With inspiration firmly rooted in nature, the flowing, floral and foliate designs and jewel-like colours of Moorcroft are unmistakeable. And there’s a British business success story to inspire behind it too.

It takes a lot to break new ground and be successful in business, particularly when the very framework and techniques you’re using break new ground too. And so it was with pioneering glass artist Michael Harris, who founded a glass studio called Mdina Glass on the Mediterranean island of Malta in 1968. 

It’s the height of Summer – finally – and it’s time for alfresco dining. Long, light and languid evenings spent with friends in the garden with light food and a refreshing bottle of rosé, or a chilled Chablis. And there’s nothing better to open your bottle of fine wine with than an antique corkscrew.

“Fashion changes, but style endures”, said Coco Chanel. And she was right. Add a heavy dose of quality and the mix is perfect. Art Deco glass designed by Rene Lalique has been the height of style for nearly a century, and this looks set to continue with desirability and prices – and the business he founded - as strong as ever. In 2012, a unique vase found in an attic sold at auction for £280,000, but you can get in on the game for a couple of hundred pounds.

Mark Hill Auctions is delighted to announce the auction of the contents of the studio of the Iraqi born abstract artist Nadira Azzouz. Over 340 paintings will be sold on 5th November 2024 at 14.00 GMT. Although some early works from the late 1950s-60s are included, most works date from later in her life and all demonstrate the remarkable vivacity, energy and colour that typify her work. All are highly decorative and appealing, and domestically sized, and their titles suggest how the artist expressed her inner most thoughts and her love for her native Middle East and its centuries' long heritage of decorative and fine arts. All the works are fresh to the auction market, with many being unseen before, and they represent the remaining parts of her oeuvre.

People have visited the historic Pantiles for over four centuries. When they did, they may have bought a souvenir of their trip - a talisman to revive memories made, and to remind of health restored. The Victorians were greatly sentimental, and that’s something that’s still with us today, especially in a world that’s never moved faster. The talisman a Georgian or Victorian visitor would have bought was a piece of Tunbridge ware.

Variety truly is the spice of life. In late 2022, I was delighted to be asked by my Antiques Roadshow friend Eric Knowles to join the roster of dealers at The Pantiles Arcade housed in the Corn Exchange in the heart of the historic Pantiles. I’m no stranger to having a shop, but my roots are in the auction world, where I started in the mid-90s working for Bonhams and then Sotheby’s....