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Stylish flooring

Victorian Woodworks have supplied a variety of wooden floors to Cameron House a luxury hotel on the shores of Loch Lomond.

A selection of timber flooring solutions were specified for Cameron House, including a combination of Burnt Oak boards and smoked End Grain Woodblocks for installation within the Cameron Grill. The Great Scots Bar received luxurious Russian Oak supplied as a 'four block' ration. In addition, premier pre-finished Engineered wide boards were specifically chosen for The Bathhouse Restaurant. Victorian Woodworks specified flooring that would provide a durable finish, vital to such a high traffic environment.

Victorian Woodworks

Globe repairs

Shakespeare's Globe Theatre, London

Shakespeare's Globe has begun repair works to the roof of its iconic theatre. In 1996the theatre became the first thatched building in London since the Great Fire 330 years earlier, and was a crucial component in Sam Wanamaker's vision to strive for faithful reconstruction of Shakespeare's legendary theatre. Today, it is recognised as one of the most famous thatched buildings in the world.

Experienced Master Thatchers, phil Cambell and Kit Davis who both worked on the original thatching, have joined forces once more with their respective teams to undertake essential maintance work on the ridge of the roof. A combined workforce of ten thatchers will use 800 bundles of sedge from the Norfolk Broads, 10,000 English hazel spars, 2,500 feet of liggers and 600 litres of fire retardant fluid.

Obituary: Tony Pattison

TONY Pattison established DDD (Dismantle and Deal Direct), with his partner Liz, after twelve years in business as the Architectural Salvage Store, a traditional salvage company dealing good quality architectural items salvaged from residential properties in and around London. Tony started the business after making a decision to come out of the construction industry in 1992, where he project-managed refurbishments and restoration projects. His first salvage job was to dismantle a large manor house in Bedfordshire. The contents of this started the business. Everything was catalogued, photographed, measured, packed and housed at the premises in Chorleywood. DDD grew out of the original business and from its new location in Aston Clinton, Buckinghamshire it was able to hold a larger selection of architectural features. Working alongside a number of NFDC-registered demolition contractors DDD was able to purchase some of the best salvageable items available from domestic houses and commercial buildings for trade customers as well as the general public.

Sadly, Tony died on 11th December 2008 after a brave struggle with cancer. Tony was very popular and highly regarded in the trade. Tony and Liz always offered a cheerful welcome. Tony, like most of us, found the trade sometimes frustrating but he was indomitable in his energy to always find a fresh approach and try a new way through difficulties. Tony and Liz were very much a team united in purpose and always courteous to trade callers. Tony had an ability to search out and find all manner of architectural salvage; he was a great go-between and connector of dealers who he traded between. Dean and the Hertfordshire Lads, Robert Grimmond, Marcus Olliff, Ronnie Wootton, Drummonds and his life long friend Paul Harris together with many others will miss his visits and conversations. Such a brief summary of man seems almost impolite but his memory will be fondly continued by his many friends.

I know that the entire trade extends its condolences to Liz Pattison at this time.

Steve Tomlin
Gloucestershire
15 December 2008

Liz would like to thank friends for their kind messages and hopes to arrange a memorial get together in the New Year to celebrate Tony's life with friends from the trade. The funeral will be held privately.

High spend home owners bring building industry in from cold

The Listed Property Show, Saturday 21st – Sunday 22nd February at Olympia, London

A consumer property show is delivering a rare ray of sunshine to the financially-stricken building industry. Several thousand owners of the UK’s heritage homes will be attending expert showcase The Listed Property Show this coming February in London.

It does not need any more headlines, or indeed the Chancellor, to tell us that times are tough for anyone linked to the building industry. But one specialist sector is applying lessons learnt in the last recession to ensure that the slump does not drag them under.

Whilst the housing market sunk during the economic down-turn of the late 80s and early 90s, companies focused on renovation were able to keep afloat because house-holders chose to put money into improvements rather than movements.

The listed property market is top of the spending table on renovations. Often these are homeowners who are legally obliged to carry out work to a defined spec; that means a decent budget, quality materials and expert advice. Recent research amongst owners of period properties showed that less than 14% felt that the current recession would affect their plans for renovations, whilst an impressive 77% are planning a home improvement project. Last year’s event grew by 65% from 2,285 visitors in 2007, to 3,770 in 2008 and organisers The Listed Property Owners Club expect the same again this year.

Listed Property Show

Passerby auction story

Mallam's Oxford saleroom, September 24th 2008
Article by a passerby

On September 24th Mallam's Oxford saleroom included 13 lots of interest to the architectural salvage trade pitched intriguingly in the middle of a sale of jewelry, porcelain and period furniture. These pieces were originally from Shoppenhanger Manor near Maidenhead, removed after a fire and stored for some time in containers. Whilst fresh to the market, two dealers who were attended the sale had previously been invited to tender privately for the items. Their bids were obviously not high enough because here the lots were ,up for auction. Estimates had been set at prices below those offered by the dealers. Tempters perhaps and if so they worked as prices soared away.

The first lot up set the scene [see pict 1] a pair of very early English Gothic carved oak front doors with a lovely patina.Very nice indeed.Bidding started in the rooms and on the phones.The winning bid of £4,461 including premium came on the phone (estimate £1500-2000). Following was a stone entrance arch possibly for these doors and selling to the same buyer for £780 (est £200-300).A collection of Victorian oak pillasters, a cartouche and 3 lions head plaques sold for £1,100 (est £300-500).

Three nice early oak columns with a nasty varnish finish fetched £1320 (est £600-800). Other highlights included 2 pairs of wrought iron gates with frames and pediment over, one set antique and the other a modern copy fetched £2,900 against an estimate of £400-600. A thickly painted limestone fireplace [see pict 2] 17th century, nicely carved with rosettes had an estimate of £200-300 but sailed away to a premium inclusive £5,550.- with one of the trade present being the under bidder. Stunned though the trade present were, it was the last 3 lots of stained glass [see pict 3] which
really took the breath away. Basically sets of panels being montages of broken coloured Victorian glass interspersed with small fragments of medieval painted glass, these fetched a combined total of £8500 after a fierce telephone battle. (est £2400-£3700). One member of the trade was heard to mutter ,as he stumbled away slightly bemused ,that he thought his earlier offer of £500 was more than enough!

A good result for the vendor and the auctioneer but there didn't seem to be much profit in it for the trade at these prices.

. . . Passerby


Pict 1: A PAIR OF EARLY ENGLISH GOTHIC CARVED OAK DOORS, each with four panels and arched design, quatrefoil, trailing foliate and flower head design with later iron work, alteration and restoration, maximum measurement of each door 7ft high x 2ft 4" wide. Sold for £3,700



Pict 2: AN ANTIQUE PAINTED STONE FIREPLACE SURROUND with Gothic carved quatrefoil and arched fenestration moulded sections constructed in seven pieces. Sold for £4,600



Pict 3: AN ANTIQUE STAINED GLASS WINDOW also, by repute from Selby Abbey constructed in twelve leaded panels inset glass fragments including a hinged opening window, each panel approximately 16" x 26". Sold for £3,600

Eiffel Tower staircase sells at Sotheby's

Above: An employee at Sotheby's Auction House stands next to a portion of the original staircase of the Eiffel Tower [pict. from Yahoo News]

Sotheby's, Paris

A part of the Eiffel Tower's iron spiral staircase has been sold at Sotheby's auction house in Paris. The 4.5m (14.7ft), 20-step section, which once linked the tower's second and third levels, it was one of 24 sections removed in 1983 to make room for new lifts it was expected to fetch up to 30,000 euros ($44,000; £21,000). It may also be the last piece available to the public, as the other 23 sections have already been bought by museums and collectors around the world. Auctioneer Remi Ader said the other 23 sections have been spread around the world, including one installed inside the Statue of Liberty, another of Gustave Eiffel's designs.

