• Tale of a Vagabond....

     

    History

    Founded by Joe Chaffer in the summer of 2017, after a 10 year career in menswear in the City of London, Joe decided to change career path and pursue a life of antiques...coming from a family of antique dealers some would say there is an ingrained knowledge within him and perhaps this has been a reason Joe has so quickly established himself as a respected dealer in both the UK and Europe.

    Joe was invited to join LAPADA in 2019 after the association seeing his exhibition at the Bath decorative Fair that same year.

    In 2020, Joe was invited to join the Standards and Vetting Committee of the Battersea Decorative Fair, initially focusing on 18th and 19th century painted furniture. In 2021, the Olympia Antique Fair asked Joe to join its standards committee for 19th century European sculpture.

    More recently, Joe has been invited to join the Standards and Vetting Committee of the prestigious

    LAPADA Fair, with a specialist focus on 18th and 19th century European sculpture. He remains actively committed to all three roles, reflecting both his established standing and continued progression within the international antiques trade.

     

    Philosophy 

    Joe prides himself on surprising and inspiring his clientele, not only looking for the quality, integrity and provenance of an item but looking for that element of surprise...

    "A piece thats just made slightly different to the norm...having that thing, that magic, where you just have to buy it...or it will haunt you forever...thats what I'm constantly looking for"

    "Yes, we all need chest of drawers and bedside tables but I want the ones I source to be different than the rest, perhaps not the most business minded philosophy, but alas, the only way I can buy "

     

    Speciality

    " I love the freedom of being able to buy across a range of different disciplines, I wouldn't currently want to be pigeonholed into one category, I guess the only way I can quantify my 'specialist' area is by the excitement I feel when discovering pieces and where i feel instinctive knowledge- that definitely comes from sculpture, whether it's marble or stone, polished or weathered, discovering sculpture, for me is the most exciting part of my work "

     

    Day to Day

    Joe runs the business with his wife Lily from their showroom in the centre of Petworth and their home in a neighbouring West Sussex village, where they live with their two young children. Joe is travelling regularly in the UK, Italy and France to source 'fresh to market' antiques and items of inspiration.