Chloe Wood,

23", Oxfordshire

M

y family are hoarders and collectors and I was a history bo! n at school. I did work experience at an auction house when I was 17 and I was planning to go to university a"er sixth form, but got o#ered a job at Warwick Auctions in Coventry and decided to take it. I’m very fortunate that my old boss there, Lee Bailey, is one of the nicest and most intelligent people in the trade.

‘ People typically expect auctioneers to be older gentlemen, so that can be a bit of a hurdle, but it’s changing all the time. More and more young females seem to be in the antiques trade these days than ever before.

‘O"en, we are invited into people’s homes at di !cult times, for example, when somebody has recently passed away. You’ve got to be very careful and make sure that you’re being ‘It’s nice to see somebody win a lot they really want because I know how good that feels. ’ sympathetic to the situation, but you also don’t want to miss anything of value. It’s really remarkable what is potentially going to be thrown away – we found some very valuable lots in a skip recently.

‘Unlike a museum, where everything is recorded then locked away in a dark cupboard, at an auction house you get to handle things. We sold a spectacular pair of art deco Cartier diamond earrings last year for £72,000 and I got to try them on before the sale. They were so heavy!

‘It can sound glamorous, handling antiques that are worth thousands of pounds, but there’s a lot of si "ing through dusty garages and cobwebby a$ics. I really hate spiders. You need gloves and wellies sometimes, but you can % nd treasures anywhere.

‘ I really, really love my job. I live it, eat it, breathe it. It’s all I do. At the weekend, I usually go to car boot sales and antiques fairs. I collect studio po$ery because I like the fact that every item is di #erent and made by hand. My all-time favourite % nd has to be a pair of beautiful stoneware pla$ers with pheasants on them by po$er Laurence McGowan.

‘ In the short time that I’ve been in the job, I’ve seen how the internet is changing things. Everything is gearing towards online bids and, on some sale days, the room is quiet. You might be looking at a screen and three people – two of whom are Mallams sta & !

‘It’s nice to see somebody win a lot they really want because I know how good that feels. I also like not knowing what the day will bring – no two sales are ever the same.’ Chloe Wood is an Auctioneer, Valuer and Cataloguer at Mallams, Abingdon. 01235 462840; mallams.co.uk