GLASGOW LOVES Vintage
I'm of an age when I can remember Crazy House in Glasgow's Trongate, a clothing shop which decorated its floors with all manners of wonders. As a child, I loved it, it was akin to a magical emporium, with all sorts of weird and wonderful things showcased on shelves, hanging from ceilings, standing upright near walkways or stairs. Clearly, it was a clever marketing strategy to get people through their doors, but it was a place of wonder, which brings us to Glasgow Loves Vintage, a place of wonder in a modern age, an emporium within an emporium.
We took a trip back in time with vintage furniture dealer Laurie McLelland, to find out more about the trials & tribulations in the life of a buyer/seller and what it was that hooked Laurie into this realm and set up his Glasgow Loves Vintage. (Pete C).
Q) How did you get into Buying/Selling, were you always involved, or did you have another career/job before?
"When I was younger my mum used to buy and sell small antiques and collectibles. She couldn’t drive so my brother and I used to get dragged round auctions on the buses, we hated it. Every now and again though she would let us bid on something at auction and then we could help her sell it at a fair or table top sale and keep the money. It was a great feeling when you made a profit and I guess it sort of stuck. After school I went to Uni and got a job in a finance office, but I never enjoyed it, when I got made redundant it gave me the opportunity to become the “stay at home” dad and when the kids were at school I started to buy and sell little bits. It sounds silly, but I was desperate for a campervan so bought an old battered VW and convinced my long suffering wife that it was for work and would pay for itself by letting me buy bigger things so I had to become more serious and get selling. What I do now is unfortunately never going to make me rich but I absolutely love it and cant imagine ever going back to a “normal” job again."
Q) How did Glasgow Loves Vintage come into being ?
"When the first big lockdown happened I found myself with a little more time, I started buying and selling more and more items and got a real buzz from it. The thrill of buying really is addictive and it is far easier than the selling so I ended up accumulating a lot of stock. My wife is very patient with me but finally she had enough of our house being crammed full and random people appearing at all hours to collet so she told me I had to stop or get a place to sell from.
Although having a shop sounded fun the reality was my main role was (and still is) being the “stay at home” dad, this meant manning a shop was just not going to work. I visited Glasgow City Antiques on Lancefield Street in Glasgow. If you have never been, it’s a bit like a big warehouse with around 30 different sellers. The sellers get allocated a space but don’t need to stay and instead customers just pay or ask for help at the front desk. It is an amazing place for a browse, but always freezing so wear your thermals!
The set up there was exactly what I needed, so my mum helped me paint then I moved in the bits I had and things just grew from there. The other sellers were all brilliant at offering tips and advice (and relieving me of my best stock!). I set up a Facebook page and was really fortunate that it grew quickly, I had posted a pic of a lovely retro kitchen unit, it was a nice cheery yellow colour and it just seemed to appeal to people. That post got shared and then luckily things just grew from there. I am afraid I am a little lazy with social media and still haven’t set up a website, but plan to up my game with both from now on."
Q) Is what you do still niche, or are more and more people getting into vintage and retro things now, especially young folks ?
"I think it is becoming a lot more popular especially with the younger generation. People are thinking a bit more about what they can reuse or re-purpose to save it going to landfill. There also seems to be an appreciation of how well made some things were. When my wife and I were younger, we did the common thing of buying all flat pack furniture, but we found it didn’t last long. We ended up replacing with items like an old Ercol sideboard, I think it cost £50, but its so well made it will last a life time. As fashions change, it can be painted to match,if the kids spill a drink on it you can sand and refinish it, so it just makes sense to a lot of people. I think it appeals to lots as you could furnish a whole room with top quality used items for a fraction of the cost of new.
It often surprises people when I tell them that the majority of my customers are students and those in their 20s. I think the variety and the chance to create unique styles and looks definitely appeals to younger people. In the UK we are lucky, as there are a lot of people passionate about certain things from the past, A quick look on Facebook brings up groups for vintage fashion, cars, music, militaria etc.
Social media has its downfalls, but it is great as a way of so many people getting together and celebrating what they love. I have a few old scooters and mopeds and the owners groups are fantastic, often the bikes are discussed the least, as everyone loves just chatting and sharing stories of what they used to get up to or posting their latest vintage “finds”."
Q) What’s been your weirdest find or purchase ?
