Carl's is in Jodhpur buying more antique and vintage furniture and this year's trip marks our 10 years buying furniture and interiors. Carl has a list of furniture stock to buy and we are always on the lookout for new, different and unique stock. Read on to see some the totally new stock we have just bought. We have gained a reputation for specialising in antique trunks, boxes and chests and no trip is ever complete without buying a collection of chests along with armoires, cupboards and cabinets.
Rows and rows of furniture. Buying unrestored furniture allows us to specify how we want them finished.
Carl meets Dharma who introduces us to antique and vintage furniture dealers and managing the logistics of getting all our furniture back to Scotland. He has been working with us for eight years has been sourcing antique and vintage furniture for over 28 years and has an unrivalled knowledge of dealers and contacts. We usually buy from 10 regular dealers, but I always find time to meet new suppliers.
We have never bought old teak interior panels like these before
Remember this armoire? I lovely blue deco piece bought by popular demand.
Jodhpur has developed a reputation as a centre for buying antique furniture and items from all over India as well as pieces from Jodhpur's local area of Rajasthan and neighbouring Gujarat. Our shopping list for this trip includes: large armoires, wall cabinets, sideboards, folding chairs, old chests, brass padlocks and anything that looks good!
This how we usually find our furniture. This wonderful old blue cupboard shows a peacock on its doors. Blue is a popular colour in Rajasthan and Gujurat. Looking at this peiece again Carl really wishes he had bought it!
In a day I meet with between 4-5 antique dealers most have large outside yards stacked full of unrestored furniture and warehouses with partially and fully restored stock. All have workshops where skilled carpenters, cabinet makers and other artesans will be bringing the pieces back to life. Some items need basic work to clean and remove surface dirt and grime and finish with waxing and a good polish, others need remedial work to replace broken glass, renew drawer runners, tighten joints. Extreme restoration may involve reconstructing a chest's panels, remaking doors and drawers from reclaimed teak from old furniture. We buy a selection needing wide variety of work. Buying items that need to be fully restored may seem risky, but we have total confidence in the carpenters' abilities.
This trips totally new stock includes 10 original red old post office letter boxes, large soice storage tins, vinatge railway oil lanterns and handcuffs!
Furniture arriving at one of our regular antique dealer's yard
NEW Old post office letter boxes. We have never bought these before and have been looking for them for a while.
New for this trip. Old railway lanterns!
In 1 or 2 days I have bought most of our furniture. I spend the next few days revisiting dealers to check on the progress of the restoration work. There are newer antiques dealers and we make time to meet new suppliers. We'll try to buy a few pieces to start with and then visit them again on my next trip to buy more.
Umaida, a carpenter who has over 25 years experience. Look out for our interview with him in a few weeks.
We bought 140 of these antique teak chests.
We bought this merchant's desk and returned a few days later to see the restoration progress.
Old unrestored colourful soda crates. These are great for storage all over the house.
Restored. Umaida has finished restoring these south Indian wedding chests
Rows and rows of furniture. Buying unrestored furniture allows us to specify how we want them finished.
We have never bought old teak interior panels like these before
Remember this armoire? I lovely blue deco piece bought by popular demand.
This how we usually find our furniture. This wonderful old blue cupboard shows a peacock on its doors. Blue is a popular colour in Rajasthan and Gujurat. Looking at this peiece again Carl really wishes he had bought it!
Furniture arriving at one of our regular antique dealer's yard
NEW Old post office letter boxes. We have never bought these before and have been looking for them for a while.
New for this trip. Old railway lanterns!
Umaida, a carpenter who has over 25 years experience. Look out for our interview with him in a few weeks.
We bought 140 of these antique teak chests.
We bought this merchant's desk and returned a few days later to see the restoration progress.
Old unrestored colourful soda crates. These are great for storage all over the house.
Restored. Umaida has finished restoring these south Indian wedding chests
