Dealer and fair organiser Stephanie Castell.
1 How did you get your start?
I started dealing by pure chance. At home I had masses of snowdrops which needed thinning out and I took them to Malvern Flea and sold them at a pound a bag. I sold nearly 250 bags which I thought was great for just the work of digging and bagging them up.
I stood next to dealers selling pretty cups and saucers and it looked like fun. I had a background in sales and loved auctions where I regularly bought horses in Ireland for my late father-in-law, so one auction later I was hooked. Resources were very limited being a single parent so car boots were where it really began – that was approximately 34 years ago.
2 What events do you have coming up?
I will be standing at Chester Racecourse and then at Petersfield at the beginning of March but I’m basically based at The Secondhand Warehouse in Leominster. Also I’ll be running the Ludlow Racecourse Antiques Fair on February 25-26 with Ben Cooper.
3 What is one great discovery you have made?
I have had several useful but not major discoveries over the years. One that pleased me a lot was at the beginning of my dealing. Standing opposite me at Gloucester car boot one time was a dealer selling a transfer printed nursery tea set, c.1860.
People asked him about it all day but nobody bought and it was still there when we were packing up. For me it was a major purchase at £110, but I bought it just before he loaded it into his van and sold it at auction for £560 two weeks later.
4 How do you display your collection at home?
On the walls – it’s all horseracing and horse-related pictures and photographs. Not to everyone’s taste, but the picture my daughter had painted of my horse as a birthday present will never leave.
5 Real ale or espresso martini?
Espresso martini.
thesecondhandwarehouseleominster.co.uk
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