Picture an antiques dealer in your mind and you might come up with someone almost as ancient and dusty as their wares. But a new wave of millennial and Gen Z slash-career (musician/actor/whatever) Londoners are embracing the profession. More unusually, their digital presence is slim to none — not for them the casual impersonality of an Instagram shop. Rather, they can be found on sourcing trips across Europe, stalking auctions and selling their wares in person at antiques fairs such as the Decorative Fair at Battersea Park, the next instalment of which runs from May 12 to 17.
In a milieu where age and experience is a badge of honour, about a fifth of the 130 exhibitors are classed as “young” (read: from mid to late twenties to about 40). But what does it take to trade in rare furniture and art? And how do you hold your own against the seasoned pros? Here, a trio who are new to the trade — relatively speaking — tell all.
