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00:00On all new salvage hunters, with almost 60 years combined experience, three leading antique and salvage dealers are joining forces.
00:10From West Wales, country house connoisseur Alistair Driverer loves the traditional.
00:16Sorry about that, isn't it? It's nice. Welsh. It's handsome.
00:18Pine. Tavern settle. Don't try to sell it to me.
00:21No, I'm not trying to sell it to you.
00:23Edinburgh-based dealer Vicky Knott has an incredible eye for interiors.
00:27I just think it's ever easy.
00:30I just think that's brilliant.
00:31In London, Shere Khan Yamakja is a devotee of retro design and industrial salvage sourced from all over Europe.
00:39These were made by gents of Leicester, and it's a general post office one.
00:43While his brother Jay restores items back to life.
00:47There's nothing to rust, nothing to go wrong, and that's why these last forever.
00:52Together, they're travelling the country, on the hunt for the very best antiques and decorative salvage.
01:00This time, still fierce, a hundred-year-old lion in roaring condition.
01:105.30s, usually, you know, you get sun damage or anything, it's really good.
01:13Stunning Danish design lights up Shere Khan and Vicky's day.
01:18They've got white on the inside, but it's not just painted, it's an actual kind of thin layer of white glass.
01:23And experts' advice on how to clean those dusty vintage pieces.
01:28Probably need a little bit of a dust.
01:30I'll just use my bottom, shall I?
01:31Based in North London, dealer Shere Khan Yamakja and brother Jay have spent nearly 15 years building up a loyal customer base
01:47with a taste for industrial salvage and vintage lighting.
01:50All dealers have their favourite items, you know, their bread and butter items.
01:54With us, it's lighting, especially modern lighting, from about the 1930s onwards.
02:00And our client base is a young client base.
02:03We have young, male, new money, hardworking, and they have a specific style.
02:10They like the modern lighting, they like mid-century industrial lighting.
02:14So that's why we're always on the lookout for that kind of thing,
02:17because, you know, you need to feed your customers, that's how you make your money.
02:19Today, Shere Khan and Jay are up at the crack of dawn to cross London,
02:27keen to arrive early at a location where literally tens of thousands of vintage objects will be on offer,
02:33including plenty of the in-demand items they need to find for their customers.
02:39Sunbury Antiques Fair is always good.
02:41Always good.
02:41Yeah.
02:42Always good.
02:43Always pick up some lovely bits.
02:44Today, hopefully, will be a busy day.
02:47The weather's good as well.
02:48Yeah.
02:48As long as the weather's good.
02:50You get a lot of people, even like they'll come last minute.
02:53So, hopefully, we'll pick up some nice pieces.
02:59First opened in 1878, the Kempton Park Racecourse in Sunbury-on-Thames, Surrey,
03:06is known for the famed King George VI Chase, held every Boxing Day.
03:11But in more recent times, it's been the backdrop for an event that's become legendary in the antiques world.
03:17From modest beginnings over 40 years ago, Sunbury Antiques Fair is these days the largest and longest-running twice-monthly market in the country,
03:26with over 700 sellers shifting everything from artwork to furniture.
03:31And the best pickings are for those who are first out of the gate.
03:39Morning.
03:40You all right?
03:40So, we always come here, especially, like, before a fair, before a show, we'll come down here, we'll have a look around, sometimes go back with nothing, sometimes fill our boots.
03:50But there are those bread and butter things that we always sell, you know, good lighting, industrial clocks, everything can be bought here.
03:56Oh, that clock, that's quite nice, isn't it?
04:00It starts at 6.30. Being here that early is important, because that's when the good stuff, they just fly out, they're just gone.
04:13The Bakelite's good on it.
04:14So, there's a Smith's Bakelite clock, wartime or pre-war electric clock.
04:22The Bakelite is just perfect. It's kind of just lightened up a bit.
04:26The face of the clock has deteriorated perfectly as well.
04:29Smith's were very famous for the first electric clocks.
04:33They're one of England's most famous clocks, train stations, factories, big industrial clocks.
04:38This double-sided clock would probably have hung outside a shop or business.
04:45In the 1930s, Smith's English clocks were producing over 4,000 timepieces a week,
04:50and their designs were to be seen in domestic, industrial and public spaces.
04:55So, this clock comes with recognition and nostalgia.
04:59It's high on the bestseller list for Sheerkan, and with a little restoration from Jay, could be worth around £460.
05:06I'll put a new mechanism in there. I like the face.
05:12£150?
05:13£160.
05:16People that buy them, it kind of like takes them back.
05:18They're a very famous clock, which makes it very saleable.
05:26How much you got in that, mate?
05:27£50.
05:28You're good, weren't there?
05:29There's a Dugdills lamp there.
05:30Dugdills is a British company, it's an English company.
05:33They produced some amazing lamps, starting early 1900s, from brass banker's lamps with glass shades to, you know, hardcore industrial lamps.
05:44They were used by aerospace.
05:46You know, they were meant for really hard work, but they just were so aesthetically beautiful.
05:51There's one on the table there, with its original base.
05:54It's perfect.
05:57£120?
05:57£140 would be the best.
05:59You've got to know what your customers want, and every time we do them up and we put them online, they really don't hang around for long, they sell just like that.
