Andrews is a trustee of the Textile Society, organiser of some of the society’s events and a well-known dealer in rare and unusual antique dress and textiles.
Although no-one is coming to see her to buy, and the museums market has dried up, on the plus side Andrews said that she is still buying at auction and from private sellerss and has been “selling to new customers, particularly in Hungary, Germany, France and the US buying susani, costume and 19th century fabric”.
Her core market, she said, is still interior designers and “middle-aged men and women who are passionate about collecting textiles”.
Dealer Meg Andrews who is a trustee of the Textile Society.
The Export market has always been an area of particular interest for Andrews. She offers at £700 this (pictured top) rare flower-strewn 18th century skirt in ivory silk, made in the then Portuguese enclave of Macau for the Western market, detail shown, which was “almost certainly given to the church who used it as an altar cloth”.
