Taking the leap into buying antique, vintage or collectibles for your home can be intimidating.
You can easily buy things online, but they can disappoint once they finally arrive. And how do you know what you’re really getting?
If only there was somewhere to browse, with someone knowledgeable to speak to.
A vintage and collectibles emporium is a rare thing these days, but luckily the north-east has a massive one — The Old Curiosity Shop in Keith.
There you can disappear inside seemingly endless caverns of treasure, and if you have a question, or something you’re looking for, Heather Allan is on hand.
She has a portfolio of clients she’s worked with for years, getting to know exactly what they want and tipping them off the moment she finds something she thinks they’ll like.
Heather, originally from Crieff, started out in the vintage and antiques business some 25 years ago.
Her interest grew from her passion for collecting costume jewellery, and she opened her first shop for curios and collectibles, Aunt Sally’s in Mundole.
The business grew and Heather subsequently moved her business into Forres and Rothes.
It’s now located at the old Grays of Keith in Mid Street, and known as The Old Curiosity Shop.
Eye-opening moments
Her years in the trade have given Heather many an eye-opening moment.
“Never judge a book by its cover,” she says. “You never know who’s going to walk in the door, from an estate owner, to a distillery boss, to members of the media.”
One particular jaw-dropping moment was when she was asked to clear a barn for an elderly couple.
Heather said: “I saw this thing and asked is that an old footboard off a bed? It looks like rosewood.
“The gentleman confirmed this and said it was the first bit of rosewood that ever came into Britain.
“Another time someone came in and looked at the Royal Doulton I had and said his grandfather had designed that pattern.
“It’s one of the most interesting jobs anyone could ever have.”
She’s appeared in many a TV show, including Salvage Hunters, screened in 32 countries.
“Occasionally people come in and look at me as if they know me. One time a family came over from Poland especially to see us after one of the shows.”
Meet one client, who has shopped with Heather since he was 11…
Tim Frith from Cheshire has been one of Heather’s clients since he was a mere sprat of 11 years old.
His gran was from the Nethy Bridge area, so the family came for holidays every summer and made regular visits to Heather’s original emporium in Forres.
The young Tim showed an interest, and Heather took him under her wing from that moment on.
Tim said: “I’m one of her longest-standing clients now.
“She knows I like wood and wood-turned objects, like candlestick holders and bowls.
“I’ve a big selection of Caithness paperweights, I’ve got old tools, kilt pins, you name it.
“One of the most recent things I bought from her was a frog, she has a massive collection of them, thousands. This one stood out, a pretty ugly thing but I like it.”
But his pride and joy is a drumhead grandfather clock which takes pride of place in his living room.
“My dad was originally a clock collector which is where I got my interest in clocks from, and this drumhead clock is a piece of art work.”
Tim trained in upholstery
Tim is an engineer for a pharmaceutical company, but at one point trained up in furniture upholstery.
Heather keeps him supplied not only with furniture to do up, but the proper old-fashioned tools to do it with.
“Heather understands what I’m after, rather than the modern plastic cheaply-made ones. She’s still selling the old school materials that last a lifetime.”
Tim’s two up two down is jam-packed with treasure.
He said: “I have three dogs, so it’s packed but you can still walk round it.
“Am I handy with a duster? No comment!”
Tim has a wide range of items sourced for him by Heather over three decades crammed into his Cheshire home, but Heather also has clients with an appetite for vintage nearer at hand.
We can’t disclose the identity of one particular client of Heather’s for her own security, so we’ll call her Jane.
Jane lives in Aberdeenshire, and has a home full of exotic antiques she’s collected while working in the Middle East, and many eclectic items from Heather’s emporium.
Many P&J readers will identify with Jane’s desire to recycle, upcycle and repurpose beautiful things.
Jane said: “It’s the whole thing where we keep talking about the environment but we just keep buying new stuff.
“A lot of people nowadays seem to go for the whole minimalist thing, and I go full-on maximalist.
“I’ve been working abroad for thirty years and have sent back 20ft containers of stuff, so my house is like an ethnographic museum.
“I collect furniture, doors, door frames, you name it, I’ve brought it back.
“The pieces are beautiful, carved, intricate, handcrafted, unusual and require a lot of skill.”
The Heathers of this world are very important to Jane.
“I always develop relationships with Heathers all over the world, and after dealing with male Heathers abroad with huge collections of things that I loved, when I came back to Scotland I had to find a replacement so I found Heather, originally in her Rothes shop.
“I’ve been buying from her for almost a decade, she’s got great stuff, especially if you have the patience, imagination and vision to find it.”
Heather recently fulfilled Jane’s wish for glass-fronted Georgian cabinets. She’s supplied her with carpets, table lamps and all sorts of eclectic items.
“I’m the god of small tables, they are such a vital part of life,” Jane says, “and Heather is really excellent for small tables.”
Jane’s lucky friends also benefit from what she calls her ‘eye for good stuff’.
She said: “It’s the whole thing where we keep talking about the environment but we just keep buying new stuff, so I like to buy gifts for people from shops like Heather’s.
“It could be plates to display on the wall, old clocks, vintage jewellery is always popular with people, and things like cake stands, and cheese dishes, some people collect those.”
The internet has brought change
With the advent of the internet, the whole business has changed.
It’s driven prices down, but does give Heather some amusing moments.
She said: “We can always tell when someone on Pinterest is influencing the fashions.
“Suddenly we’ll get people coming in all looking for granny-style pinnies, or a certain style of picture frame, or different containers for plants.”
But don’t even think of googling an item when you come into the shop, as you will greatly offend Heather’s ethos of giving the fairest prices.
Conversation