06:14It's still got its original switch on it, and it's £140.
06:18We shake his head, it's a perfect buy, and that is why we come here.
06:21That is why we'll come here week after week.
06:28Mind you, man.
06:34What do you think they're for, lads?
06:35I'm guessing milk or wine.
06:37No.
06:38You wouldn't have milk bottles that high.
06:39Yeah, wine, I could see, but it's oil.
06:42Ah.
06:42For two-stroke engines.
06:44Okay.
06:45In the 30s.
06:45And you had a bottle of oil for every tank full of petrol.
06:48Okay.
06:49So they put a bottle of oil in for every tank?
06:52Yeah, because that's how two-stroke work, because it's got no oil in the sumps.
06:54Ah.
06:55Really nice.
06:57They're in good condition as well.
06:58What have you got on them?
06:5940 each.
07:01I'm not going to argue with that.
07:02Shaking man's hand.
07:03Thank you very much.
07:04Thanks for that.
07:05All right.
07:05Can we just put them on the back of the van?
07:07Yeah.
07:07And then I need to go around paying everyone.
07:09My secretary will be around.
07:11Secretary.
07:12Look at that.
07:12No respect.
07:14No respect whatsoever.
07:15There's two crates there.
07:17They're really nicely done.
07:18They've got cast aluminium, and it's got the name of the company, Nicholas.
07:22They can go into retail.
07:24They can go into someone's house, and they just look the part.
07:27When it's something to do with automobiles, when it's something to do with cars, motorcycles,
07:32anything like that, you've got those people who become potential customers.
07:40Look at that tiger.
07:41That lion.
07:42Lion.
07:43That's quite nice.
07:44It's all right.
07:45A bit of fun.
07:47Do you like it?
07:47I quite like it.
07:48If you like it.
07:48Let me go and have a look at it.
07:50You all right?
07:55Are the tail soft?
07:56Yeah, it's got like a soft tail to it.
08:01Do you know how old this is?
08:041930s.
08:041930s?
08:05Yeah, the fire side lion.
08:06It's a paper mache.
08:08Yeah, I'm saying for 1930s, usually you get some damage, it's really good.
08:13Yeah, no, he's really lovely.
08:16It is.
08:16It's got a really nice look to it, really nice.
08:19Lions, tigers, I love them.
08:22I love the big cats.
08:23I love the big cats.
08:23And then you've got a really well-made paper mache one, and there's some age to that.
08:301930s, the lady tells me, no damage.
08:33Absolutely beautiful.
08:34This statue is an early 20th century version of the fireside lion.
08:39In wealthy Georgian and Victorian homes, bronze or stone lions were often placed on either
08:45side of the fireplace, echoing the power and status of the British Empire.
08:49This papier mache lion has a more playful folk art feel, which would work for a modern
08:55or eclectic interior.
08:57Most likely a one-off, Shere Khan thinks it could fetch around 440 pounds.
09:04At a giant antiques fair in Surrey, brothers Shere Khan and Jay are trawling for the best-selling
09:29items their customers are always after.
09:31And a 1930s papier mache fireside beast has stopped Shere Khan in his tracks.
09:42Your best on that?
09:45140.
09:46140.
09:47The very best.
09:49All right, I'm taking it at 140.
09:51I'm chuffed with that.
09:53Yeah, it's really cool.
09:54Fantastic.
09:55Thank you very much.
09:56That's amazing.
09:57I'm so happy with that.
09:58Things like that, they're so collectible.
10:00People love them.
10:01You know, there's a varied amount of people that will go for that.
10:04And again, it's just one of those things that will just sell.
10:07It's one of our bread and butter items.
10:08You know, good papier mache, done properly, always sells.
10:12That's nice.
10:18It's a glass, look.
10:20What do you think?
10:21It's OK.
10:22It's a bit too far gone, but...
10:23Just the cigarette part is gone, but the Abdullah is still there.
10:26Yeah.
10:27That's nice, and it's in its original thing.
10:31Oh, nice.
10:32It is nice.
10:33Abdullah cigarettes, they used Turkish, Egyptian, and I think American tobacco as well.
10:40Early 1900s, it was a London-based cigarette company.
10:43It's a bit gone under part where it's the cigarettes, but it's worn out gracefully.
10:49Looks amazing.
10:50You know, we'll get it chained up, hung up, and it will look beautiful.
10:53Your very best on that?
10:55150.
10:55150.
10:56150?
10:58Yeah.
11:02120?
11:03I mean, it's quite rare.
11:07Yeah, OK.
11:08120?
11:08Yeah, 120.
11:09Lovely.
11:09Thank you very much.
11:11It's an Arabic name.
11:13It's a very popular name in the Middle East, so someone might not even go with the cigarette
11:17advertised.
11:18They might just go with the name, so you've got a whole new audience base that you can sell
11:23to.
11:25Me and my brother, back on familiar ground.
11:30Another good day.
11:31We always have a good day at Kempton, whether we're buying or selling.
11:34Got some really nice lighting.
11:36Got some clocks.
11:36Got oil canister, crates.
11:38The Abdullah cigarette sign is a little bit special, but I think today the best thing I bought
11:45is that paper mache lion.