During its auction sale it fetched 553,000 euros (710,000 dollars), 10 times its estimated price. The staircase has been bought for a Dutch basketball team of the same name by entrepreneur Erik Kurvers, who is president of the club. Mr Kurvers said the price was worth it because of what the piece symbolises.


BBC News

Tesco plans to halve its carbon footprint

Supermarket giant Tesco has unveiled a £27 million plan to generate energy on-site at 50 of its UK stores through combined heat and power (CHP) plants.

This forms part of a strategy from the company to "halve the carbon footprint of its existing estate by 2020". The technology aims to cut carbon emissions by 10%. Added to which, the installed 'mini-stations' will be used to heat the stores. The plan follows an annnouncement from the company in July that it received planning permission to build a straw-powered CHP plant to meet the electricity and heating needs of its Google distribution center. The new plant will generate 5MW of electrical power.

Tesco said it has already installed gas-powered CHP plants as its stores in Swansea, Reading, Orpington, Aylesford and Hemsworth as well as at its recycling service unit in Peterborough and its training center in Hertford. It has tested combined cooling heating and power (CCHP) technology at its stores in Carmarthen and Gloucester.

Tesco: Measuring Our Carbon Footprint

Olympia suffers at the fate of the recession

Olympia, Winter Fine Art & Antiques Fair, November 10 to 16

At the close of the Winter Fine Art & Antiques Fair at Olympia, November 10 to 16 there was no doubt that the worldwide banking crisis and now the recession had taken there toll. As the most important UK quality fair since the economic crisis took hold, there was more focus than usual on the fair and not surprisingly the ATG reports that the fair was badly hit. Again it was not surprising that this year a significantly high proportion of exhibitors failed to cover costs, but it must be remembered that Olympia is a very expensive fair at which to stand. The number of stalls were down by 35 but the visitor numbers were 22,352, almost identical to last year.

David Moss from the ATG reports that, 'The phrase that kept cropping up around the stands was "pockets of business", and even some of the dealers who just ticked over admitted that there was business out there. As with all recent fairs, period furniture proved difficult, although again a handful of dealers in this field enjoyed remarkably good business. Jewelery sold very well, period silver not so well as usual, but some of the objects soared, such as the Arts & Crafts.'

BigREc Survey shows predicted decline in reuse between 1998 and 2007

London UK - THE report on the BigREc 2 Survey was launched in St Pancras, London last Thursday 4th December 2008 with presentations and talks by Gilli Hobbs and Katherine Adams of BRE, Thornton Kay of Salvo and Steve Tomlin of Masco.

The report had been commissioned by BRE in 2006 and was carried out in 2006 – 2007. The results showed that, overall, the reclaimed part of the reclamation trade had declined since 1998, although some sectors of the trade, reclaimed bricks and architectural woodwork for example, had increased.

Anecdotal evidence that the government push for recycling, spearheaded by WRAP, had diverted materials away from reuse and towards crushing and chipping, seemed to be confirmed by the survey, with total volumes down from 2.96m tonnes in 1998 to 2.23m in 2007. Employment was also down from 39,000 in 1998 to 25,800 in 2007.

The BigREc survey was in two parts: Yellow Postcards and the main BigREc survey questionnaires comprising 19 material sectors ranging from salvaged concrete to antique bathrooms

2,043 Yellow Postcards were sent out of which 1,900 were valid, and 180 were returned (compared to 1200 sent out of which 288 were returned in 1998). These gave an indication of the total size of the market, the type of business and sales turnover of each respondent.

323 BigREc main survey questionnaires were sent out of which 36 were completed (88 completed in 1998) comprising of a 28 page booklet with 235 questions in total. The survey gave detailed info on volumes, stocks, suppliers, customers, distances goods travel, employment and standards of supply.

The Yellow Postcards and BigREc Survey were two separate surveys which corroborated each other to an extent.

It is a long job answering 235 questions and after the failure of the BigREc survey of 1998 to make any impact on policy (in fact government policy moved against reuse after the survey was published in 2000) unsurprisingly there was less enthusiasm for completing the survey this time.

The Yellow Postcards went into a draw for a free Salvo mag subscription worth £50 (won by Anglia Building Supplies in Essex) and the BigREc main survey went into a draw for a free stand at Salvo Fair worth up to £750 (won by David Nightingale of 3A Roofing in Suffolk).

Nine businesses completed both surveys in 1998 and 2007 – it would have been eleven but two have since gone completely out of salvage and into new manufacture. Accuracy is an issue with this survey, comparative shifts are more reliable than absolute figures.

The Yellow Postcard and BigREc 2 survey was undertaken by Thornton Kay of Salvo Llp.

Construction Resources Waste Platform BigREc Survey Report 2008

Climate change theory by professionals does not add up

Above (l to r): Myles Allen, moderator Reto Brennwald and Bjorn Lomborg battling it out at the Climate Forum in October

Switzerland - A FASCINATING debate took place on 9 October between author and polemicist Bjorn Lomborg and scientist Myles Allen at the Climate Change Forum held in Switzerland.

Although Lomborg believes climate change is real, he says that the world should have other priorities for spending money, such as curing malaria and clean water supplies. Allen says that this would be the Russian model where the old Soviet government chose to spend money on irrigation for agriculture rather than nuclear safety, in other words we should spend money on reducing global warming. Myles Allen says the only way carbon is safe is if it follows his acronym SAFE standing for Sequestered At time of Fossil Extraction, but how is this done?

Myles Allen took ten pieces of coal, one of which represented all the coal used between 1750 and now, which he calls one global warming unit (gwu) and is roughly 500bn tonnes of carbon and is responsible for increasing global warming by one degree. One piece of coal represents all the oil and gas left in the worlds reserves, and the remaining five pieces of coal represent all the coal left in the world, with the other three pieces representing tar sands and oil shales. It took 250 years to burn the first gwu and will take around 25 - 35 years to burn the next one.

What was interesting to me was the lack of consideration given to the existing embodied energy stock of the world. My guess is that based on his figures, around 1 gwu of energy is embodied in the world's existing built infrastructure. So we should reuse the world's building materials rather than crush or recycle them. More importantly we should not demolish any building or road, or any built item, in the first place. The only reason for demolition should be if the energy cost of not demolishing is higher than that of demolishing.

In other words, if it takes more energy to keep something in place than to remove it then it sould be removed. But that decision cannot be made by the building's owner. It must be made by the global community. If the world decides a building should be demolished then all the materials from that building should be kept in as large a lump as possible and reused to make whatever is being built in place of the demolished building, or as near to that building as possible.

The harder it is for the western developed world to demolish buildings then the easier it would be for the undeveloped world to build up their infrastructure. There would be capital flight from the west to the undeveloped world.

Instead of carbon emission trading schemes each country would have an embodied energy audit and would be responsible for maintaining its energy capital stocks, both above and below ground. This would slow down the western world's use of energy.

It is no good looking at solely at energy flows and emission trading schemes. We must look at energy assets and human health trading schemes.

