One of the questions I am asked most frequently when I visit a client in their home is ‘How did you get into this industry?’ And ‘What qualifications did you do?’ So here goes ...
One of the A-levels I originally chose was Economics, I realized after a term of battling with supply and demand, it was not for me. I changed to History of Art and I think that was one of the best decisions I ever made. I looked forward to my lessons at the Art Studio where Mr Barnes literally did take us through the history of art. His passion for the subject was infectious as he brought to life whichever painting we were studying. Two of my most favourite and well thumbed books are from this time, From Giotto to Cezanne by Micheal Levy and The Story of Art by E H Gombrich.
This was just the beginning, I was lucky to grow up with a father who was interested in the subject, which was a great encouragement. However, it took a gap year of working and travel for me to be sure that this was the right path for me to take. I enrolled on the Fine Art Valuation course at Southampton Institute, which sadly no longer exists, back then it was oversubscribed. Not only did the course encompass history of art, but also, the built environment, valuation, tax and law. The Institute had their own study collection which we could examine. In fact, for one of our final exams, we had to do an Antiques Roadshow interview, on one of the pieces from the Study Collection. To this day, I can still remember how terrified I was!
Whilst on the course, we were all acutely aware of how big our year was and how few jobs there were in auction houses. I was fortunate to get a lucky break and obtain a weeks internship at Christie’s King Street after my first year, working in the Impressionist department. I am not sure I spoke to anyone all week, but just soaked up the atmosphere. I asked if I could do a second week, they obliged and I spent it cutting up catalogue entries for their reference library, Lotfinder. The following year, I applied again and was fortunate to get the whole summer working on the Valuations Counter at Christies South Kensington, where every day I met so many people, viewed countless specialist sales from corkscrews to Staffordshire Pottery, whilst being constantly surrounded by hundreds of objects. I was hooked.
After three years I graduated and it took a couple of interviews at Christie’s South Kensington for me to get offered the right position for me. I began in the Furniture Department as an administrator. It was one of the most challenging logistical jobs in the firm, as there were weekly sales of about 250 lots of furniture which had to be moved around London, from cataloguing at the warehouse, to the saleroom for the view and onto storage for collection. Whilst working, I went onto to study and qualify as a Member of the Royal Institute of Chartered Surveyors (MRICS).
I was very fortunate to be surrounded by the most fantastic team who were so giving with their knowledge, it was a joy to go to work everyday. Highlights include working on the Bank of England sale, being surrounded by pedestal desks, dining chairs and coatstands as far as the eye could see and The Oak & Country sales, where we would sell many a house collection.
My career took me to Dreweatts, where I worked between their premises at Donnington Priory in Newbury and their Bristol Saleroom. I continued to catalogue, value, run and manage auctions. I made a point of making time to attend specialist society events such as the Furniture History Society and Royal Institute of Chartered Surveyors, to gain and share knowledge.
Having now spent over twenty years in the industry, I firmly believe, yes I took a very vocational degree that gave me a good grounding for this industry, but undoubtedly the colleagues around me have helped me improve my knowledge and continue to do so every day. In my current role at Lyon & Turnbull I continue to meet lovely clients and see beautiful objects all over Scotland, the North of England and Northern Ireland and I am fortunate to again be surrounded by a group of colleagues who are able to assist me in giving the best possible advice and service to my clients.