11:47It's just so lovely.
11:48It's just adorable.
11:49I haven't bought something this good in a long time.
11:52This is one of the first markets we started selling at about 13, 14 years ago.
11:58And the good thing is, like, a lot of friends we've met over the ways.
12:02We end up meeting them here.
12:04You have a little chat, have a coffee, catch up on old times.
12:07You always have a good day here.
12:08I'm absolutely knackered, man.
12:15Seriously.
12:15No, it's been a good day.
12:16Yeah.
12:17Everything we bought, I'm happy with.
12:18Being here for 6.30, that is the only thing.
12:21But early bird catches the worm, as they say.
12:23While Jay heads back to London with a vanload of bestsellers to prep for sale,
12:30Shere Khan has more buying to do.
12:33This time, he's joining forces with Edinburgh-based dealer Vicky Knott,
12:37who, over decades, has honed her instincts for spotting the decorative
12:41but practical pieces she knows her customers are after.
12:45I think it's getting a balance when you're dealing and having a shop.
12:50You can't really fill it with sort of real kind of left-field buys all the time.
12:56You need to have a balance.
12:58And I like to have really good, practical, interesting items for the home,
13:03which keeps the balance.
13:05I don't know if other dealers are like this, but I can just look at something
13:08and I just go, yeah, that'll be in and out by the end of the day.
13:13It's just an instinct.
13:14It's 25 years of hard graft.
13:20Today, Shere Khan wants to introduce Vicky to a contract in North Yorkshire
13:24he thinks might be a good source for pieces that will appeal to her customers.
13:29Vicky, today we're going to see someone that I've bought and sold with.
13:34His name's Tom.
13:35He's got a company called 8 Man Interiors.
13:39I think I've seen him on Instagram, actually.
13:41He's a young dealer, he's in his early 20s.
13:45Really nice guy.
13:47So do you think it's going to be a day that I'll be able to get a few bits and pieces from him?
13:51Yeah, yeah, yeah.
13:52He's got a lot, I mean, you know, kind of visually decorative stuff.
13:56And personally, I think it could be more your day than my day today.
13:59Oh, really? Yeah.
13:59Yeah, yeah, yeah.
14:01And maybe, you know, I'll get some ideas from you as well.
14:03You never know.
14:04We're in North Yorkshire.
14:06We're in the depth.
14:06Yeah, yeah.
14:08Nunnington.
14:08This is a wee bit different for you, isn't it?
14:10For me, this is...
14:12I come from the concrete jungle.
14:14I come from London N17.
14:16This is beautiful for me, honestly.
14:18Do you feel a wee bit like your own home today?
14:20Yeah, I feel like I'm in a different country.
14:21The quiet village of Nunnington takes its name from a Christian nunnery built here over 1,000 years ago,
14:31likely at the site where the 17th century Nunnington Hall stands today.
14:36More recently, the village has become home to an extraordinary collection of vintage objects from the UK and beyond.
14:43Ape Man Interiors is the work of Tom Brennan.
14:45I've always been a dealer, from an early age, selling antiques and decorative items out of my bedroom at home.
14:56I remember getting told off so much for going and buying useless junk.
15:00But then I later found out that I could sell that useless junk for a profit.
15:05I used to sell anything from cameras to military.
15:08Over time, I moved to traditional English antiques, then on to Asian.
15:13I love the quality of some of it, the bright colours, the different materials, how rustic and worn items are.
15:21I have bought off Shere Khan before, but no, I've never dealt with Vicky, but very excited too.
15:30Hi, Tom.
15:31Hello, good to meet you.
15:32I'm Vicky.
15:33You all right, Tom?
15:34And good to see you again.
15:35Good to see you again. How have you been?
15:36Yeah, really busy, thanks.
15:37This is the first time I've been to his shop, which looks absolutely amazing.
15:40Welcome.
15:41Yeah, God, this is incredible.
15:43It's like an Aladdin's cave, really.
15:45Yeah.
15:45Is it Chinese, India?
15:47So there's a real mixture in here.
15:48We've got Tibetan, Korean, we've got industrial lighting, we've got a bit of French antiques.
15:54But mainly, it is India and China.
15:57The shop, it's a mixture of everything.
16:01You know, you've got industrial lights there and you've got fabrics from Africa.
16:04And it's all been put together and created in such a way that it all goes together.
16:10The way Tom has done this, his style is impeccable. It really is.
16:14God, I love that little basket.
16:16Is that one of the fishermen's type, we...
16:20That is known as a flower basket.
16:22Right, OK.
16:23So it'll be used for people to sell flowers at markets.
16:26Right.
16:26Hence the shape of it.
16:28It's Chinese, yeah?
16:29It's Chinese.
16:30They're Chinese, yeah.
16:31OK.
16:31Can I model it for you for a minute, Vicky?
16:32So, it'll be like this.
16:34Oh, yeah.
16:35That suits you, actually.
16:36It'll be like flowers like that.
16:37Do you like flowers?
16:37And you'd be sitting there and I'd come to the gentleman that you're with and I would
16:41say, a flower for the lady.
16:43Really?
16:43Yeah.
16:44And then I'd sell him a flower and he would give it to you.
16:46Lovely.
16:46In Chinese, of course.
