My mother tells me that when I was asked what I wanted to be when I grew up, I would always reply: a skating nurse. To this day, I have absolutely no idea why, given that I have no balance and am squeamish about blood. I certainly didn’t say antiques dealer. But then neither did I say fashion journalist, which is what I first became. But, unlike the skating nurse, there is a common thread between fashion and antiques. Both deal with telling stories, visual identity and beautiful things.
Descending from a long line of collectors, which one might say is a polite word for hoarders, I grew up being hauled around the antiques shops and auction rooms of southern England. My parents had a wonderful eye for both an antique and a bargain, filling our homes with huge gilt mirrors, Victorian bamboo tables and mahogany furniture, long before it became fashionable to do so.
As a slightly odd child with a brain like a sponge, I couldn’t help but pick up a vast amount of knowledge from looking, touching and listening, and it all just sat there in my head, waiting for the day when I finally decided to access it.
Starting over with antiques
When I moved to the Cotswolds in the lockdown hiatus of summer 2020, ostensibly I was still working in fashion but had long thought about the idea of selling antiques, specifically the blue-and-white 19th-century Staffordshire china my mother so loved. I had registered the name of my business, Found, on Instagram back in 2015, and bought several boxes of antique plates at auction to sell, but they sat unloved under my bed, firstly in London and then in the country, as life took me in a different direction.
By the spring lockdown of 2021, I was living on my own in a little cottage in the middle of a field with no work and no money, but a lot of possessions, among which were those damned dusty boxes of china. So I announced to my social media followers that I was going to sell some antiques on Instagram. I researched, photographed and posted the collection one night in January and they sold out in under five minutes. It was quite the surprise. And thus started my second career, as an antiques dealer.
Fast-forward to 2026 and you find me in a 1,000 square-foot studio barn on a farm in Gloucestershire, curating a space packed full of vintage and antique pieces, from 18th-century tea bowls to mahogany bedside tables, which I sell to clients ranging from local farmers to American interior designers.
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A family affair
One of the most unexpected results of my midlife career change has been the renewal of my bonds with my fractured post-parental divorce family. Goodness, they all love Found!
Not only will my mother drive several hours to join me on studio open days to talk to my clients and help with the wrapping, but my sister is always on the hunt for new stock and my father learned to French polish so he could help me restore the antique brown furniture I sell.
And it’s not just the support from my family that has been unexpected. Fashion media hasn’t always had a reputation for kindness or inclusiveness and, as somebody who spent their twenties at Vogue House and later moved to America to work on a high-profile fashion magazine, I can attest to just how nasty and exclusionary many within the industry can be. So imagine my delight upon discovering how helpful and charming so many people have been within the antiques industry. Whether one is asking for advice to identify a rare piece of Worcester or needing a hand hefting a Georgian linen press into the back of the van, there is always someone who will freely offer their help.
Accessible to all
I have tried to reflect that openness in the way I run my business, too. It’s been important to me that my price points should be accessible. Found stock starts from £5 for a vintage Willow pattern egg cup. Many people find my business via social media and will not have purchased vintage or antique pieces before, so I promote an inclusive and welcoming atmosphere, where first-time buyers don’t feel intimidated and aficionados feel comfortable.
One of the wonderful things about the antiques trade is that there truly is a space for everyone. Because it’s based on personal taste, which is highly subjective, each dealer’s offer is remarkably different from the next. That means there is room for everyone at the antiques table. Even within quite niche areas, say Bow figurines or antique textiles, no two dealers will have exactly the same stock. And for the consumer, this makes buying and collecting so much more enjoyable as, even in a town known for its myriad antiques stores, like Tetbury near where I live, each shop will have something exciting to discover. Just remember that the trade moves quickly: if you like something and can afford it, snap it up as it’s extremely unlikely to be there next week.
As a journalist, I am a professional storyteller and it gradually dawned on me that selling antiques is absolutely no different: my barn is a room full of stories, hundreds of pieces that lived a life before they came into my possession.
My mother likes to complain that when she finally departs this life, I will sell her precious collections. To which I always reply: well, maybe, because the important thing to remember is that human beings are ephemeral. We know we will die. But our possessions will have many incarnations with other people, creating new stories along the way. I think that’s a marvellous thing. I like to look around my barn and imagine all the different lives these pieces have seen. Think of those delicate late 18th-century hand-painted porcelain tea bowls and how many people will have drunk from such tiny pieces that have lasted some 240 years and continue to give enormous pleasure. Every object has an old – and future – story to tell.
Follow Sasha on Instagram at @foundbysashawilkins or message her to make an appointment to visit the barn.
How to get started as an antiques dealer
Decide what you love. Maybe you like blue-and-white china, mid-century furniture or vintage barware. There’s nothing wrong with a magpie approach, but marketing your business is easier if there is a common thread to what you are selling, even if that is just your personal taste.
Do your research. Read as much as you can and as widely as you can. I find secondhand shops to be a mine of amazing reference books, many of which are out of print and were written by obsessive specialists.
Touch as many things as you can. This is especially true for china. After you’ve examined enough pieces, you’ll learn how to date them just by feel.
Don't be scared of buying stock at auction. Auction houses are friendly places: they always welcome new buyers and will walk you through the process.
Work your social media. You don’t need a fancy website. I started my business on Instagram and five years later, I still don’t have a retail website. As a one-woman business, I don’t have the resources to service one. I just have a holding page linking to my Instagram. It’s as simple as that.
Don’t worry about branding, printed stationery or splurging on packaging. There’s nothing wrong with using recycled boxes and newspaper, as I do. I find it unconscionable to add even more rubbish to landfill.
