Top Banana not Grey !
Is the antiques trade going grey? Not at Top Banana!
Watch a few promotional videos of antiques fairs and you could be forgiven for thinking that grey is the new antique. Grey hair, grey beards, and a fair amount of shuffling between the stalls!
Now, before anybody takes offence, I’ve been a dealer for 48 years, so I’m hardly a spring chicken myself. But surely the future of antiques depends on more than looking backwards?
At Top Banana, we have plenty of young blood, fresh ideas and different ways of looking at old things. And that’s exactly how it should be.
Mind you, I’m still trying to keep up with some of the trendy new advertising. I recently saw a chap proudly promoting something from the Czech army in the 1980s. The 1980s! I left school in 1980. When did my schooldays become antiques?
But that’s the point. What seems yesterday to me is history to somebody younger. And what looks like yesterday’s old rubbish to one person might be tomorrow’s must-have collectible to another.
After 48 years in the trade, I’ve learnt a thing or two, but I’m not arrogant enough to think I’ve learnt everything. I’m perfectly happy to learn from younger dealers, embrace new ideas and give the next generation a chance to find their feet.
Because if we want the antiques trade to survive and thrive, we need young people buying, selling, collecting and enjoying the things we love. We need fresh enthusiasm alongside experience, new ideas alongside old knowledge, and a willingness to move with the times without throwing away what makes antiques special.
At Top Banana, we believe antiques are for everyone, not just those who remember when they were made!
So bring on the young blood, the new ideas and even the upcycling (within reason, please!). There’s room for all sorts under our roof.
Top Banana: keeping the antiques trade young at heart, whatever the colour of your hair!
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