16:47In Chinese, yeah.
16:48In Chinese.
16:48It's all handmade, all made of reeds, incredibly skilful it takes to produce.
16:54And they last a lifetime.
16:56I think that's quite a cool sort of decorative item, isn't it?
16:59What about age-wise?
17:00Do you know how old this is?
17:01This one, I would say, is about 1880s in that sort of region.
17:06What sort of money's in something like that, Tom?
17:09So, what does it say on the tag?
17:11So, we've got 120 on the tag.
17:13Yeah.
17:14For you, it could be 100.
17:16Right, okay.
17:19Mmm.
17:20I love it, but I don't say much.
17:22Oh, God, there's not much left in that for me, really.
17:26It's the type of thing you want to touch, you want to pick up, you want to look at.
17:29It's got curves, it's got little bits of wire on it.
17:33It's just so gorgeous.
17:34See, I'd like to have it just tipping over the 100, do you know what I mean?
17:39In the shop, that's the thing.
17:39Yes, I got what you mean, so you've got to be enough in it for you.
17:42Yeah.
17:43I could do 80.
17:46Yeah, go on then, I'll take it at 80.
17:48Thank you very much.
17:48Get the ball rolling.
17:49We'll get the ball rolling.
17:50In all honesty, there's not that much in it for me once we pay for everything.
17:55But it's just a really pretty item to have in stock.
18:00Have you seen these before?
18:02They're Indian flasks.
18:04Army, aren't they?
18:04Yes.
18:05Yeah, I used to sell them.
18:07Actually, leftover British army.
18:09Oh, are they?
18:09Produced in India, yeah.
18:10I like the way the enamel's kind of gone on some of them.
18:14It looks really nice.
18:14Well, they're surplus, they're left over.
18:17So they would have just been dumped and then they're brought back to life over here.
18:21What I love about them is, see, when you have them literally lined up like that,
18:27as an army with flowers, they look amazing, don't they?
18:30They do look nice.
18:30What kind of money are those?
18:31Retail, 15 apiece.
18:33Trade, they can be eight.
18:35And that is it.
18:37There's no movement on that.
18:39But I've sold hundreds of them.
18:42Every single one I get, they always go.
18:45You've got nine.
18:45Is that the only nine you've got?
18:46Oh, that's probably the last nine I've got.
18:49I'm going to take those.
18:50Yeah, I think you should.
18:51Eight quid each, I'll take those, yeah.
18:52Thank you very much.
18:53Not something that I would usually go for.
18:56It's not really me.
18:57But there was both something very decorative and very kind of masculine about it.
19:03So, you know what?
19:05I've been traveling around with Vicky and I think she's kind of rubbed off on me a bit.
19:09I think they kind of suit my style as well.
19:13These enameled water canteens were made in Calcutta by the Bengal Enamel Works Limited,
19:19which opened in 1921.
19:22Made for both British and Indian army personnel, they're highly decorative
19:26and could be worth around £20 each.
19:31We've not got very far in, have we?
19:33We haven't.
19:34It's a bit of mercury glass here.
19:36I just want to have a look at some.
19:40I think there's another mercury glass piece at the bottom as well.
19:42The green one.
19:43Oh, the green one.
19:44Yeah.
19:46Do you want to give me that and you can get that one out?
19:48Or do you want to just have a...
19:48Just hold on to that one.
19:50So, are these shades British?
19:52Yeah, they're British.
19:52The really famous and really expensive ones of these are the German ones by Zeiss.
19:57Icon.
19:59Zeiss, I mean, you'd know the camera lenses.
20:01The camera, yeah, yeah.
20:02Yeah.
20:03This green one is very nice.
20:04I can feel a lot of soul from an old piece of furniture, from an old light.
20:09That green on ceramics, that green on any piece of old furniture, everyone loves it.
20:15That green sells.
20:16And when it's aged like that, even better.
20:19What have you got on the green one?
20:19The green one could be 60.
20:22Do you?
20:25Take that.
20:25Thank you very much.
20:27And the silver one?
20:2940.
20:31Thank you for that.
20:32Could get with those.
20:33Good.
20:33Fantastic.
20:34Underneath the outer enamel layer on these glass shades is a silvery paint, which creates
20:40a reflective surface, visible through the glass from the inside.
20:44Although the silvery chemical mercury was not involved, the glass was known as mercury
20:49glass because of the brightness created when light hit the mirror surface inside the shade.
20:55Commonly used for strong lighting needed for shops, warehouses, and even outdoors, these
20:59lampshades have the vintage industrial feel Shere Khan's customers look for, and, with careful
21:05restoration, could be worth around £210 each.
21:09Honestly, this place is just so beautiful.
21:14And you haven't even seen the half of it.
21:15Oh, really?
21:16Oh, good.
21:17Tell me about these wee lamps.
21:19They are laboratory lights.
21:21Okay.
21:21They actually came out of a university in Guildford.
21:24Right, okay.
21:24There's something just quite nice about them.
21:26So, I've got a set of four and one individual.
21:30And they adjust up and down, do they?
21:32Yep, so they go up and down, and then the shade itself can go up and down and twist.
21:37That's why they make a good reading light.
21:38Yeah.
21:39£80 each.
21:40What's the trade on them?
