (potentially) buy..

The exhibition is running from 28 May to 29 September 2012.

This time last week I was getting ready to lecture at Woburn Abbey Antiques Centre, which I must say went very well indeed. The group I was talking to was lively and Woburn is a really good place to go if you’re interested in antiques. As well as boasting an excellent standard of antiques, Woburn’s dealers are all friendly and have a very high level of expertise.

I was also able to meet up with one of my friends from the Antiques Roadshow, John Bly. John has a shop within the antiques centre and often gives lectures there. In fact, he’s doing another one on ‘Dining with Antiques 1600-1900’ on the 16th of April, which sounds fascinating.

I’m very much looking forward to returning myself for another lecture on the 11th of June. Information about buying tickets can be found here.

If you’re a BBC Radio Guernsey listener, you can hear me a lot sooner than that, as I’m booked in for a radio interview tomorrow morning at 9.40. I should be talking about our wonderful new book the ‘Collectables Handbook 2012-2013’. I hope some of you have already bought a copy, but if you haven’t – tune in tomorrow to find out why you should!

That’s all for today, but I hope to continue blogging regularly from now on.
 

We’re experiencing a (very small!) lull in our two new book projects at the moment, so I thought I would take the time to update my blog. Once again, I’m sorry for being so silent recently. Hopefully I’ll get up to speed with the blog again soon and, when the books come out, you’ll agree it was all worth it.

Last Thursday I had the pleasure of attending the Bath Decorative Arts Fair. It’s always a wonderful experience that I really look forward to. It’s a great opportunity to meet up with old friends and plays host to a wide range of objects for all price ranges. I had a really good look around the show before going out to lunch with Angela and Natasha from ‘Homes and Antiques’ magazine, our own Mark Hill and Kirstie Allsopp at a restaurant called the Olive Tree. If you are in Bath at any time in the future, I do recommend stopping there, as the food was delicious.

This year’s fair was especially special, of course, because it played host to the awards ceremony of the Britain’s Best Antiques Shops competition run by ‘Homes & Antiques’. The winners were chosen by the general public and the prizes were presented by our dear friend Mark Hill and Channel 4’s home and property guru Kirstie Allsopp. After the ceremony, I had plenty of time to chat to Kirstie, who is lovely. She’s also passionately committed to antiques and crafts. Apparently she bought her first antique aged nine at the Hungerford Arcade – one of the shortlisted antiques centres.

You may be interested to know one of the things I bought in Bath was a late Georgian rummer. Why should be you be interested? Well, you could win it! Readers of ‘Homes & Antiques’ will know that I have a column called ‘Personal Shopper’ in which readers are asked to write in and say why they would like to own the object I have chosen. The rummer I bought at the Bath Decorative Arts Fair should feature in a future issue. One of the things I’ve been doing today is writing my column for the June issue. The item I’ve chosen is actually two items - a really beautiful pair of 1920s silver Danish cufflinks. Watch for the chance to win those in June and the rummer later on in the year.