Our Blog - Read up on antique furniture!
Posted by Chris under Company News on July 08, 2010
After taking a break from the June show, we are back at Scott Antique Market, the best-loved antique show in the Southeast. At Scott's, you can find everything from rustic pine benches to finely hand-polished mahogany desks, so be sure to get a good look at the amazing selection and variety of antiques. The show will be running July 9-11, and there will be plenty of great deals to find. You can find us in the South building, spaces H9-H10. Say hello to Peter while you're there!
Tags: scott antique market, show, atlanta
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Posted by Chris under General on July 04, 2010
Happy Independence Day, everybody! We hope everyone has a good, safe time this weekend.
Tags: july 4, independence day
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Posted by Chris under Furniture Commentary on July 01, 2010
I was in for a surprise this week while unwrapping one of our recent arrivals, a lovely flame mahogany credenza. Although the furniture produced by our third-generation English cabinetmaker is always high quality, the character of each piece is unique because every one is handmade. This time we received a real gem. Enjoy the pictures.
The selection of flame mahogany and satinwood are really quite beautiful in this piece. The stain and the finish both set into the wood flawlessly to produce one of the lovelier specimens here at English Classics.
One of the great things about fine English furniture is that it achieves the perfect synthesis of utility and aesthetic perfection.
I wouldn't want you to miss the back, so here it is—no detail was lost on our cabinetmaker.
This shot of the hand-cut dovetails also happens to showcase the gorgeous grain and complexion of the wood.
The ogee foot is probably my favorite variety, and in this picture at least I hope it is clear why.
Tags: credenza, showcase, reproduction, handmade
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Posted by Chris under Furniture Commentary on June 24, 2010
Recently I wrote about our May furniture container, and one of the items I featured in that post was a carved Victorian sideboard. This is really such a beautiful piece that I wanted to share some of the detailed photos that we have of it. Enjoy!
The black areas in the backsplash are mirrors.
Take a look at the lion in the center. He looks absolutely shocked. Somewhere, a lion died of old age and woke up in Victorian England as a carving in somebody's sideboard. Not the afterlife he was expecting. Surprise!—you're furniture.
When I first saw this guy, I thought he was a pregnant woman until I saw the beard. For a moment I considered Victorian carnies and bearded ladies, but after banishing that thought, I realized that the representation here is in a classical style, where depictions of men and women are often androgynous.
Here is the little man's female opposite. They are both holding a cylindrical object, the man with his left hand, the woman with her right, but I haven't been able to figure out what it is supposed to represent. I'm sure it was a common and recognizable motif to Victorians.
The surprising thing about these cherubs is the remarkable level of detail shown in their faces. They sure are cute little pudgy things. (In case you're wondering why I don't call them puttos, see my post, "Putto or Cherub?".)
I believe that these pulls are original to the sideboard, which is fairly uncommon for a piece of this age. Incredibly, the pulls show almost as much precise detail as the wood itself.
Tags: sideboard, showcase, victorian
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Posted by Chris under Company News on June 17, 2010
This is it, folks. Our first antique auction on the new website begins tomorrow and ends June 25 at 10pm EST. We have 120 items listed at great deals, so don't miss out!
Tags: auction
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Posted by Chris under Company News on June 10, 2010
I know I'm a little late on this, seeing as it's June already, but we've been awfully busy lately. However, we did get a lot of great antiques in last month, so it should be worth the wait!
This Victorian sideboard arrived in great condition with plenty of gorgeous carvings all over it. We usually have a few sideboards or hunt cupboards similar to this lying around the shop, but this one is particularly unique, since it has carved cherubs and a man and woman pair. What I would consider stock Victorian carvings included lion heads and floral motifs, both of which this one has, but it is unusual (although not rare) to find such distinct carvings. You can also really see the craftsman's touch in many of the more detailed carvings.