Bjorn Lomborg's famous book, The Skeptical Environmentalist, was deemed by the Danish Committee on Scientific Dishonesty to be dishonest, which he challenged and their pronouncement was withdrawn. In November 2001 Lomborg was made Global Leader of Tomorrow by the World Economic Forum, and in 2007 he was named as one of the 50 people who could save the planet. Rolling Stone wrote Lomborg pulls off the remarkable feat of welding the techno-optimism of the Internet age with a lefty's concern for the fate of the planet. He comes across as a cool media-savvy dude, like someone who you would see on Saturday morning TV showing you how to cook Thai curried asparagus.

Myles Allen is a climate change physicist at Oxford University and Massachusetts Institute of Technology. He recently suggested that poor countries affected by climate change should sue oil companies. He also says that we will soon be living in the climatic equivalent of the Cretaceous age. He contributed to the Third Assessment Report of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change as a Lead Author of the Chapter on detection of change and attribution of causes. He comes across like a young John Steed of the Avengers.

Another debate in New York on Tuesday 13 January 2009 with the motion Major reductions in carbon emissions are not worth the money also features Lomborg and will be broadcast on BBC World News on 7 and 8 March. Moderator: John Donvan. Speaking for the motion: Peter Huber, Bjorn Lomborg and Philip Stott. Speaking against the motion: Daniel Kammen, Oliver Tickell and Adam Werbach

Myles R Allen v Bjorn Lomborg debate on video
Bjorn Lomborg's web site
Myles Allen's web site

We need eco-extremists - Miliband

The scale of the popular movement and the force with which activists and agitators deliver their arguments is key to the success of any future international agreement to tackle climate change. These were the somewhat surprising words of the new Secretary of State for Climate Change and Energy, Ed Miliband, when he spoke at the Environment Agency's conference this week.

"We need the utopians and we need the agitators, We need the people who say that people like me aren't doing enough." he said.

He spoke about the massive popular mobilisation of the Make Poverty History campaign in the run up to the Gleneagles G8 summit in 2005, saying that had made a huge difference to the outcome of the gathering of world leaders. Mr Miliband told delegates how, at the time, musician-turned-campaigner Bob Geldof had shouted at him down the phone, arguing his case in no uncertain terms. "Bob Geldof can be a pain in the ****, but it's incredibly important that people like that are part of the climate change movement," he said.

When the United Nations holds its climate change conference in Copenhagen in 2009, the outcome will be shaped in part by the apparent level of public concern. When I came into this job I didn't know as much as I should have done about Copenhagen 2009 as a red letter day in relation to climate change," said Mr Miliband.

"Whether we get an agreement or not will be partly defined by the strength of the popular movement around the world." He said it was vital for activists to form global networks that would help give their message more weight. Government wants the world to reach an agreement on climate change, he said, but it would not be an easy task.

"Given the economic backdrop this is a very big challenge we face. This can't be done by government alone, it needs a popular movement to make this happen. That movement needs to do more to find its international voice." said the Minister.

He also commended the work of local councils and stressed the need for everyone to play their part. "I think the work that local authorities are doing is incredibly important because it makes people in local areas change the way they live and change their ways for the better. The most important thing of all is that people can say of us in decades to come 'these people saw the scale of the challenge, they saw the threat that was posed by climate change and despite tough times they did act and they did make a difference to ensure we met our obligations to future generations, " he said.

edie

Taking buildings apart piece by piece

Pittsburgh Post-Gazette USA, By Kevin Kirkland

In a city with more than 200 condemned buildings, how hard could it be to find one to dismantle and salvage? Harder than removing a million rusty nails and stripped screws, it turns out.

Construction Junction, a nonprofit retailer of used and surplus building materials in North Point Breeze, gets most of its windows, paint, cabinets and other items as donations.

In September, it went one step further, taking down a house in East Liberty through "deconstruction" -- separating and recycling wood, metal, brick and other house parts, keeping them out of landfills. Now the 9-year-old organization would like to do more such projects in Pittsburgh and Wilkinsburg. But first, they'll have to break through a wall of legal issues and demolition procedures that were created to take down more eyesores as cheaply as possible.

"This is about more than reusing things people throw away," said Mike Gable, Construction Junction's director. "This is an economic development strategy. The more material we intercept, the more material we put in the marketplace, the more people we employ."

It's a complicated issue that bedevils communities nationwide. Cities in Washington and California offer incentives or simply require developers to divert at least 50 percent of building waste from overburdened landfills.

Brad Guy, a Regent Square-based sustainability consultant who recently visited Cleveland to teach deconstruction, believes Pittsburgh could do better. "Pittsburgh is a city with a strong green builder movement. People would rather harvest the community's resources and make the most of everything we have," he said.

The Pittsburgh Climate Action Plan released in June mentions deconstruction and recycling construction waste, but ridding city neighborhoods of ugly, unsafe buildings that sometimes shelter crime is a much bigger priority for Mayor Luke Ravenstahl, said acting mayoral spokesman Joanna Doven. "The mayor is always interested in having the dialog but his first priority is public safety," Ms. Doven said. "If we do this, will it take longer for this vacant house to come down? Will it cost more?"

The answer to both questions is yes, but only for the handful of houses that Construction Junction could deconstruct each year. The cost to dismantle the house at 6121 E. Liberty Blvd. was $20,000, covered by a grant from the city's Urban Redevelopment Authority. With the blessing of East Liberty Development Inc. and the help of demolition contractor ICX, an eight-man crew spent 4 1/2 days in late September razing the 2 1/2-story wood-framed house. Demolition, meanwhile, would have taken roughly 1-2 days and cost about $10,600, Mr. Gable said.

The project was a learning exercise, not a money-maker or big waste diverter. Dave Bennink of RE-USE Consulting in Bellingham, Wash., who has deconstructed nearly 500 buildings nationwide, showed the crew techniques to speed the process, including cutting the house into huge panels that could be more easily disassembled.

Pittsburgh Post-Gazette

Add events to Salvo Online Calendar for 2p per day

Salvo's online calendar is for fairs, auctions, sales, openings, launches and get togethers. Everything to do with architectural and garden antiques and salvage, reclaimed building materials, craftspeople, green and traditional building and reuse.

It is now possible for those registered to Salvo to add an event to this calendar using their control panels. The cost is 2p for every day that your event appears live on the calendar, ie. If your one day event appears live on the calendar for 10 days, the cost will be 20p.


Salvo online calendar

BigREc launch 4 December, finally!

London UK - THE results of the BigREc Survey, undertaken by Salvo in 2007, will officially be launched on the afternoon of 4th December 2008 in London followed by a drinks reception. AEAT managed the survey with BRE through CRWP (Construction Resources & Waste Platform) and funded by the UK government department Defra.

CRWP's press release states:
The BigREc survey, which was carried out in 2007, shows the state of the reclamation industry in the UK compared to the previous survey of 1998. The survey looked at reclaimed building materials from the very old antique and expensive, to the broad range of stock found in a typical UK salvage yard, through to the more modern and practically free salvage. The survey was carried out by Salvo LLP, and commissioned by CRWP. The findings indicate that there has been downward trend in reclamation for most of the key material groups, with the exception of ceramics (mainly bricks).

Programme:
Construction Resources and Waste Platform Event
Thursday 4th December 2008
Wallacespace St Pancras, 22 Dukes Road, London WC1H 9PN

BigREc Survey - A Survey of the UK Reclamation and Salvage Trade

15.15 Registration
15.45 Welcome - Andy Gregory, Defra or Steve Millward, Saint-Gobain
15.55 An introduction to CRWP - Katherine Adams, BRE
16.15 BigREc 2 - The figures - Gilli Hobbs, BRE
16.30 BigREc 2 - The story behind the figures - Thornton Kay, Salvo LLP
16.50 An industry perspective - Steve Tomlin, MASCO
17.15 Meeting close and Drinks Reception
18.00 Close

Register online here for the event

A pdf of the report will be linked here soon.