21:42If you wanted the four that match, they could be...
21:47£65 each.
21:51£50 each wouldn't buy them.
21:54At a dazzling antiques collection in North Yorkshire,
22:06Shere Khan and Vicky are on the lookout for crowd-pleasers for their customers.
22:11Honestly, this place is just so beautiful.
22:15And you haven't even seen the half of it.
22:17Oh, really?
22:17Oh, good.
22:18And Vicky's discovered a set of four adjustable laboratory lights,
22:22which could make great reading lamps for a chic bedroom.
22:26£80 each.
22:27What's the trade on them?
22:28They could be...
22:29£65 each.
22:33£50 each wouldn't buy them.
22:37£55 would.
22:39For that matching four?
22:41For those four.
22:42And obviously, if you would like the other one, that could be another £55.
22:45It's nice when they're like, they can sell them as a pair.
22:49Well, I'm just thinking bedsides and stuff.
22:52Yeah.
22:52Do you know what I mean?
22:53That's it. Pairs always sell better.
22:55£250 for the five?
22:57Because there's not that much in them for me, really.
23:00Not that much.
23:00I'll do that for you.
23:01Yeah? Brilliant.
23:02I'll have them.
23:03Thank you very much.
23:05The little science lab lights that Vicky found, fantastic.
23:08You know, the way she's rubbing off on me, I found rubbing off on her.
23:11Tom really done her a favour on those.
23:13She's not going to hold on to those for long.
23:15They're going to go very quick.
23:17The enamels, they're quite nice, aren't they?
23:19The enamels, yeah, all Indian enamels.
23:21There's just something about them.
23:23I don't know what half of them say,
23:24but the colour and the picture on them is just right.
23:28I just like the fact that some of these have been repurposed.
23:30So what they've done is they've had an original enamel
23:33and then they've thought, we don't need that anymore,
23:35so we'll just use the back.
23:36ESC shoes, look.
23:38Manufactured in Bhatanagar.
23:40I'm assuming it means Bhatanagar Shoe Company.
23:44B.S.C.
23:45I would imagine that, sir.
23:47Yeah.
23:48What kind of money can that one be?
23:49That one could be 60.
23:52And the shoe one?
23:53I would need 80 for the shoe one.
23:56Could we do 120 for both?
23:59I could do 130.
24:01Kind of.
24:02Thank you very much.
24:04The Sanskrit writing graphically just looks absolutely amazing.
24:08Perfectly worn.
24:10People love them.
24:11I'm very happy with the price.
24:12Tom gave me a deal on those.
24:15Look above your head.
24:16How genius is that?
24:18Rolling pins.
24:19It's just an easy way to display them,
24:21and it's got that dramatic effect.
24:23They're cool, aren't they?
24:23Yeah.
24:24I'm sort of looking at these stools a little bit, Tom.
24:27You've got a few of them dotted about.
24:29Those are Chinese, so these ones are known as spring benches.
24:32They would be outside of shops, restaurants,
24:34and people would go outside and get the spring air.
24:37They've got lovely colour, lovely shape.
24:40We get different styles depending on what region they're from.
24:42So, these are more simple,
24:45and then we have more heavily carved, more decorative pieces.
24:49Can I get this one out here and get a look at it and get a set on it?
24:53Yeah, of course.
24:59You'll probably need a little bit of a dust,
25:01but other than that, it's ready to go.
25:03I'll just use my bottom, shall I?
25:05Give it a polish at the same time.
25:07Every single person needs either a stool or a bench or a small table.
25:12But my customers don't like anything that's too fancy, too ornamental,
25:17and some of the ones that Tom's got here are maybe just too much for them.
25:23What's the trade on that one?
25:2590.
25:28Yeah, I'll have that one.
25:31I reckon that might be the first of many, Tom.
25:33So, I was trying to pick something that I loved,
25:40that had a little bit of different flavour to it,
25:43but wouldn't be too far from a customer base.
25:47And I picked one that I think is just in the sweet spot.
25:55Another good day of picking for me and Vicky.
25:57We went in, I mean, by the time we were even, like,
26:00two foot into the door, her with the basket and me with the hip flasks.
26:06We'd already turned a deal.
26:08Tom, honestly, he was very, very fair to both myself and Vicky,
26:12leaving us plenty of room to make a profit as well.
26:15You know, we've come down here, so he didn't disappoint.
26:18It's been a really good day seeing Shere Khan again
26:21and also meeting Vicky for the first time.
26:23As a dealer, it's always important to meet new people in the trade.
26:27Connections you make normally last a lifetime.
26:30Once you have a good contact, they remain a good contact.
26:33Thanks for that call. Loved it.
26:38Tom's great, eh?
26:39He is. Really nice guy.
26:41For me, which was really strange,
26:43was I kind of slightly stepped into the old...
26:47I don't want to call them industrial,
26:49but slightly more...utility.
26:52Yeah.
26:53The lights.
26:53The lights.
26:54Yeah, that was me rubbing off on you, innit?
26:56Do you think it was?
26:57Yeah, it was.
26:58But then I went and bought hip flasks to be used as little vases.
27:02Yeah.
27:03Yeah.
27:03That I used to sell.
