" The Global Welshman . "

It's not that often we get a surprise but today was an exceptional day ,

It all started this morning with a random email out of the blue from a gentleman which began  .

" Dear Sir..I thought you might like to see this John Owen 13 inch dial I found at an antique show in Wethersfield, Connecticut last Saturday. "

Like music to our ears the thought that this wonderful piece of Welsh history which represents all that is great about Welsh craftsmanship has traveled the seas to find its resting place with our brothers in the new world was a wonderful thing to hear . However ......the next line crushed us to start with  ..... :(

" The hands are plastic and are attached to a battery quartz works "

The purest among us might think that this is sacrilege the destruction of such a priceless item , a piece of Welsh beauty which would have dated back to at least 1773 ( some 16 years before George Washington became president ) with its 5 pillar movement , inter-locking lifting mechanism beautiful rich deep Oak Case made of the finest timber from up on the hill overlooking the town of its creation " Llanrwst " with a starting price of £5,000 . Gone for ever !!!!!

In a way that's so true but we can't change the past this wonderfully engraved dial with its original minute finger has been saved and if it means having a battery to drive it then so be it , we don't know what happened to the case and works they could have been destroyed and the face might be the only thing left , the positive side is it still does exactly what it was designed to do the dial tells the time  .

Its beautiful  centre is still as true as the day is long with scalloped seconds disk aperture housing a wonderfully engraved seconds disk .

Although not worth a fraction of the thousands it would have been if it was still together with its works and case and probably worth more being melted down for scrap this wonderful little dial is priceless for without it a young man who ( probably before last Saturday might never have heard of Wales let alone Llanrwst ) visited an Antiques show halfway around the world and came away with a piece of Welsh history which has lasted 240 years . 

Mysteries of of time .

This is the centre Panel to the top canopy of a mid 18 Century Welsh three tier court cupboard or in Welsh a "Tridarn " .
Considered to be the only truly Welsh piece of furniture these pieces where the for-runners to the Welsh Dressers .
It is said a Tridarn was given in sections from Parents to Daughter over her years firstly they would give the base to hold the daughters belongings when she was young then the centre section when she reached adulthood and finally the canopy when she married Sometimes the couple would have been carved into the top section .
 I have no Idea who "  M & O " were , where they were from , or even what they did but I do know that in 1754 .

The Second Jacobite Rebellion began , it was 2 years before the birth Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart , it was also 6 years before George III became King 15 years before Napoleon Bonaparte was born ,16 years before Captain Cook charted the eastern coast of Australia , 22 years before the US Declaration of independence . 35 years before George Washington became President and 35 years before the French Revolution .

What ever the truth of why these where given we'll never know but it is a lovely tradition if its true and one that once again is lost to the winds of time .

"And like smoke through a keyhole, it was gone "

Quality always sells its a fact !

Some sell quickly some take a while others well the just hand around like an annoying Uncle at a family wedding .
The olden days of selling item off the top of the car as you where pulling into the car park of the showroom have long gone as the Old boys are no longer with us these guys know your routine and if the didn't you'd drop them the wink to let them know what you had and roughly what time you'll be home and just like magic they'd be there on you'r doorstep before you where , these days its all so much more civilized you put your item in the showroom a customer walks past they'd buy it , you deliver it , then all's well with the world .

You can imagine my surprise while setting up a  Llanrwst Watkin Owen Clock when a customer walks inoff the street and says I'll take it , No haggling  , No discount , Just a solid I'll take it , well it wasn't because it sold far from it as I said quality always does and this clock was quality but the speed of which it sold . I hadn't managed to put the hood on it and it was on its way back out of the door  .

It might have been the beautiful colour of the locally grown Oak that was used by the craftsman to create a stunning case its glow when touched by the warmth of the sun was fantastic .

It might have been the wonderful Dial by James Wilson of Birmingham with Birds of paradise flanking the matching diamond cut fingers and corner panels of detailed fruits and flowers .

It might have been the quality of the Owen works its interlocking lifting mechanism being perfected over years of experimenting .