People are always asking us about buttoned leather furniture, so here is May's beauty. I don't anticipate this one will be here long, given the great condition that it is in. (Side note: we will soon be carrying English reproduction buttoned leather furniture!)
Gate leg tables are one of our most popular items. This one is especially unique, however, because of its large size relative to most antique gate legs of the same style and period.
This Victorian writing desk arrived in fantastic condition with a gorgeous quartersawn oak grain (sometimes called "tiger oak" for its distinctive striped pattern) and a green leather writing surface that appears to have been replaced circa 1960.
This lovely Edwardian nest of tables is an uncommon find, since antique nests of tables aren't very easy to come by. A rich patina has settled into the mahogany in these tables, which helps to give them their heterogeneous complexion.
Many more wonderful antiques arrived on May's container, but that's all for now.
Tags: container, arrivals, sideboard, armchair, table, desk
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Posted by Chris under Furniture Commentary on June 02, 2010
I had this Welsh dresser in the studio recently and found a label on the back that read, "Pickfords Ltd."
I always Google labels found on our furniture. Many times, I hit a dead end, since most of the companies with labels on antiques have long since gone out of business. This time, however, I found these guys, the very same Pickfords on the tag. What I found was fascinating: they've been in business since the 17th century. "Ancient" is perhaps an exaggeration, but even so. Holy cow.
So there you have it. An antique company moving antiques.
Tags: pickfords, label
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Posted by Chris under Industry News on May 26, 2010
When I was perusing my RSS headlines today, I noticed one from Furniture Today about Red House Furniture and their (in)famous viral marketing YouTube video (if you haven't seen it, I highly recommend it!). I was curious about what the writer had to say on the subject.
According to the article, Red House "ranks highly" in the SERPs (Search Engine Results Pages), presumably because of the video, but a quick look at any common search terms shows that they don't. Still, I'm sure they've gotten a great deal of attention as a result of the video, especially locally, and there is nothing quite like saturating your local market, particularly in the furniture industry, since many people want to see the item(s) in person before buying. Given our customer base, I'm not convinced that a viral YouTube video would be the right move for English Classics, but it certainly is funny to think about what we could cook up.
What I found most interesting in the article lay in the comments section. I was frankly surprised to see that anyone was apparently disgusted by the video. One person remarks, "Our forefathers must have been insane when they brought North Carolina into the Union," while another points to the video as "a prime example of what is wrong with the furniture industry." Now, every marketing strategy has its place, but Red House Furniture certainly doesn't seem to be selling top-dollar items, so I don't see the harm in appealing to their customers: people who have a sense of humor and who like to be entertained. If only every furniture store could find a way to turn a customer base into a happy, entertained audience, perhaps our ailing industry would find more success in the 21st century.
Tags: red house furniture, youtube, viral marketing
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Posted by Chris under Company News on May 07, 2010
It's that time of the month again: English Classics is exhibiting at the Scott Antique Market, the best-loved antique show in the Southeast. Located just outside of Atlanta on Jonesboro Road, the Scott Antique Market promises everything from Persian rugs to fine antiques, and now that the weather's warm, you may even want to consider picking up an old-fashioned ice cream cone. Come see Peter and our find selection of antique & reproduction English furniture, located in the South Building, spaces H9-H10!
Tags: Scott Antique Market, show, Atlanta
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Posted by Chris under Company News on May 05, 2010
Welcome to the new look of English Classics! We have completely re-built our site from the bottom up. Interested buyers can now make offers on our products in addition to purchasing them outright, and we have also instituted a new auction system, so be sure to keep up with our blog to find out when our first auction will take place. We have also created new RSS feeds for the blog and our products, so you can have the latest news and most recently arrived antiques delivered to your RSS reader of choice. Soon we will integrate shipping and payments directly in the site, so stay tuned for the latest in the continuing evolution of English Classics.
We hope you like what we've done with the place! We'd also love to receive feedback on the new site, so be sure to leave us a comment before exiting.
Tags: auction, design, web development
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