“After not being able to find another suitable shop in Petworth I was lucky to find some space at Wharf Farm, 15 minutes away,” he said.
At Wharf Farm he joins his restorer Grant Kilford and his business Antique Tables & Country Furniture.
“I call it my ‘boutique warehouse,’” Bird added, “It is smaller than my old shop but much more convenient and accessible.”
Amid much change (he is also launching a new website), he continues to exhibit at Petworth Antiques Market, and returns to the Decorative Fair where he is a regular exhibitor.
And he continues to provide stock he describes as “useful and comfortable decorative country house furniture.” Among his stock is a copper bath from Norris Castle, which, he suggests, may have been used by Queen Victoria “on her first visit to the Isle of Wight, where she and Albert fell in love.”
He reports that, despite rainy weather during his grand opening on Saturday, the sales had officially kicked off.
Bird's next stop is the Decorative Antiques and Textiles Fair in Battersea
"The important thing is that we have been selling," Bird says. "It's a bit of learning curve, but with the Decorative Fair coming up and publicity for that I think we'll continue to sell."
