Hi everyone, hope you are well and thank you very much for clicking on this link on the blog section of our newly designed website. We have decided that we will endeavour to write a blog in the future….

First of all, we acknowledge that is it often an awkward process when communicating directly over the internet to purchase an item for the first time. We rely on communication through the process because it is our policy not to store your bankers details and we simply want to make the experience as personal as possible. So please do not hesitate to contact us if you are interested in purchasing any items from our website, have an item you would like to add to our customer wishlist’ or even, if have items that you would like to sell to us or be valued by us. 

Sometimes, if you read a blog, businesses like to offer a manager’s special or talk about their favourite item currently for sale. While we all share an affinity with all we have purchased, besides, that is the reason we bought the items in the first place! However, we are going to copy this format for today and answer the question… As of 2.20pm on Sunday 26th February, the question of what is your favourite item currently for sale and why?

Susan Ing: Ken Howard: ‘figures on a beach’

“Because I love being near the turquoise coloured sea and it makes me happy”

Paul Ing: Kingpost trolley, yet to reach our website!

“This lovely full adzed kingpost trolley made in 1958, which we sold in 2005 and had the pleasure of re-purchasing yesterday. I love how useable the piece is, it also has a wonderful colour and has incredible craftsmanship!”

Charlie Ing: Robert ‘Mouseman’ Thompson 4ft vintage adzed open bookcase

“I just love how detailed the bookcase is. When you take a look at a modern bookcase, it just doesn’t compare to this. The mouse is so well carved and the piece is so finely adzed. If you have visited our showroom in the past 72 hours, I’ve even moved the piece right next to our desk so I can look at it during the work hours!“

What is your favourite item we currently have for sale, and why? 🥰

Ingnet Antiques are delighted to have just acquired a wonderful collection of rare and wonderful Yorkshire oak items, including early pieces from the workshops at Robert ‘Mouseman’ Thompson, Kilburn and pieces by master oak craftsman Stan Dodds (Woodpecker- 1928-2012).

Robert Thompson first started carving his trademark mouse’ carvings in the 1920’s and after nearly 100 years later, a finite amount of items available on the market from the early period of production, making such items very sought after by collectors. Given this, auction prices for early Mouseman’ works have increased rapidly and with increased coverage in the media, many new collectors have begun investing their money into Yorkshire oak.

Alternatively, if you type ‘Stan Dodds’ into an internet search engine, you will find lots of information regarding the collectable nature of his works. Don’t just take our word for it!

While, if you take a look at our sold archive, it is not too uncommon for us to sell rare and early Mouseman pieces and Stan Dodds’ pieces (selling carved pigeons, elephants, pheasants, owls, foxes etc.) to sell such a wide and varied collection at one time, is a prospect we are very excited about.

Please do take a look at what if we have currently for sale in our collectables section of our website but please note, although the term is cliched… they won’t be around for long!

Items include:

Robert ‘Mouseman’ Thompson mantle clock, circa 1940s (SOLD)

Robert ‘Mouseman’ Thompson mantle clock, circa 1930s. SOLD

Robert ‘Mouseman’ Thompson pair of early oval design ashtrays, circa 1930/40. SOLD

Robert ‘Mouseman’ Thompson early oak table lamp, circa 1930 (SOLD)

Robert ‘Mouseman’ Thompson very early fruit bowl, circa 1925. SOLD

Robert ‘Mouseman’ Thompson early pair of oak Candlesticks (SOLD)

Robert ‘Mouseman’ Thompson carved oak owl, circa 1970 (SOLD)

Stan Dodds ‘Woodpecker’ Pig boar and Sow. SOLD

Stan Dodds ‘Woodpecker’ racing pigeon (SOLD)

If you have any queries regarding anything listed on our website, please do contact Charlie on 07732380247 or Paul on 07957158348

Thank you!

UPDATE 02/2023 – All Chailloux pieces have sold and Charlie is sad again!

French artist Chailloux is considered to be one of the finest still life painters of recent times, after studying in the School of Superior Design, Boulevard de Bellville and Paris. Through his career, he received many awards, exhibited his work all over the world and his work was even gifted to the City of Paris and the Museum of the Ile-de-France where it is held in permanent collections.