Architectural Heritage at Olympia Antiques Fair

Above and below: Architectural Heritage stand at Winter Fine Art and Antiques Fair, Olympia London 10-16 November 2009






Architectural Heritage

Fine Art and Antiques Fair

Build your own Bespoke Cast Iron Radiators

Above: UK Cast Iron Radiators website


Above: Viv of UK Cast Iron Radiators with a selection of bespoke radiators


UK Architectural Antiques, Cannock Wood Staffs

UK Architectural Antiques are offering a bespoke radiator service.

The traditional Victorian radiator was first produced in America in the 1880’s. Today, this simple design gives a contemporary feel, especially when fully polished. The Victorian is often called ‘The 4 column radiator or The 9 column radiator’.

The Victorian Cast Iron Radiator is available in 810, 760, 660,460 and 340mm Tall x depths varying from 340mm down to 120mm x your bespoke length.

Depending upon the height you choose, the victorian, gives a heat output varying from 358 btu’s to 187 btu’s per section.

The styles include Cherub, Daisy, Windsor, Orleans, Deco and it is also possible to choose your type of finish. UK Cast Iron Radiators also supply the associated Radiator Valves in Brass and Chrome as well as two types of Wall Stays.

The site is fully functional and is the only one in the UK that allows you to build your own cast iron radiator all the prices and sizes change automatically as you alter the size, style and finish.

The radiators on UK Cast Iron Radiators are all new but Salvo would like to point out that there are a number of sites on Salvo which sell reclaimed and salvaged radiators.

UK Cast Iron Radiator

Salvage company adds warehouse

MASON BROTHERS Architecturals & Antiques, 11 Maple Street, Five Corners, Essex Jct, Vermont 05452 USA

David Knox, owner of Mason Brothers Architectural Salvage in Essex Junction, has added Architectural Salvage Warehouse of Burlington to his recycling business.

Knox purchased the warehouse from Jonathan Farrell, thus eliminating a “friendly” competitor, and is in the process of moving the stock to the Essex location.

The company salvages all kinds of reusable building material and hardware for use in new construction or restoration. They carry hardwood and softwood flooring, doors, stained glass, vintage plumbing and Loose electrical fixtures, door knobs, cabinets and more. Knox said the additional inventory will help to lower prices.


Architectural Salvage Warehouse

Crisis For Christmas 'STOP! YOUR WASTE COULD BE OUR TREASURE'

Nottinghill, London UK

You've probably heard the quote 'One man's waste is another man's treasure', well our feeling is just that...

Do you have 'useable' commercial waste? It could be just what we're looking for to transform 6 disused buildings across London into welcoming centres for the Crisis Christmas (CC) programme which opens for one week over the Christmas period. Crisis Christmas is a collaboration of the work of Crisis - a national charity dedicated to helping homeless people, and Architecture for Humanity UK (AfHUK), part of the worldwide charitable organisation that seeks architectural solutions to humanitarian problems. AfHUK uses innovative architecture and good design to create warm, aspirational, functioning spaces with the intention of providing homeless people a more comfortable and enjoyable Christmas.

We have several teams of volunteers lined up to design and create spaces where homeless people can eat, bathe, read and relax, but with a £0 budget - which is why we are asking for your waste donations! If you have anything you think we could utilise, please let us know. Good examples are fabric offcuts, cable drums, wooden crates, offcuts of building material, and even surplus tins of paint. Likewise, if you are or know of a company who can donate any new materials that you produce or use, such as polycarbonate sheet, MDF or even paint brushes and other tools, we would also love to hear from you.

Remember; what you think may be rubbish could make someones Christmas with a bit of help from the volunteers of Crisis Christmas.

Please contact Lou; info@michaelisboyd.com (or) 00 44 207 221 1237


Crisis Christmas

Architecture for Humanity UK

Michaelis Boyd Associates

Victorian Christmas Fair

Fern Avenue Antiques Village, Jesmond UK
Saturday 6th December 10am - 4pm

Shinners of Jesmond invite you to come and enjoy a traditional Christmas celebration at Fern Avenue Antiques Village. Which will include carol singers, chestnuts roasting, mince pies, barrel organ entertainment and a wide variety of Christmas gift opportunities and inspiration. Antique silver and jewllery, handbags, french antiques, linen, lighting, antique furniture.

Email: info@fernavenueantiquesvillage.co.uk or Phone: (0191) 2094321
Fern Avenue Antiques Village, Fern Avenue (Signposted off Osborne Road) Jesmond, NE2 2RA

Minchinhampton Architectural Salvage Company invites you to an Open

Cirencester Road, Gloucestershire UK






Day on Friday, 28th November, 11am – 4pm
To celebrate the opening of our new buildings we are having an open day. This will be an opportunity for experts in conservation and those fascinated by heritage and architecture to meet and discuss all aspects of materials re-use and restoration.
Running order:

11am–12pm: Eve Guinan – a top glass conservator & author, will be interviewing Leigh Chapman, a local business entrepreneur & product developer. Leigh is developing a glazing system that can be applied to the existing heritage window components to reduce heat loss & maintain conservation ethics.
Lunch

1-1.30: Steve Tomlin – MASCo’s M.D. and reclamation supremo, will talk about aspects of renovation, identification and repair of stone & wood, referencing fireplaces and decorative pieces.

3.00pm Alan McEwen will be launching his new book ‘ Fred Dibnah’s Chimney Drops’ and will sign copies. Fred was a great friend of Alan’s and they had many adventures together, Alan chronicles in detail, Fred’s major chimney demolitions in this wonderful book.

Throughout the day there will be demonstrations of wood treatment, stone & marble repairs and a representative of Bio-Regional will be present to advise on bio-sustainability.

Space for the talks is limited so please ring/e-mail to confirm your place and for more information.

Masco

A story with a happy ending

Above: The bollard installed at Mr Fotsch's home in France



IBS Reclaim, Buckinghamshire UK

SalvoNEWS subscribers might remember an article in a past edition of the magazine, about interesting things for sale on SalvoWEB. One of the highlights was a cast iron London street bollard, a genuine novel item with the crest and date plate visible.

IBS Reclaim have recently informed us that as a result of the Salvo ad the bollard has sold for its asking price of £250+vat. On Tuesday 11th November the bollard was sold to a Mr Fotsch, IBS were surprised that a couple of days later on the 13th November they received photos of the bollard insitu at the customers second home in South West France where it had successfully arrived on the back of a Land Rover.

David Marlow from IBS said, "Mr Fotch is of German origin and worked in the financial sector within the city of London, thus his fondness for the bollard, he also purchased a replia post for the same property in an attempt to confuse and amuse his French friends and neighbours."

IBS Reclaim

The Recession and fairs

David Moss from ATG
Reports on the recession and past fairs

Now we are openly talking about recession, even deep recession, the effect on all levels of business is bound to be profound. Obviously antique dealers, who basically are purveyors of luxury goods, cannot escape the enforce belt-tightening.

There is slowing down of the trade. But it is often said that bad times also produce opportunities, and this factor, combined with the unpredictability of the antiques scene, makes for interesting times.

Take the Antiques For Everyone at Birmingham's NEC from October 30 to November 2. n my preview I said that, as a middle-to-lower range fixture, this fair was especially vulnerable. If I feared the worst, just think what the 300 plus exhibitors felt. But first-hand reports suggest far from the worst happened. In fact, business proved good for many, with an unexpected return of American trade and new private clients.


