HB Edit - Edition 32
Sharing the things on my ebay watch list that I don't have the space or money for, but wish I did.
In the last week, I have reached a personal Substack goal: 2000 subscribers. I cannot really believe 2000 of you have willing signed up to witness my eBay addiction every other week! I am so grateful, and hope that you are enjoying what you find.
Following such an incredible response, I will be expanding HB Edit in the coming weeks to include my top picks from the auction houses I have particular success at (trawling through thousands of lots so that you don’t have to), as well as guest edits from the great and the good (read: my very patient, and obliging (and inspiring!) friends). I hope you will stick around, and enjoy the bargains to be had, and inspiration to soak up.
On this edition, as well as some more eBay treasure, I take a (brief) look at one of the most iconic antiques shops in Norfolk, complete with the perfect tea station. Enjoy!
This wee table is an incredible shape: unique, and yet still practical, with the useful lower shelf. It looks in very good condition, and is a lovely warm oak colour. Perhaps beside a ‘floating’ armchair, so you can admire its beauty? Always a shame when tables get shoved down the side of a sofa, never to see daylight again, don’t you think?
One for our American friends. I love this pierced lampshade. It’s the perfect vintage piece that would add a sense of story and character to a room - just make sure to be using LED bulbs that don’t heat up: you can thank me later.
I’ve been trawling through fabrics the last few weeks. I am wanting to introduce a pattern into my sitting room, and I find it so hard. Too many patterns end up feeling floral, or if not too solidly geometric and soulless. This feels like a very happy medium: there is enough gentle ornamentation and detail to make for a pretty design, but it feels somewhat structured and masculine. I think it would read very nicely on an armchair or headboard (although this quantity would do the latter, not the former).
Possibly the worst photographs on eBay right now, but if you can look beyond them, this is a really stylish piece. It is listed as being properly vintage and Danish, and it looks about right. The shape is lovely, as is the original shade, and the light it casts. In a more paired back space, against white-linen upholstery and a jute rug, this would be just the thing.
I really like this table. I particularly like the nod to similar 1970s wheat-sheaf designs, and yet this feels more paired back and refined. I would love to have this as a centre-table in a small hall; perhaps on a project in coastal Maine or somewhere in the Hamptons. Or perhaps - as in the listing - it could be a breakfast table? The possibilities are endless. (You don’t have to be based on the East Coast of the US to get away with this, but I am manifesting an American project.)
If you have the space (and the time / wherewithal to give this item some TLC) I think this would be the coolest addition to a hallway. Despite having experienced the ‘death of the landline’ - there is something fabulous about a telephone table. Replaced with a lamp or beautiful vase of flowers, this piece gives you the two crucial elements of any hallway: a surface to dump your keys, and a spot to sit and tie your laces.
These vintage globe lamps have real feel-appeal. They look like perfectly glossy gum-balls, and I love it. This is quite a good price, but make sure to use a warm white bulb, not a cool white bulb. I don’t know how many times I have to say this…
And if you happen to have purchased a 5-arm chandelier of late, this is for you! I love these vellum candle-clip shades, with stitching detail. These are an incredible price, and they cast such a lovely warm yellow light. If I could, I really would.
Feature: for each edition, I will feature a person, object, room or place that inspires me.
This week, I am writing (a short piece!) about the jewel-box tardis that is Richard Scott Antiques in Holt, Norfolk.
These photos of Richard Scott Antiques in Holt were taken on a miserable, grey October day and don’t give total credit to the picture-perfect white and pale-blue dolls house that is his shop. It’s quite literally a mock-Regency facade stuck on an older building, triangular pediment included. Perfect.
There is very little information about Richard out there, apart from the fact he’s had his shop in Holt for over 50 years, and that on 13th February 2026, Roxi - his Jack Russell - very sadly died. The Instagram post in question is below. It’s iconically blurry.
Despite this lack of information, very little needs to be said other than that Richard clearly has impeccable taste: even the furniture used for display purposes only was enviable, and cleverly listed NFS (not for sale).
Spending time in his shop was a total joy, with late summer flowers dotted around and about. Every piece was thoughtfully and carefully arranged, often by date or region, with ample information; clearly a lot of time, knowledge and research has gone into honing his eye, which I find very inspiring. We are bombarded by so many images - on Instagram, in advertising - that we often fail to really look at things properly; to see beyond just surface level. Richard’s knowledge is testament to a lifetime spent really, truly observing things, and learning about their past and their place in the future.
The bright yellow walls made for the perfect back-drop for his storied collection of antique furniture, lighting and pictures.
I often dream about having my own antiques shop-front. While days would be slow, and it could get lonely, the idea of having a tea station even half as perfect as Richard’s would be enough to get me through.
More anon!
Instagram: @hugobeazley
Postal address: 97 Regency Street, London, SW1P 4AL
Richard Scott’s is one of my favourite shops of all time, and a must anytime we are nearby (not often enough.) Richard is so generous with his time and knowledge and a real joy to talk to. Some pieces are chipped or cracked but still valued for their beauty and their stories. We drink our wine from mismatched RS rummers- Mr Wonky and Mrs Scratch!
Such sad news about Roxie- I hadn’t seen it.