27:07From Yorkshire, Shere Khan and Vicky
27:10are heading across the Pennines to Lancashire,
27:12where Shere Khan is keen to call on another dealer
27:15he thinks will appeal to both their buying sensibilities
27:18and their customers.
27:19So, we're off to see Rob from Black Dog Retro Interiors today.
27:26Yeah?
27:27I know him.
27:28There's a couple of fairs I do, and I've seen him there.
27:30He drives all the way down from here, down to London.
27:34Does he?
27:34Yeah, good mid-century furniture.
27:36You know, really nice kind of seating.
27:39So, is that what he specialises in?
27:42Yeah, mid-century furniture.
27:44And he really does know what he's doing.
27:46So, he's got this place here.
27:47I've never been before, but from what I understand,
27:50it's in an old factory or kind of warehouse setting.
27:54Brilliant.
27:54Yeah.
27:58The fortunes of the Preston area
28:01were transformed during the Industrial Revolution,
28:04when machine-powered mills were built here
28:06to process cheap cotton harvested by enslaved people in the United States.
28:11Today, one of the largest surviving mill buildings
28:14is home to independent local businesses.
28:17And since 2023, its vast top floor has been taken over
28:21by a specialist in the clean, functional design styles
28:24of the mid-20th century, Rob Munt.
28:30Black Dog Retro Interiors started completely by accident.
28:34It was just a bit of a side hustle,
28:36and it just evolved bigger than my full-time job,
28:39and it's grown every year since.
28:41To start with, with mid-century furniture art,
28:43I didn't have a clue about it whatsoever.
28:46But the more I was buying it,
28:48the more I got interested in it,
28:49the design, the materials,
28:52and it just caught my eye and interest since then.
28:55The stuff that we buy,
28:56being this as 50, 60-year-old,
28:58it's not always in the best condition,
28:59so we like to strip it, refinish it, reupholster it,
29:03you know, give it a new life in another 50, 60 years.
29:09Oh, look!
29:10Wow, yeah, yeah, yeah, one of them lifts.
29:11You all right, Rob?
29:20How are we doing?
29:22You all right?
29:22Yeah, not bad.
29:23Vicky, how are you doing?
29:25Wow.
29:25It's a big place you've got here.
29:26It's absolutely massive.
29:2812,000 square foot.
29:29Whoa.
29:30Is this open to the public?
29:31Yeah, so we've got, obviously, we've got the showroom,
29:33and then we've got workshop area around the back.
29:36It's open to the public, but by, at the minute, by appointment,
29:39because we do nip in and out all the time, so...
29:42Yeah, but most of it, it's all online.
29:44If I can get it online fast enough.
29:46I mean, what an absolutely amazing building.
29:50Total British industrial.
29:53The lift, just the build of this place.
29:56He's really done it properly.
29:59Chairs on the walls, dining tables and chairs set up
30:03like they would be in a kitchen.
30:05He's done his work.
30:07I'm having a wee look at that bench behind you.
30:09Cos we're doing a little bit of work in the kitchen.
30:12OK.
30:13And I'm needing a little bench.
30:16Well, I found you one.
30:18Yeah, I'm looking at it thinking it might work.
30:20I think that's quite nice.
30:21It's not bad, actually.
30:22Yeah.
30:23We're in a sea of, you know, mid-century furniture,
30:27which has been picked and restored with such an expert eye,
30:36yet I'm drawn to a pine bench in the corner.
30:40And it's simply because it's a great size, it's immaculate and I need one for my kitchen.
30:49In all honesty, I do, but as a commercial piece to come in and out of my shop, it's perfect.
30:57It's all solid.
30:58It's all doweled.
30:59It's, you know, there's no screws or anything.
31:02It's a good, got some good age to it.
31:04Nice old pine bench.
31:06What could you do that for me for?
31:09Er, 160 on it.
31:11Er, 120?
31:13120?
31:15Yeah.
31:15Yeah, I'll take that.
31:16Nice one.
31:18First one done.
31:19First one done.
31:20I know what I'm like.
31:21It'll come off the van, it'll get photographed, it'll go on to socials and it'll sell like that.
31:26And it'll probably never even get measured to go to the house.
31:31These all ready to go, Rob, these?
31:33Yep.
31:34They're Danish as well.
31:35Yeah, Home Guard.
31:36Yeah.
31:36They do a lot of very similar lamps as well.
31:39Yeah, yeah, yeah.
31:40And they've got, like, white on the inside.
31:43It's kind of like opaline.
31:44Yeah.
31:45On the inside.
31:45But it's not just kind of, like, painted.
31:48It is an actual...
31:49Like a layer of glass.
31:50...kind of thin layer of white glass.
31:52There's two lights there.
31:53They're Danish.
31:54They're by a company called Home Guard.
31:56They're very desirable things.
31:57You can get them in various colours, like purples, oranges and yellows.
32:01Just that kind of droplet shape diffuses the light amazingly.
32:05And they have this little, just such a small detail.
32:09It's a little teak top that the cable runs through.
32:12It's just very, very well designed.
32:15You're looking at something from the 60s that even today looks totally modern.
32:20It was a pioneering Danish countess, Henrietta Daniskjold Samso,
32:25who, in 1825, harnessed energy from a local peat bog
32:29to heat the furnaces of a small glass workshop.