Site

A cold reception for the contemporary

Summers Place Auction, October 21 2008

Summers Place Auction house hold two sales a year at their grounds in Billingshurst, Rupert van der Werff have opted to split the sale into two halves. A live auction for 150 higher-value items was followed by a sealed-bid sale of 323 lower-value pieces.

While the live auction almost matched May's selling rate (63 per cent achieved a hammer total of £842,100 compared to 71 per cent to a total of $1.33m earlier in the year) the same could not be said for the sealed bid auction where, only about 35 per cent sold, compared to 66 per cent in May. On the other hand, the sealed-bid material appears to have been of better quality in October for the sale's total at £320,071 achieved by the 326 lots offered in May.

The fortunes of the garden statuary market, are of course particularly affected by the housing market. Mr Rylands speculated that would-be bidders at the low end of the spectrum, probably with mortgages to worry about, would consider a decorative piece for their garden an unnecessary extravagance in the current climate.


Summers Place Auction

Appeal over stolen items

stolen from; Kingston upon Thames, on October 10th

Two fine early 19th century clocks were among more than 100 mostly antique items stolen in Kingston upon Thames on October 10.

Both clocks were in the owners family for more than a century and had recently been professionally overhauled by reputable horologist and were in excellent condition. They are ebonised brass inlaid bracket clock c. 1810 with a convex painted dial signed c. 1810 with a convex painted dial signed G&R Cathro, London, above and a mahogany longcase c. 1820 with a square painted dial signed James Gorham, Kensington. Silver, jewellery, porcelain and eight oil paintings including family portraits were also stolen.

If anyone has any information they should contact; Kingston upon Thames CID on 020 8247 4946 quoting the crime reference number 0410878/08.

The crunch begins to bite a the top end

Following the sometimes painful results of last week's Impressionist and Modern art sales in New York, there can now be little doubt that the worldwide financial distress is undermining demand for trophy paintings and sculpture. All sales missed their low estimates by some margin.

Just 64 per cent of the 70 lots found buyers at Sothebys evening sale of November 3 (the lowest for one of these sales at Sotheby's for seven years) for a $197m (120m) total that was well below the $338-475m overall estimate. Auctioneer Tobias Meyer cited a "changed financial environment" for what he referred to as a "new market" for art.

Attempts to downgrade reserves set in the summer starved off any 'meltdown', and it was clear that the auction houses were keener to sell and lose money on guaranteed works than hold onto them. Ten days prior to this sale, Sotheby's had reported a loss of $15m in guarantees from recent auctions in Hong Kong and London. Sotheby's have also announced a $0.15 dividend for the fourth quarter of 2008. The announcement comes as New York adjusts to falls in the Impressionist, modern and contemporary art markets.

Christie's held back-to-back evening sales. The Modern Age, a hardback catalogue combining art from the estates of New York society figures Rita K Hillman and Alice Lawrence, met a lukewarm response on November 5. "The estimates were from an earlier time, and the market has changed now," conceded Christopher Burge, the evening's auctioneer. The two collections of good but not stellar materials brought a total of $43m (26.3m) against it $104m low estimate. Of the 58 lots, 17 failed to sell. Americans represented 61 per cent of the buyers, with Europeans (including Russians) trailing at 26 per cent. Middle Eastern collections accounted for only two per cent of buyers.


Sotheby's

Christie's

Antique Trade Gazette

Bonhams to sell collection belonging to pioneer of Regency style - Thomas Hope

Above: An Empire mahogany and gilt bronze mounted breakfront Library Bookcase in the manner of Jacob-Desmalter. Property from the family of Thomas Hope. 401cm wide, 45cm deep, 260cm high (157.5" wide, 17.5" deep, 102" high). Estimate: £12,000 - 18,000


Bonhams Auction, New Bond Street 26 November 2008 at 2pm

A collection of items relating to the celebrated Regency designer Thomas Hope (1769-1831) will be sold at Bonhams – directly from the Hope family. The collection of heirlooms will be sold on Wednesday 26 November 2008 in the Fine English Furniture and Works of Art sale at Bonhams New Bond Street salerooms.

The collection comprises letters, sculpture, silver and jewellery, which belonged to Thomas Hope as well as his son, Adrian John Hope (1811-1863) and grandson Adrian Elias Hope (1845-1919).

One of the most interesting items in the collection is a group of letters between Thomas Hope and the English sculptor and draughtsman, John Flaxman, estimated at £800-1,200. Other items include a William IV silver table service of flatware, estimated at £15,000-20,000, an Empire mahogany breakfront library bookcase, estimated at £12,000-18,000 and a marble bust of Adrian John Hope by John Henry Foley (Irish 1818-1874), estimated at £5,000-7,000.

Thomas Hope was an innovative designer and major figure in the history of British design. His contributions in the fields of interior design, architecture and the decorative arts helped to define the Regency style, a mode of design which continues to be influential.

Of Scottish decent, Thomas Hope was born in Amsterdam into one of the wealthiest banking families in Europe. Aged 18 he embarked on the Grand Tour which was to last ten years. He moved to London in 1794 and bought a house on Duchess Street which quickly became the epitome of sophistication and good taste. Through opening his house to the public, Hope became the forefather of interior design as we know it today, writing his book Household Furniture and Interior Decoration, 1808.


Bonhams Catalogue

Books for Christmas

Interesting books on Amazon

Stuck for gift ideas for Christmas or haven't started planing yet. . . What would be better than an interesting book? We have added a selection to the book section of SalvoWEB including London Bridges, Art Nouveau Tiles, Church Clocks and The Victorian Cemetery.

Books

Could you be the next Trashionista?

Gateshead, Newcastle UK

Residents of Gateshead have recently put on a catwalk show dedicated to rubbish and recycling, known as 'trashion'. Trashion is a term for art, jewelry, fashion and objects for the home from used, thrown-out, found & repurposed elements. Devised by members of Gateshead Youth Assembly (GYA), the event invited everyday primary school, secondary school and youth group in Gateshead to create an environmentally friendly costume.

Councillor Michael McNestry, cabinet member for sustainable communities at Gateshead Council, said, "This is a way of bringing the recycling message home to people all across Gateshead, and allowing the borough's young people to work together, be creative and use there imagination, learn about their own impact on the environment."


Gateshead trash fashion

Real life restorer

St Augustines, New Orleans USA

A 1800's statue of Jesus was removed from a New Orleans Church, with the intention of restoring the piece and then putting it back into the church in all of its glory. However, after a string of unfinished jobs and unpaid employees Peter Rubens a specialist in old master paintings ended up in prison.




Peter Rubens

New ICE demolition protocol shifts towards reuse

London UK - THE new 2008 Demolition Protocol was launched at the Institute of Civil Engineers in Westminster on 30 October by author Brian Menzies of the Enscape consultancy. This follows the 2003 version and shifts the emphasis away from recycling - crushing bricks and chipping wood - towards reclamation and reuse which saves embodied energy and carbon emissions.

The 2003 demolition protocol was a recycler's charter. But the new protocol recognises the EU Waste Framework Directive which now states that reuse must be considered as a priority order over recycling. Rather than simply commending reuse, the new directive requires reuse and a failure to reuse will need to be justified on environmental grounds.

At the launch the demolition sector was described as one of the UK's most innovative, a tribute which Terry Quarmby, president of the Institute of Demolition Engineers, warmly welcomed.

There was a brief discussion after the launch presentation during which the most common theme was how important it was for the client to be on board if reuse was to be achieved.

