Lily Johnston, 22, Sussex

has been a dealer for the past decade so I grew up around antiques. She used to renovate houses, which I found fascinating. I like interiors and I love shopping, so my interest grew from there. When I was younger I enjoyed going on buying trips as her sidekick then, from the age of 17, I started working with her full time.

‘ Dealing works for me because it’s so !exible. I’m studying Law and I have a li" le boy, so I need a job that #ts in around my other commitments. I’d like to carry on dealing a $ er university but, if it doesn’t work out, I’ll have a degree to fall back on.

‘Our look is very decorative. I buy with my eye. If I don’t like something, I just don’t buy it, even if there’s likely to be a good pro#t in it. I think because I’m young and a woman people sometimes underestimate me a bit when I’m buying, but that o$en works in my favour. I suppose I’m not a typical dealer.

‘ I’m always driving a van! We mostly buy in France. We’re planning a trip to Sweden soon, too. We also buy at Kempton and Ardingly. My mum and I are really close. I tend to do more of the social media and the website, but we o$en buy together. We mostly agree on what to buy – on the whole we have the same taste.

‘Social media is really important for us. We don’t have a Facebook page because we found it didn’t work for us, but we do a lot on Instagram. Sometimes I post something on there and within 10 minutes it’s sold.

‘ We sold two huge Irish stone heads to Shepperton Studios and they were used in the # lm The

Mummy with Tom Cruise. We do a lot of heavy stone pieces. I’ve de# nitely got #" er since I started working with my mum – we always tend to buy things that are big and unmanageable!

‘ Being a member of Antiques Young Guns( antiques young guns. co.uk) has been really good for me and has broadened my horizons. I’m seeing more young dealers appearing on the scene each year. It’s nice to keep the trade going through generations.’

We recently sold a beautiful pair of life-size caryatids from a theatre in Bordeaux. These went to Ireland and formed part of a garden pavilion. I really loved them! Another recent highlight for me was a 19thcentury plaster relief bust of an angel at prayer.

Lily and Jack Johnston, Bombe Antiques & Interiors. 07949 093778; bombeinteriors.co.uk