Giving lady lovejoys a fair deal

Published on Wednesday 17 September 2008 09:50

CRUSTY old pin stripe suited chaps in dusty antique salesrooms, or dapper Jack the Lads with a gift of the gab and a "cheap as chips" line of slick sales patter. When television turned its square eye on the antiques business in days gone by, it was jolly Arthur Negus on the Antique Roadshow and a cheeky chappy called Lovejoy with a wheeling dealing manner, a penchant for the ladies and a tendency to get into unfortunate scrapes who stole the show.

Now, however, Edinburgh bestselling author Alexander McCall Smith has turned his attention from Botswana's No 1 Ladies Detective Agency to the antiques business to create a new character for television – and in an single stroke, he's turned the popular image of the trade upside down.

A pilot for a new television programme has been penned by the Merchiston-based author – dubbed Lady Lovejoy, it follows the adventures of an Edinburgh woman antiques dealer and her handsome young male assistant.

The drama is said by Eric Coulter, head of drama at STV, to "bring Alexander's particular view of life, which is optimistic", hinting that its leading lady might be more like McCall Smith's Mma Ramotswe than Lovejoy himself, played by actor Ian McShane.

While it is early days – STV says it can't confirm details – what's certain is that it would reflect a growing trend in the Capital's world of antique dealers for a far more feminine touch.

Edinburgh-based auction house Lyon & Turnbull was set up in 1826 when the idea of women working in antiques was unheard of, yet these days it boasts a 50-50 split between the sexes, with one of the youngest women auctioneers in the country.

Others are carving out careers in traditionally male-dominated fine art galleries and in Lovejoy's personal territory, second-hand dealerships.

So who are the women putting the girl power into the Edinburgh antiques trade? And could they be the inspiration for television's Lady Lovejoy?

Stephanie Miller, 32, antiques dealer

SHE'S not quite Lovejoy – there are no dodgy deals – but like the fictional antique dealer, Stephanie Miller has made it her business to spot potential gems and turn them into a healthy profit.

She runs Miller Antiques in Causewayside, buying from private sellers and then selling items on for the best price she can get.

Stephanie admits there are times when she has to disappoint potential sellers because she doesn't rate their precious item.

"If people are really desperate to get rid of something but I don't think there's a profit there, then I have to tell them there's always the charity shop," she shrugs.

She entered the trade as a teenager and spends her days snapping up items other people no longer want and turning them into hard profit.

While her business sounds like it's all about the past, she's learned to be on the ball with trends if she's going to clinch a profitable deal.

"Fashions are constantly changing ," she says. "In the 1980s it was very trendy to have church pews in your kitchen, back then there'd have been no trouble at all selling a church pew. Now you can't sell them, everything's moved on."

But while the fictional Lovejoy's nose for an antique usually saw him sniff out a hidden gem worth a small fortune to bring the show to a dramatic finale, Stephanie's still searching: "I'm still waiting for that one item that makes my heart really race faster – it's got to be out there somewhere."

Victoria Crake, 36, auctioneer

IT was a nerve-wracking experience, but the moment Victoria Crake brought down the hammer on her first stint as auctioneer, she couldn't wait to try it again. "It was absolutely terrifying," laughs the 36-year-old. "It's quite theatrical and it's a real adrenalin rush to be up there but you can't enjoy it until you've done it a good few times."

She will be in charge of the next fine antiques auction at Edinburgh dealers Lyon & Turnbull later this month and already she's looking forward to commanding the room.

But being at the high end of the antiques trade was never her original plan. "My speciality is ceramics – which is quite girly I suppose – and being an auctioneer really wasn't my plan."

Raised in Glasgow, she became interested in antiques through her step-father, who was a collector, and went on to study history of art.

Today she works at Lyon & Turnbull as a ceramics specialist and head of the antiques department.

"Around half of the staff is female – that's unusual for the antiques trade, which is usually very male dominated," she says. "It's probably because many men enter the business as porters – shifting large items of furniture – then work their way up."

She thinks television antiques shows have inspired women into the business by taking away the mystery that surrounds a typical auction room and revealing the excitement of a big sale.

"The best was the sale of a Chinese moonflask which fetched 275,000," she recalls. "I wasn't auctioneer that time but seeing it sell for that price was amazing."

Athina Athanasiadou, 30, fine art specialist

THE world of antiques and fine art may be evolving, but 30-year-old art specialist Athina Athanasiadou still reckons it's a man's world.

She works at Bourne Fine Art in Dundas Street, which specialises in paintings and sculpture.

Although the gallery is run by Emily Walsh and has recruited several women in recent years, she believes the industry is still male dominated.

"More women are certainly getting involved, but they are very much the minority," she says. "And there are a lot of older men working in the business who find it hard to deal with a much younger woman telling them what to do."

Her role at the gallery involves working with owners of paintings who want to sell, contemporary artists, auction houses and shipping agents.

Athina arrived in Edinburgh from Athens to complete her history of art studies at Edinburgh University.

"I love dealing with all sorts of people, from 80 to 18, artists who are living and people bringing items from estates."

Elena Ratcheva, 25, antique art specialist

It may have a stuffy, dusty image, but Elena Ratcheva says the world of antiques is nothing short of dynamic.

"There's really an exciting buzz about antiques," she insists. "There's a very dynamic atmosphere. It's wonderful to see an item come in, go through auction and pass on to a new owner. There's lots of excitement."

Born in Bulgaria, her parents came to Edinburgh when she was 13. She joined Lyon & Turnbull three years ago as an arts expert specialising in 19th century French art and 17th century art from the Netherlands.

She is among an elite group of Scottish art specialists and recently became one of Scotland's youngest auctioneers.

"It's about dealing with and understanding the objects and interacting with people who want to own them – that's something both sexes can do," she says.