Some points by Thornton Kay of Salvo who was at the launch:

1. Consumer and SME participation in the demolition protocol - 90 per cent of current reclaimed materials reuse is outside mainstream construction by private homeowners and small commercial reusers.

2. Big contractors are responsible for the supply of most reclaimed materials, but small businesses and private individuals are responsible for reuse. This mismatch results in mainstream construction frequently destroying materials while claiming there is no demand for them, even though they can be highly sought after outside the mainstream construction sector.

3. Supply lines are increasing in length and the quantities of materials are decreasing in volume. This finding from the BigREc Survey is due to be published in December 2008. This resulted in shrinking reclaimed supplies into a buoyant salvage sector, which in turn has now shrunk the sector. It has also resulted in reclaimed materials being sought in other countries, or new materials being substituted for old in salvage yards during the past ten years.

4. No mention was made at the launch or in the protocol of some of the regulatory obstructions to reuse, such as the EU Construction Products Directive and issues of quality and liability.

5. We concur fully with the need for reuse to be client-led especially within mainstream construction. If the client is keen on saving materials from demolition then contractors will comply. Equally if materials are to be reused within newbuild or refurbishment projects it is the client who must positively instigate this, and then the professional and contracting teams will fall into line and reuse will be a certainty. Without client support reuse is usually a step too far in an increasingly complex and highly-regulated construction world.

ICE explanatory leaflet
ICE Demolition Protocol 2008


ICE: Press statement
------------
Mr Nigel Mattravers, Chairman of the ICE Waste and Resources Management Board, said: "Issues of cost and environmental sustainability can make managing buildings and structures at the end of their lives a complex job. The best decisions are made pro-actively, and the updated Protocol will enable policy-makers, clients, and agencies to better assess how they might re-use buildings, structures, elements, and products prior to demolition and recycling. The Protocol prioritises the need to re-use, then recycle, with landfill always as a last resort."

The Protocol has been widely adopted, since its launch in 2003, by a range of public and private sector projects, and is supported by WRAP (Waste & Resources Action Programme) through its inclusion in WRAP's step-by-step guide for the efficient use of materials in regeneration projects. It is now a common requirement within planning policy, tenders, contracts and voluntary agreements. It can also contribute to the provision of Site Waste Management Plans.

Dr Mervyn Jones, Construction Programme Manager at WRAP, said: "We are delighted to be supporting the ICE Demolition Protocol 2008. The last five years have seen an industry shift towards considering materials and resource efficiency from the outset. The updated Protocol communicates good practice in a clear and user friendly format and will go a long way towards enabling its users to make the most cost-effective and environmentally sound decisions from day one."

The 2008 protocol
- Explains the role of policy-makers and the client team in delivering cost benefits, by adopting the Protocol
- Ensures that the principles of the waste hierarchy are adopted in the decision-making process for evaluating buildings, the fit out materials and structures
- Offers a process-driven approach to setting targets for deconstruction, reclamation and reuse
- Provides a Deconstruction/Demolition Recovery Index (DRI) - this is the percentage of building elements, products or materials to be reused or recycled
- Estimates bulk quantities through a pre-demolition audit, summarised in a Demolition Bill of Quantities (D-BOQ)
- Provides a new build recovery index (NBRI) - describing the percentage of building elements, products or materials recovered for use in the new build
- Demonstrates compliance with Site Waste Management Plan requirements
- Describes how carbon benefits, through avoided haulage movements, can be realised and estimated easily
- Provides data for in-house and local authority monitoring of annual construction and demolition waste arisings

What has Olympia got in store?

National Hall, west London exhibition complex, UK

Now in its sixteenth year, the Winter Fine Art & Antiques Fair is one of the UK's top winter antique events. Bearing in mind the credit crunch we question what will this year hold for the Winter Fine Art & Antiques Fair, which will be staged in the National Hall of the west London exhibition complex from November 10th to 16th?

In its favour, one can say that a fair of this age has seen it all before. The Winter Olympia has endured tough times, not perhaps a full-blown recession but 9/11 proved as bad a turning point for the European trade as anyone can remember. Some 200 dealers will participate, around 35 down on last year.

Olympia

Cheaper Stalls at Bermondsey

Bermondsey, London UK -

Stall and hire rates have been cut in a move to attract more dealers to London's Friday Bermondsey Market, now back in Bermondsey Square. Southwark Council reduced the cost of a 9 x 3ft stall to a half price £25 from November 1st and the offer will last until the end of January.

Joan Bygrave, chairman of the Bermondsey Antiques Market Traders Association, said. "At present we have between 60 and 70 dealers with a maximum capacity of 200 in the square, with the numbers gradually building up week by week.

Bermondsey Square Market

Blue John

Chatsworth, Derbyshire UK


Above: A Blue John Vase in the state bedroom at Chatsworth House

Blue John Stone is a rare, semiprecious mineral found at only one location in the world - a hillside near Mam Tor, just outside Castleton. The name Blue John derives from the French Bleu Jaune meaning Blue Yellow, it is a form of fluorite and was discovered as miners were exploring the cave systems of Castleton for lead.

Blue John fluorite has been worked into ornaments since 1750. Within ten years there were sixteen mines working the area to supply thirty-odd local firms who fashioned it into inlays for fireplace and other ornaments for the stately homes of England. Old craftsman dried the Blue John stone and noticed that it changed colour to pink and red. It is not clear if this was discovered by accident as a result of a mistake in drying the stone. At 230°C the Blue John stone changes colour but at these temperatures, gases are produced which can sometimes explode and destroy the piece.

Nowadays, the caves of Castleton are magnificent show caves and are some of the most popular tourist attractions in Derbyshire. Of the four show caves only Treak Cliff and, to a lesser extent, Blue John have veins of Blue John Stone. Treak Cliff Cavern still mines about 500 kilograms of Blue John Stone each year. The veins of Blue John Stone are easy to see and many of the formations are well lit. Blue John Stone is a semiprecious stone and gives Castleton its nickname of 'Gem of the Peaks'.

Ashford Marble

Chatsworth, Derbyshire UK


Above: The black marble mines of Ashford-in-the-Water Derbyshire [map from Peak Heritage]



Above: Ashford marble columns in the chapel at Chatsworth



Above: A large Ashford marble vase with hard stone inlay



Above: Ashford marble steps and columns



Above: Black Ashford marble columns


The Chatsworth house collection comprises some of Europe's finest private art collections, representing 400 years of European culture and craftsmanship.

Among the interesting features are two examples of Ashford Marble. The Ashford marble mill was founded by Henry Watson on the River Wye in 1748, the main source was from Arrock Quarry beside the road to Sheldon, close to Chatsworth house.

The marble existed in prehistoric times, a dressed slab was found in a tumulus on fin cop above Monsal Dale. Strictly speaking Ashford marble is not a marble but an impure form of limestone naturally impregnated with a bitumen, Because it changes from a grey to a glossy black when polished.

At Chatsworth Bess of Hardwick commissioned a black marble chimney piece in 1580. About 1700 the great Grandson, of Bess of Hardwick, the 4th Earl of Devonshire, used the marble for interior building work during his major rebuilding off Chatsworth. In the 1830's the 6th Duke had a massive marble doorway executed at Ashford for his new wing at Chatsworth, as well as ornamental gritstone balustrades for the stairs and external battlements.