Personally I think it was a Quality piece that was sold with a wonderful guarantee by some one who truly  loves what he does .

In and out in under 5 minutes we like that :)

                                       Watkin Owen Llanrwst Long Case Clock Circa 1795 . (SOLD )

" Tell me officer in your own words ......."

We do get some pieces in for restoration that even confuse us on ho they managed to get into the state there in when they arrive .
Take for instance the Regency Mahogany Triple Chair Back Settee Circa 1815 below .

Its not often we see this kind of damaged , the last time I saw a joint like this it was on the mother in-laws kitchen table trying to pass itself off as Sunday Lunch .

The damage to our surprise was not to just the one side but both front leg joints where blown

Now having seen the damage it was time to find out what the cause was so we can fix the problem .
The owner informed us that she had in her words "Had a go myself ! " with a LITTLE bit of glue so first things first the old glue had to be removed now there are many tricks of the trade on how to do this but we usually stay with the same on ......... Nope we can't tell or you'll all know our secret :)
As you can see from the pictures below a wave of a wand a that magic fairy dust we have in abundance really does work wonders .

Now the moral of this story is if you have a broken piece of furniture and a tube of Youhoo Glue please throw the glue in the bin and take the piece to someone who knows what there doing . :)

P.S The damage to the joints was caused by a lose arm and extra material being added over the original seat covering packing out the seat recess forcing the joints to splay the combined with the arm not being secure put pressure on all the other load baring joints leading the front 2 to fail when weight was applied  i.e someone jumping on it .
P.P.S We still wont tell you how we get rid of the old glue :)

Llanrwst Watkin Owen clock. snowdoniantiques.co.uk

Why settle for less than you deserve ?

It's never about the time its about the vision that goes into the craftsman/woman to see through the problem to get the very best out of the materials laid before them .
Below is the clock works of a Watkin Owen Llanrwst 8 day long case clock slightly worse for wear and in need of a little tlc and a scrub with a good yard brush ( not recommended unless your a professional yard brush scrubber ) .

Even though the works look like there in terrible condition its not really that bad , it doesn't need re-bushing ( Technical term for further details Google it ) nor new wheels cutting or teeth straightening the interlocking lifting mechanism still inter-locks and as it says on the tin still lifts .
The only problem is it just hasn't been looked after , with the soot from an open fire and it not been oiled or serviced for at least 50 years you'll find it will effect the works and the clock will stop .
A clock works is like a car engine , it need Oiling , it needs servicing once ever 2 years is enough to get you the very best out of a works and can save you hundreds of pounds .
Below is the same works the way that it should look .

All our clocks that we sell and restore look like this , the works have to be so clean as to not allow any dirt and grime to interferer with the workings you see the grim can cause extra wear on wheels and cogs that interlock .
If your clock works doesn't look like this when you buy them or have them restored the person you get it from either doesn't know a lot about looking after the works or just doesn't care .

" We Do ..... " :)

An Sympathetic Ear .....

People ask me why I get so passionate about Antiques especially the ones made locally in and around this wonderful little town of ours called Llanrwst.

Could it be there beauty ? maybe there style ? definitely  there age ? or is it because it shows off the way Wales is depicted through its wonderful  cultural history ???????????????????????
Although these are all great reasons there not quite the reason I would have given for my Passionate behaviour that arises from what you don't see as much as what you do .

Ok let me clear up the haze .

Below you'll see a wonderful example of a Llanrwst clock made in 1755 by no other than John Owen .
As you can see its made from the finest , strongest , most beautiful of colours , Welsh Oak  grown right above the town .

Of course beautifully restored by us here at Snowdonia Antiques even though we do say so ourselves .
The finished piece hides a wee secret one that no one might have seen for hundreds of years .

