Member Article

Antique business has designs on future

A North East antique auctioneer is taking part in a national Design Council initiative and discovering valuable new directions for his business.

Jim Railton has been in the antiques trade for over 30 years, and his career has ranged from shipping containers of antiques to the United States, to dismantling buildings to be sold and erected elsewhere.

He was appointed regional valuer for Phillips International Fine Art Auctioneers in the early 1990s and set up their saleroom in Newcastle in 1990.

Jim said: “Although business is very good, I have felt recently that new avenues have opened up and that there is potential to grow in different, exciting directions. I saw an advertisement for Designing Demand and it sounded like the perfect catalyst to explore these opportunities.”

Designing Demand is a national support programme which helps SMEs in using design to improve business performance. As a result of taking part, business owners can benefit from up to five days of free design consultancy advice from an experienced design manager appointed from a Design Council approved roster.

Neil Wilson, Design Council Associate, said: “Jim’s business is already very well established, and he is well known as a real maverick character in the arts industry. The project we have worked on has essentially involved developing more insight that can inform Jim’s vision, improving the business’ use of technology and exploring more sophisticated methods of utilising the internet.

“The antiques trade is a ‘people & stuff’ business, so if anyone is interested in becoming involved, the primary requirement is simply that they have a deep interest in design, fine art and antiques. The getting on stage and banging the hammer is only a very small part of the day-to-day activity.”

For more information on Designing Demand, visit www.designingdemand.org.uk or contact Willie Herdman at willie.herdman@ne-bic.co.uk.

This was posted in Bdaily's Members' News section by Ruth Mitchell .