The work produced was very much in tune with the tastes of Victorian English society and was in such demand that the whole village was taken over by its manufacture. Ashford marble found popularity as a decorative material when polished the black marble provided a perfect background for mosaic and inlaid patterns. Local workers made tourist souvenirs of inlaid ornaments. In 1835 William Adam began working floral inlay designs, some believe the 6th Duke of Devonshre encouraged this after he had been to Italy and seen the inlay there. The work produced was reputed to be equal to the finest produced in Florence and examples from several craftsmen were shown at the great exhibition in 1851.

Most prized was the rare Duke's red, found in limited supply in the Ashford locality. The entire supply was stored at Chatsworth on the orders of the 7th Duke of Devonshire, in 1970's Duke's red marble was incorporated in the Cavendish crest, a serpent laid near Chatsworth house.

The very popularity of Ashford black marble was also its nemesis as cheap substitutes of painted designs on treated slate were frequently being created. Ashford marble remained popular throughout the reign of Queen Victoria, but towards the end of the century tastes were changing. The quarry closed in 1905 though inlay work continued for a few years until the marble reserves were used up. The site of the marble works was partly lost in the construction of the A6.

There are still two examples of Ashford marble at Chatsworth. The chapel features black marble columns and steps and there is also a fine example of a large Asford marble inlaid vase.

Chatsworth

Beyond Limits

Chatsworth House, Derbyshire UK



Above: Marc Quinn, Planet, painted bronze and steel and size 398 by 353 by 926cm



Above: Eric Goulder, Bella Figura, bronze and height 232cm



Above: Richard Hudson, Love Me, polished bronze and height 200cm



Above: Lynn Chadwick, Sitting Couple, bronze and height 255cm



Above: Claude Lalanne, Pomme de New York, bronze and height 248cm



Above: Robert Indiana, The American Love (White Blue Red), polychrome aluminium and size 366 by 366 by 188cm





Above: Salvador Dali, Femme en Flamme, bronze and height 360cm


When looking around Chatsworth House it is evident that the current 12th Duke Peregrine Cavendish and Dutchess Amanda Cavendish are keen collectors of modern art. It is therefore no surprise that Sotheby's chose to house the Beyond Limits exhibition in the grounds of Chatsworth. Beyond Limits is a selling exhibition of monumental modern and contemporary sculpture. It is now in it's third year, following the success of last year where almost all of the 22 pieces found a buyer, and attracted more than 30,000 extra visitors to the garden at Chatsworth.

Director Alexander Platon who has organised the last two exhibitions said, “In the past couple of years, we’ve seen sculpture emerge as one of the fastest growing sectors of the international art scene. It’s a fantastically exciting development, and one that has been particularly evident at the recent Beyond Limits exhibitions we’ve held at Chatsworth: last year’s show attracted buyers from around the world, while at the same time drawing in droves of visitors from across the UK. What to my mind makes the event here so compelling is not only the exciting nature of the pieces we’re able to bring together, but also – and very importantly – the drama of the setting: the gardens here provide the most magnificent backdrop imaginable and that, combined with the hugely powerful juxtaposition of history and modernity, makes for an all-consuming experience.”

This year, Chilean artist Fernando Casasempere has created a work (Fusion) directly inspired by a visit to Chatsworth, while Yorkshire-born Richard Hudson has created a bronze (Love Me) especially for the occasion. Their work will be shown alongside that of other leading contemporary sculptors, such as Jaume Plensa, Fernando Botero, Ron Arad, Kiki Smith, Bernar Venet, Jedd Novatt, Arnaldo Pomodoro, Claude Lalanne, Beverly Pepper, François Xavier Lalanne, Robert Indiana, Manolo Valdes, Kan Yasuda and Eric Goulder. Marc Quinn, Zaha Hadid and Zadok Ben David will also once again be represented. While contemporary sculptors dominate, their work will be complemented by that of artists whose work defines the “modern” era of the early 20th-century artists like Salvador Dalí, Aristide Maillol and Lynn Chadwick.

Perhaps the most dominant pieces is Mark Quinns 'Planet', a ten meter seven ton bronze and steel sculpture of a baby, painted brilliant white and sat playfully in front of Chatsworth house. Mark Quinns sculpture is a literal and symbolic sign of how large the scale of the contemporary art market has become. Quins other works include, a sculpture of Alison Lapper (a disabled pregnant friend of Quinn) on the fourth plinth at Trafalgar square in 2005 and a gold statue of Kate Moss in a yoga position.



Sotheby's Beyond Limits

Banksy and Pest Control

Lyon & Tunbull, Contemporary art sale London

The question of authenticity remains high on the agenda in the Banksy market after a last minute intervention by the self-styled guerrilla artist had a devastating effect on Lyon & Turnbull's latest attempt to break into the London contemporary art market. in a statement released by his publicist the day before L&T's sale of modern and contemporary art and design in Marleybone on September 27th, Banksy refused to authenticate five street works at the sale estimated at over £200,000. These works had been removed form their original settings and had been approved by Vermin, the recently established authentication service made up of a 'board of experts' set up as an alternative to the Banksy approved verification panel, Pest Control.

Banksy's statement read "For the sake of keeping all street art where it belongs, I'd encourage people not to buy anything by anybody unless it was created for sale in the first place."

A further statement posted on the Pest Control website stated: "All works authenticated by Pest Control have been done so in conjunction with the artist. Banksy does not provide this service through any other third parties and we would caution collectors against relying on such bodies."

The reasons behind Banksy's protective stance are thought to be threefold. Firstly, public acknowledgement of original street works may open the artist up to potential prosecution for vandalism. Then there is the issue of fakes, Pest Control say that they have identified 89 street pieces and 137 screen prints falsely attributed to the artist so far this year. Thirdly, Pest Control, which is also closely associated with Banksy's primary dealer lazarides, wish to maintain their position as the sole authentication body and thereby control the supply of approved works on the market.



Banksy and Pest Control

Lyon & Turnbull

Want to know more about porcelain?

Auction Atrium, Kensington Showroom

Auction Atrium are to hold a two-part evening course on English and Continental Porcelain. Aimed at those who want to know more about the start of porcelain manufacture in Europe, the course will be run at their Kensington showroom by former Christie's South Kensington specialist Mark Longley, who is a now valuer at Auction Atrium.

The course will offer a broad introduction to the subject of English and European porcelain, focussing on the major factories and the products they made.

Session One of An Introduction to Continental Porcelian runs from 7-9pm on Tuesday, November 18. Session Two is the same time a week later. Course fees are £5 per session, with proceeds going to hosting the Age Concern Annual Tea Dance.
Further details on 0207 792 9020

The most expensive piece of recycled art?

Healer, by Ghanaian sculpture El Anatsui




Above Healer by the Ghanaian sculpture El Anatsui, which is made of thousands of gin and whiskey bottle tops, brought some relief in a difficult financial climate when it sold above estimate for £290,000 at Sotheby's contemporary art sale on October 17th.

When local distilleries in Nigeria recycle each other's bottles, the screw caps associated with each brand are discarded in the process. By collecting these materials, and laboriously sewing them together with copper wire, Anatsui’s transformative process aims to "subvert the stereotype of metal as a stiff, rigid medium and rather showing it as a soft, pliable, almost sensuous material capable of attaining immense dimensions and being adapted to specific spaces" (Anatsui 2005).

Throughout a distinguished forty-year career as a sculptor and professor, Anatsui has addressed a vast range of social, political and historical concerns, and embraced an equally diverse vocabulary of media and process. Using anything from chainsaws and welding torches to this intricate and meditative 'sewing' process, he has shaped materials ranging from cassava graters and railway sleepers to driftwood, iron nails and obituary notice printing plates.

