Vintage Furniture In India
After spending a few days in Kolkata I fly to Jodhpur where I meet Dharma, our adviser in Jodhpur. The ancient city is widely acknowledged to be the best place to buy antique and vintage furniture and homewares in India. Dharma has been in the antique furniture trade for over 30 years having worked for several of the large dealers. 18 years ago he set up his own consultancy business. He has an unrivalled knowledge of Indian antique and vintage furniture and the hundreds of dealers in the city. We have been working with Dharma for almost 15 years. Although we have been buying furniture for over 17 years, having a very knowledgeable local contact is indispensable.
Antique and Vintage Experts
Like buying antiques in the UK, many dealers specialise in certain types, eras and styles. So if you want to see a range of reclaimed doors and windows, there are several people who sell architectural salvage only. Of course, there are many who are 'generalists', selling everything. There are hundreds of businesses selling antique and vintage furniture in Jodhpur.
Some have been in the business for 30 years and others are start-ups with a couple of carpenters and a small stock of furniture. I always return to dealers I have bought from before and see what they have available. We trust their skilled restorers, blacksmiths and carpenters. Experience has taught me that always buy on my first visit to a dealer. Most of what we buy are one-offs. So while there are a lot of sellers, there are not so many people selling exactly what I am looking for. Good well-priced pieces can be in short supply and 5 minutes after I walk out someone else can walk in a buy it! 
Furniture Inspection
Of course we have to be confident that it's what we want and what we are prepared to pay for it. This is why I always select and inspect every single piece of vintage furniture we buy. I tend to have a good tour of dealers' warehouses and yards and then tour again to mark pieces I want to buy. This gives them an indication of the value and quantity. This could also mean they give us more competitive prices.
When restoring a vintage cupboard, we always ensure that the original colour is kept as we find it. Several vintage furniture dealers supplied us when we started buying vintage furniture ten years ago, and on this trip they were delighted to see Emma and the children. On this trip I had wooden cabinets, cupboards, wooden trunks, boxes, wooden tables, benches, antique padlocks and vintage wardrobes on my list. I am always looking for unusual decorative homewares. I bought several sets of solid vintage brass Tiffin tins which are still used for carrying lunch while on the go.
Umaida, is from Barmer, in the Thar Desert, NW India. He's been a carpenter for 27 years. He comes from a long line of skilled artisans - his father was a carpenter, as was his grandfather, great-grandfather ... His brother is a carpenter and so is his son. So working with wood is pretty much in his blood. We're privileged he restores our furniture. 
Old wooden monkey discovered by Josh and Ella
Restoring Vintage Furniture
Team Scaramanga have the opportunity to specify how they would like the furniture restored and repaired. We may want the paint left on and not stripped off. We think it is important to give the vintage piece justice and showcase the years of use. This can include historical repairs or changes to the wood's colour. We really do not like seeing pristine and perfectly restored antique furniture that has lost its acquired history.
Unrestored vintage merchant and jewellery makers' cabinets. Today they also make unique bedside cabinets and side tables. We look for original hardware to ensure the reclaimed wood fits with the vintage style. In addition, We insist that the gaps between joints are left as they are.I was delighted to discover chests that were buried under piles of reclaimed wood. They are wonderful compact chests of drawers which make bedside cabinets, side tables and children's storage chests.
We buy all of our antique furniture together which usually leads to quicker negotiations. It also usually allows us to get a better price. Furthermore, Dharma arranges their delivery and checks that the restoration and repairs have been completed. He also carefully packs them into a container, which usually arrives 10 weeks after we buy the furniture.
Solid teak sideboard