That said, if you just take a second to look at his work, you can really see the accuracy and reality of his still life’s. In his later work, he experiments with different items and introduced new colour schemes to his pieces. However, in his popular earlier work, he brilliantly depicts vases, fruits, glass and silverware with the lighting outlined so perfectly. That said, his work with fruit is particularly sought after by collectors and some say the fruit he paints is so real that sometimes you feel like you gain one of your 5 day from simply looking at the artwork! Maybe, that is not 100% correct but I guess you understand the premise! Although, Charlie is currently looking at his work with strawberries in our showroom and he says he can not only taste the fruits but he has just subconsciously put the strawberry stalks in the bin!

Within the Ing family; Chailloux is also well known for his effect on a young Charlie Ing, when aged 7. Situated above the fireplace of his childhood home in Kent was a Chailloux still life of apples with a kiwi to the right side of this green and tasty piece of fruit. A young Charlie would often stand and stare at the work (when he was not misbehaving!). However, sadly Paul Ing says he did not know this fact and decided to sell it to an art collector in Hampshire. Selling it… and this caused Charlie to cry for hours! Fortunately, Charlie now has 4 pieces of work by Chailloux to enjoy in his Barnard Castle showroom to stop such tears from reappearing, but will they appear again when somebody visits to buy them all!?!?!?

Please do take a look at Chailloux’s work that is currently in stock and for sale at Ingnet Antiques! (Below).

It has been a long time since our last blog post, over 2 years in fact!

Since that time point, we have all been through a pandemic and we have personally established ourselves in our new location at 40 Horsemarket, Barnard Castle. We would like to send a huge thanks to all who have welcomed us to the top end of town with open arms! We would also like to thank all the antiques dealers on ‘The Bank’ in Barnard Castle for their continued support and we hope we have now increased the antiques area in this great small town!

Within our great passion of the Arts and Crafts movement, in the past few years, there has been much change as so many people have begun sharing knowledge, learning and collecting many impressive items. As a result of this, with low interest rates at the bank (not the one mentioned earlier), prices have sharply risen and so has interest in pieces by Yorkshire craftsman, such as Robert ‘Mouseman’ Thompson. For example, if you simply google ‘Robert ‘Mouseman’ Thompson, you may be swamped by antiques media outlets and auction houses commenting on the high prices items have reached at auction recenty,

Interest in ‘Mouseman’ items has certainly increased and collectors seem to be aspiring to purchase high quality pieces to add to their collections. That said, this post is about a pair of animal carvings that are so good, that Charlie thought it was appropriate to say a few words about them! So, hopefully attached are a few images of the items in question; A pair of rare carved oak carvings from the Mouseman workshops of a Sparrow hawk and Tawny Owl both carved by the same craftsman.

While both are in super conditions with a rich natural patina, they are currently still for sale (at 3.20pm on Tuesday 17th August). They may be for sale for only a short while, but just look at the detail and the quality of said carvings! The detail to the back feathers of the Sparrow hawk is certainly impressive and at around 33cm each, both animals are certainly not small in size!

We certainly are proud of the items that we buy + sell and we really enjoy meeting so many great people while we do so. But, people often ask… “Do you enjoy what you do?” – How could you not enjoy specialising in an area like this, with so many fantastic pieces to buy and sell!?

Please take a look at these carvings, before they fly away! (terrible pun).

Thanks for reading! For more information on these items, please visit the ‘collectables’ section of this website.

Charlie

Does the name Thomas Whittaker mean anything to you?

It does to us, Thomas ‘Gnomeman’ Whittaker (1910-1991) was an English Oak craftsman based in Littlebeck, a village close to the coastal town of Whitby in North Yorkshire.

Whittaker carved a little gnome into each item which left his workshop. It has been debated whether Whittaker carved the motif as according to fables… for each oak seed that sprouts, a gnome is born which will guard the tree throughout its journey. However, we do know that each of his pieces are hand carved of the finest quality and nowadays, are highly collectable.

Whittaker certainly was a very sought after craftsman in his time and fortunately, we currently have a variety of his pieces in stock..  To see examples of his work, please explore our website or visit our showrooms in Barnard Castle… you may even wonder why each Gnome shares a different mood?- we certainly prefer the happy ones!