32:33By the 20th century, Home Guard had become a Danish-designed powerhouse.
32:38These elegant 1960s teardrop pendant lights are highly saleable.
32:43And, sold as a pair, Shere Khan thinks they could be worth around 800 pounds.
32:50It's got, you've got 295 on one and 225 on the other.
32:54Yep.
32:55What's the very best on those?
32:58400.
32:58It's been a week of introducing Vicky to new contacts
33:11and discovering customer favourites.
33:13And, at a stunning mid-century antiques display in Lancashire,
33:17Shere Khan's found a pair of Danish-designed glass lampshades
33:21he knows he'll have no problem selling.
33:23What's the very best on those?
33:27400.
33:27Yeah, I'll do those.
33:32400, yeah.
33:33Nice one.
33:34Nice one, Rob.
33:35They're fabulous.
33:36They are.
33:37They're really good-looking things.
33:38Rob gives me a very good price on the pair.
33:41You know, all I can do is shake his hand.
33:47I get a lot of chairs from the Czech Republic.
33:49I'm assuming they come to you upholstered from there, innit?
33:52No.
33:53Oh, they don't?
33:53No.
33:54You've got to do all that here?
33:54Yeah.
33:55Wow.
33:56Depending on how good the finish is, we'll strip them, refinish them.
33:59Yeah.
34:00So you're putting a lot of work into these.
34:02Oh, yeah, yeah.
34:03So mid-century is very hard.
34:06It's not like selling other vintage or industrial items where you can keep them looking their worn
34:14selves.
34:14With mid-century, your customer wants to see it perfect.
34:18So your restorations have to be perfect.
34:20So this area here is?
34:23This is the to-do area.
34:26We all have one of them.
34:27Yeah.
34:28Yeah, but these are the good parts.
34:30These are the parts I like.
34:31Straight away, I see a cream, Herbert Terry, Anglepoise.
34:38It's an early one.
34:39The reason why I know it's an early one, there's no plastic fittings.
34:41It's all metal.
34:45Then he has a small Metek.
34:47I thought at first that it was maybe a re-spray because it's like a pink.
34:51But on further kind of inspection, I think that might be originally pink.
34:56Best on that?
34:56100 quid.
35:01And that one, best on that?
35:0430 quid.
35:06Take away for those.
35:0730 quid.
35:08Not even going to argue with that price.
35:14Well, they all look quite similar, but they're all slightly different.
35:19What's this bad boy in here?
35:21It's like the tree root.
35:23We're kind of in a forest of design-led mid-century upholstery.
35:30And sort of stuffed under some cushions.
35:32I could just see this sort of gnarly arm.
35:36It's the ball root.
35:37Yeah.
35:38It's the centre.
35:39Yeah.
35:39You know, they make bowls out of them as well.
35:42Yeah.
35:42This one's been painted.
35:43Yeah.
35:44Yeah.
35:44It's been tucked away.
35:47I'm going to get it blasted and...
35:48Yeah.
35:48Can I just say, it doesn't look like it should be here, mixed in with all this other stuff.
35:54I do buy random stuff that just catches my eye as well.
35:58Yeah.
35:59How much is this robe?
36:0280 quid.
36:05Yeah.
36:05Yeah?
36:06I will have that.
36:07Okay.
36:07Thank you very much.
36:09It's one of those root stumpy chairs.
36:13And it's sort of carved out of one big hunk of teak or something.
36:17But what I loved about it was somebody chucked a coat of paint over it, left it outside,
36:24and it had that kind of weathered look, like it had just been sitting there unloved.
36:30So, these are, again, all projects, Rob?
36:35Yeah.
36:36Everything just needs stripping, refinished.
36:39It's quite a sweet rethink.
36:40What is it?
36:43I got it from when I was picking up a sideboard.
36:48They had, like, magazines in it and then books and stuff in it.
36:52I don't know if it was someone's made it or if it came like that.
36:56I don't know.
36:57But it was quirky.
36:58When I first looked at it, I thought it was just kind of like a little bookshelf.
37:02But there's also a part in the middle of it for magazines or books.
37:07It's just really well designed, really well made.
37:10It's too well made to be scratch built.
37:12What kind of money is that?
37:1440 quid.
37:15Can't say no to 40 quid on that.
37:17No, you can't.
37:20That's a really nice thing.
37:22The utility there is amazing.
37:23Very well thought about.
37:24This unusual bookcase could be the work of 20th century designer Isocon,
37:31known as the Isocon Donkey,
37:33due to its four legs and angled shelving that resembled panniers carried by a donkey.
37:38Bookcases like these were later renamed the Penguin Donkey,
37:42as the shelves were the same size as the famous orange-colored penguin paperbacks.
37:46Dating from the 1960s, this cool modernist piece should be a great fit for Shere Khan's customers.
37:53And if it is a genuine original, then it could be worth around £500.
37:57I'm just looking at this wee table.
38:04It's an old school desk.
38:06Yeah, what is that?
38:08So it's a kid's desk?
38:09A kid's desk, yeah.
38:12I think it's got a good look and a good shape, I think.
38:18And it doesn't move or anything.
38:19No, it's just as it is.