October Gallery

Autumn exhibition

Pimlico, London UK
November 5th - 15th 2008

Three BADA members with adjoining galleries on Pimlico Road are jointly holding autumn exhibitions. Side by Side is what they call their new venture and, from November 5 to 15, they offer three very different shows. Specialist Nicholas Gifford-Mead presents 'The Grate Exhibition', a celebration of the artistry that went into fire grates and other fire furniture of the 18th and 19th centuries.

Next door, Julian Simon Fine Art puts on 'A Private Eye', a show of naive and primitive paintings from the mid-20th century.

Anthony Outred's exhibition 'Knock Knock' displays antique brass door furniture and it demonstrates the variety, rich colour and fine chasing such metalwork can bring to architectural decoration.

Nicholas Gifford-Mead

Julian Simon Fine Art


Anthony Outred

Ebay ban ivory

Ebay, USA

EBAY are to ban the sale of ivory products on its USA site from January, after banning cross-border sales of ivory products last year.

A spokesperson for the online auctioneer said, "We simply can not ensure that ivory listed for sale on eBay is in compliance with the complex regulations that govern its sale".

Contempoary art hit by credit crunch

The once flying market for contemporary art lost some of its height last week as it felt the force of the economic crisis. Frieze, conducted from a tent in Regents Park from October 15-18 was badly hit as the £66.25 million combined auction total came in under half the estimated value.

Sotheby's, Christie's and Phillips de Pury had all asked consigners to lower their reserve levels before the sales after receiving indications that demand would falter following the worst crisis in banking and the financial sector since the Great Depression.

Phillips de Pury's evening sale on October 18 was the worst affected. The £4.16 million total was under a quarter of presale expectations and the selling rate was 54 per cent.

Christie's contemporary art evening sale the day after totalled £28 million hammer, well bellow the pre-sale low estimate £57 million, with the selling rate at 55 per cent.

Sotheby's evening sale on October 17 made £18.8 million hammer against a £30.1 million pre-sale low estimate. they managed to sell 73 per cent of the 62 lots. The majority went for under their low estimates, including the top lot, an Andy Warhol Skull, which was guaranteed and estimated at £5-7 million, it sold to a New York dealer for £3.85 million.

Paint diverted from landfill

RESEARCH conducted by environmental consultancy Resource Futures has shown that the UK paint reuse network diverted 450,000 litres of paint from landfill in 2007.

The 65 Community RePaint projects that form the network collected the equivalent of £1.75 million worth of paint. The findings revealed that 50% of the paint was leftover half-tins donated by the public at council waste sites. The other 50% was end-of-range and discontinued lines, dented tins, donated by DIY retailers and manufacturers and decorators. the paint was then offered for use by local charities, community groups and individuals in social need to brighten up their living and working environments.

Dream team buys Antiques Trade Gazette

London UK - METROPRESS, the publishers of Antiques Trade Gazette and owned by the Daily Mail (DMG), has been taken over by a management buyout team of Anne Somers (managing director), Mark Bridge (editor-in-chief), Simon Berti (sales director), Pablo Luppino (finance director), and an additional director with an IT bias, Bob Fairchild from geo online info group Landmark, a former Matrix client itself now owned by DMG.

Word on the street is that profitability of the ATG is down, with costs rising and auction ads sales falling, which is why DMG moved to divest itself of ATG, as well as some of its US niche antique publications. ATG has turned from passive auction advertising and news, to providing printed auction catalogues and now software for auction houses live auctions with thesaleroom.com. More recently ATG has set up another division providing software for general auction sales with i-bidder.com.

The buyout was supported by HSBC and Matrix venture capitalists. ATG's turnover is £6m with staff of 53. Matrix normally buys businesses worth between £5m and £20m and has taken less than half the equity of the new venture. DMG employs 16,000 with £2bn worldwide turnover from newspapers, magazines, TV, radio and trade shows, including Newark antiques fair, Ardingly, Shepton Mallett etc. The DMG ATG deal does not include the antique fairs, which over the years have also been rumoured to be losing money.

DMG gave as a reason for the sale that 'ATG is no longer strategically aligned with our long term objectives'.

MATRIX GROUP PRESS RELEASE:

MBO OF METROPRESS LTD
3rd October 2008: Matrix Private Equity Partners (MPEP), the small buyout specialist, has invested into the MBO of Metropress Limited (‘Metropress’). Metropress publishes the Antiques Trade Gazette (‘The Gazette’), the leading weekly newspaper that provides the latest in market information, news and analysis to art and antiques trade professionals and collectors in the UK. Acknowledged as the ‘Bible’ of the fine art and antiques industry, The Gazette is a newspaper for serious buyers and sellers. MPEP has taken a significant minority stake in the business.
Based in London and Chelmsford, Metropress was established by a journalist in 1971, in order to launch The Gazette. The first publication to serve the antiques trade, it provides an accurate, balanced and impartial view of the art and antiques business and over this time, has built up a degree of prestige and trust unrivalled by other publications. As the first choice publication for auction industry advertising, The Gazette also publishes advertising for fairs, galleries, packers, shippers, insurers, career opportunities and a host of other services.
In 1994, Metropress was acquired by Daily Mail and General Trust PLC (‘DMGT’), and since then has largely been left to its management to run as a stand alone business, with DMGT supplying some central services. In 2000, Metropress leveraged its existing auction house relationships by offering to manage their catalogue printing requirement. This has now been extended to offer an on-line option. In 2006, management launched the idea of Live Auctions, in order to address the potential offered by the internet. The business currently employs 53 people and its annual revenue is in excess of £6 million.
The strong management team that has been responsible for implementing the transition of the business from a paper-based publisher to one with an on-line presence, will be further augmented by the introduction of one of MPEP’s Operating Partners, who has significant experience in the sector. MPEP has introduced Bob Fairchild as investing Non-Executive Chairman to the management. Fairchild is particularly suited to the deal, having previously been Managing Director of a successful joint MPEP and 3i investment, Landmark Information Group, which was sold to DMGT.
Anne Somers, Managing Director of Metropress said: “Matrix Private Equity Partners’ supportive backing combined with Bob Fairchild’s expertise and vision will really help to exploit the potential of the business. We very much welcome the investment by MPEP.”
Jonathan Gregory of Matrix Private Equity Partners said: “Whilst we recognise that advertising spend may in the short term be susceptible to the prevailing economic environment, the transaction is modestly geared and we have built in protection to ensure that the VCT’s receive their yield. This, strengthened by the involvement of Bob Fairchild as Non-Executive Chairman, and a management team that has delivered strong profit and cash generation for its current owner and Metropress, means that the business is well placed to deliver further growth.”
- Ends –
Advisors:
Matrix: Baker Tilly (London) – Stephen Mason and Kurt Tiedt, accounting due diligence
PBD Consulting (London) – Lisa Whelan, commercial due diligence
Marriott Harrison (London) – Duncan Innes, Jonathan Leigh-Hunt, Ben Devons, Hugh Gardner, Rebecca Briam and Chloe Hymas (legal)
Management: Vantis Corporate Finance (London) – Philip Marsden, Francesca Granelli and Mathew Lunn (corporate finance)
Lewis Silkin (London) – Philip Lamb and Nadim Khan (legal)
Bank: Pinsent Masons (Birmingham) – Victoria Baker (legal)
Matrix Private Equity Partners – Jonathan Gregory, Eric Tung
For further information, please contact:
Equity Dynamics
Corinna Vere Nicoll 07825 326 440
Jane Kirby 07825 326 441