"Oh there have been a few! I am definitely a fan of weird and unusual items. Finding false teeth is unfortunately quite a common occurrence but probably my favourite quirky items currently in stock are a priests “last rights” kit often referred to as a vampire kit and an old Indian Rickshaw Tuk Tuk, I bet that could tell some stories! The Tuk Tuk literally looks like it has lived under the sea for the last 30 years, so it would be a big project for someone, but it always makes me smile and still has some lovely features like the original Indian Taxi meter."
Q) What does your job/buying career entail, how do you find new “old things” to sell ?
"This is the fun part! I sit and scour through pages and pages of auction catalogues for things that everyone needs like tables, chairs etc, they are like the bread and butter items that will help pay my rent but the best finds always come from going out and meeting people. Almost every town will have a few vintage or Antique shops and it can be a great day out doing a wee tour of them. I love going out exploring in my old van and 99% of the time its packed full by the end of the day. I usually have to be back for school finishing, but I will often go as far as Carlisle or Perth for example before having to come back. The owner from the shop in Longtown in Carlisle is a great guy and introduced me to the big antique fair at Newark in Nottinghamshire. I was like a kid in a sweet shop when I went, I couldn’t believe the variety available so if you ever get the chance to visit I would totally recommend it.".
Q) What is it about old things you enjoy?
"It sounds a bit of a cliché, but its nice thinking about the history of each item and all the people that have owned or used it. Often in drawers or cases, I will find family photos or letters, you can get engrossed in it all and lose hours by reading through them. I have started a bit of a scrapbook idea where I keep interesting notes and pictures.
I am not a religious person, but one of the most interesting is if I get an old “family” bible. These are fantastic, as they usually have a list of family members and their ages and relationships. The other thing I love is when you get inscriptions on old books or labels on toys and you know that at some stage that book or the old dolls house would have made someone smile."
Q) The past year or two has been hard on physical businesses, how did you cope/ma nage/survive and whats planned for 2022 ?
"It has been such a hard time for so many people, but I was probably quite fortunate that pretty quickly after starting up I had managed to get a decent social media following. I think people had more time on their hands and lots were enjoying transforming their homes, so I was luckily kept quite busy with people buying different pieces of furniture, pictures, mirrors etc and desks for people working from home were my saviour ! Click and collect and deliveries became much more popular and even now, the majority of customers seem to prefer items getting posted. I hope that changes and people feel comfortable getting out and exploring again, I am keen to develop a website to help with online sales, but I don’t think anything can beat seeing something in the flesh and really getting to rummage around a good antique shop. The plan for this year is to take on more space in Glasgow City Antiques and try and do a little more buying from further afield, I am keen to keep finding items that are a little different from the norm, so I think I need to get out there searching as much as possible,I might need to buy a bigger van though."
Just some of the myriad of items Laurie has in the Glasgow Loves Vintage emporium
Laurie's tips & advice...
Q) What tips/advice would you give to those starting out in their quest to buy antiques/furniture etc ?
"For those just starting out I would definitely recommend visiting as many shops and antique centres as you can, it’s great just checking out new places and you get a feel for what kind of thing is selling and the prices they achieve. I love chatting with all the dealers, as they are usually very keen to pass on advice and some of their experience. The older guys especially are great at offering tips and tricks,these guys really deserve a lot of respect as to survive in any sort of business for 30 or 40 years shows you know what you are doing.
I’m afraid I’m not always the best at sticking to their advice, but some of the best tips they have given to me as a dealer were to never buy unseen at auction and don’t rent storage space. With the huge rise in online auctions, it’s very easy to get carried away bidding on something you think is a bargain that everyone has missed. More often than not though, the reason others aren’t bidding is that they have viewed and spotted that your bargain desk is riddled with wood worm or that your expensive enamel sign is actually a modern reproduction. The auctions are good fun, but sometimes they don’t disclose the full story.
Countless dealers told me to not take on additional storage space. They said it’s like throwing money away every month and they were totally right! I have a few units I rent monthly, in my head it always makes sense, but sadly the reality is you fill them with stock you don’t need then lock the door and forget about them. It makes much more sense to keep your inventory as small as possible and keep that stock turning over. It keeps your selling space looking fresh and means your cash isn’t all tied up old stock and “projects”, which never get done.
For those just looking to buy for their own homes then again it’s just a case of get out hunting. You don’t need a lot of money and sometimes get a real bargain if you are willing to give a piece a quick clean and Polish yourself. Haggling can be fun too, so don’t be scared by that. The TV programmes are often a little unrealistic about the discounts, which can be achieved when buying from shops, but as long as you are polite and respectful, most sellers will be more than happy to negotiate,a smile goes a long way."