38:23Quite like the way the legs splay like that.
38:28This is where I have no understanding of how my brain works, to be honest with you.
38:33I have walked past 20, 30, 40, 50 tables today,
38:38but I didn't really see a margin in any of them.
38:40And then I just saw this tapered compass-type leg,
38:46and I thought, that looks quite interesting.
38:48Turns out it's like a little school table,
38:51but it's got a little bit of a look.
38:54How much is it?
38:55£60.
38:56It's not needing any actual work, is it?
38:59It's not.
39:00No, it's solid.
39:02Cosmetic.
39:04Yeah, £60.
39:06I'll have that.
39:08It can be used as a coffee table.
39:10It can be used as a stool.
39:12It can sit in a hallway.
39:14For whatever reason, it drew me to it.
39:17That's what ultimately will sell it for me.
39:26It's been really good for me to come here,
39:28see Rob in his own natural environment.
39:31Me and Vicky, we both bought some great stuff from Rob today.
39:36My Home Guard pendant lights, I think they tip the scale.
39:40I think they're great things.
39:41It's been good having Sheikhan and Vicky round today,
39:44and I think they've found some good bargains,
39:47and I've made a few sales.
39:48Happy.
39:49Rob, thank you very much, man.
39:51No, thank you.
39:52Thanks for coming.
39:52And it won't be too long till I see you again down in London.
39:55Yeah, a couple of weeks.
39:56Yeah, we'll see you there.
39:57Have a good one.
39:57You too.
39:58Take care.
39:58See you later.
40:07In his North London workshop,
40:09Restorer Jay is starting work on the mercury glass lampshade.
40:13Sheikhan snaps up at eight man.
40:15All right, first, I'm just going to give him wipe down,
40:19see how much of the green paint comes off.
40:22This one is a challenge for me.
40:24I've rewired and restored mercury lights before,
40:28but none this far gone.
40:31All right.
40:32Whoa, it is just coming off with a soft brush.
40:42My brother wants it back up and green again.
40:46I don't think there's going to be any green left by the end of this.
40:50As the 100-year-old green enamel paint flakes away,
40:54it takes some of the silvery reflective layer underneath with it.
40:58You know that green mercury light?
41:01Yeah.
41:01It's not green.
41:02It's glass.
41:03It all crumbled off.
41:04Yep.
41:05Wow.
41:06If you spray these,
41:06are you going to have to get this all off?
41:09No, I'm going to leave it.
41:10You're going to leave these little bits?
41:11Yeah.
41:11But still spray silver over?
41:13Yeah.
41:14So there's some of the...
41:15So this is...
41:16...that's going to be left on there.
41:17So when people look underneath,
41:19they're going to be able to see the old and the new.
41:21The old and the new.
41:22All right.
41:22Yeah, that's what I reckon you should do.
41:24Good luck.
41:28Rather than remove all the old reflective paint,
41:31Jay's plan is to preserve the originality
41:34by sealing what's left of it under a modern silver-based mirror paint.
41:40Right, the mirror spray is dried now.
41:43All areas covered.
41:45Once we remove that,
41:46you're going to see it's going to have a mirror effect
41:47coming through the glass.
41:49With the reflective surface originally intended
41:54by the designer now restored,
41:56a primer can be applied.
41:59Before a new coat of enamel paint,
42:02in the vintage green shade,
42:04Shere Khan knows his customers are looking for.
42:08Well, that looks okay for now.
42:10I'm going to leave it for a while,
42:12let it dry.
42:12I'm pretty happy with the enamel spray,
42:23because it's a pretty thick coat.
42:25There's no drips, no nothing,
42:26so it looks really nice.
42:28All right, and then, as you can see,
42:30the original mercury glass,
42:32what was left as I was scraping off,
42:34and then the other bits are all the mirror spray.
42:37I'm happy with that.
42:39Now, getting the light fitting on,
42:43and getting it lit up.
42:51I like that.
42:52That is really nice.
42:58With their brilliance restored,
43:00the mercury lamps are ready for sale,
43:02along with the rest of the week's haul of bestsellers.
43:05So, everywhere we went this week,
43:08we came up trumps,
43:09found exactly what we were looking for,
43:11got some really nice Indian enamel signs from 8-man,
43:15especially the Batangar shoot, factory one.
43:18Then, Sambri Antiques, always delivers.
43:21The lion, that was probably my favourite buy of this week.
43:25Animals in ceramic, animals in paper mache,
43:28metal animals, they just sell.
43:30People love them.
43:31This lion, it's got size, it's got looks,
43:35it won't hang around for long.
43:37So, this week, it's been a lot of items
43:39that will turn over quickly,
43:41and they'll have a really good margin in them.
43:44So, happy.
43:46It's been a hospital development show
43:48and I'm having a truly great paycheck,
43:49but it's been a gift for me.
43:54It's been a pulls,
43:58and it's been a good one.
43:59So, hopefully,
44:01we can do it now.
44:02See you next time.
44:03Bye for now.
44:04Bye for now.
44:04Bye for now.
44:05See you next time.
44:07Bye for now.
44:07Bye.
44:11Bye.
44:12Bye for now.
44:13Bye for now.
44:14Bye.
44:14Bye.
44:14Bye.
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