These are the initials of the case maker who built this wonderful provincial clock case and this is why get passionate about pieces .
250 years ago there was a joiner sitting in an Ice cold workshop somewhere in Llanrwst just the way we do today  ,  he worked hard producing wonderful pieces for his customers with limited tools and knowledge of how clocks work but without him clockmakers like John Owen would not have had such wonderful cases for there clocks to be displayed in .
The case makers very rarely got the credit they deserve and faded into history like smoke on the wind .
Noone knows what the I.D that was branded into the back stands for so I'm going to call him Idris Davis and I'm going to lift a glass of Red to him tonight and toast not only work which he made Before George Washington Was America's First President , Marie Antoinette still had a head and  Britain's Empire was stretching across the world  .
I'm going to raise a glass to him knowing that 250 years after he sweated blood sweat and tears making this case there's still a little fella sitting in an Ice cold workshop in Llanrwst fixing it :)

Sometimes we confuse the words "New " with " Improved "

There's something very special about modern technology they give you such interesting things .

Such as QR Codes these things are fascinating , who'd think this little box of squiggles  and squares could ever take you to a world history and beauty .
 This is the sentence my 11 year old left me with as she went out to play apparently all that's required is a phone which is smart and an app which is not short for apartment .
With this knowledge in hand off we went to explore our phone in hand and before long we came across our first item to scan .
It took us to websites for teabags then one for local hotels , Fine wines ,Soft Furnishings and eventually Holidays at affordable prices .
Now having had all this excitement I returned back to our showroom .

Sat back in a beautiful 19th Century Highback Yew Wood Windsor chair .

And Listened as the Wonderful Mid 18 Century Llanrwst John Owen longcase Clock

Struck 12 to letting me know it was time for lunch .

I have no doubt what so ever that my Daughter is right the future is new but to touch History & Beauty which runs like a stream back 250 years in the space of a few short footsteps there is no substitute for something as simple as the old fashioned ways .

" Some times like Don Quixote we chase after windmils ! "

When you get a call to an old farm house the excitement builds with each and every step it takes to cross the court yard , hoping and praying that when you walk through that open door you are greeted by the most wonderful of pieces of furniture captured in time ,well today was our day .
Our day to get the call , Our day to get the farmhouse , Our day to step back in time to be greeted by perfection !!!!
Well not quite you see it was all going well when we walked into the house there were good signs that we might have found the beauty within when the door opened and stood in front of us was an Oak Welsh dresser circa 1780 I must admit very pretty but in need of some TLC as for some years before it had seen the actions of a deranged man who had far to much time on his hands and a set of carving chisels probably a those long nights and virgin timbers had been way to much for him so in 1860ish off he went on his reign of stupidity .
Next to it there stood a white dial longcase clock again in need of a good brush with the TLC wand its dial almost pail from over cleaning its case in need of lots of over cleaning but never the less a clock .
From one room to another we passed turning each corner to be confronted by one item after another each one had fallen to the hand of the master idiot , he who must carve everything till we reach the inner most sanctum , that room that was kept for best only to be used when the local vicar came around or members of the church happened by .
The smoke from the open fire hung heavy in this room its smell like a camp fire seemed to hit the back of you throat like a 60 a day mans breath , with the curtains partially drawn letting in little light the room held an air of mystery and excitement and then we saw her .
Standing no more than 6ft tall by 4 ft wide there she was in all her naked glory laid bare before us , in front of the photos of judging relatives from years gone by there yellowing eyes glaring down at us .
The tension built , you could feel the excitement growing turning our tummys to knots that tingling sensation that you got when you where excited at Christmas , longing , no hoping , NO praying that this was our chance !!!! our chance to discover that one beautiful piece of Iconic Welsh furniture that which would immortalize us in Welsh folk law for years to come as saviors for discovering such beauty !!!

Well remember that part when I said it was going so well ????

 All I can say is if youve got nothing better to do with your evening don't go out and buy a set of carving chisels !!!!

" 90 years old if a day "

Mrs Roberts is " 90 years old if a day ! " a lovely little old lady who use to be a district nurse in Llanrwst  with bubblegum hair and a twinkle still in her eye's she quite happily bumbles past the shop always seeming on a mission , with never a bad word spoken or one heard she is like the perfect Grandmother stern when needed , but caring always willing to give of her time to others .
Somewhat flustered and sad young Mrs Roberts came to the shop on Thursday , her grandson coming over to look after her house while she was in hospital had lost the keys to her Edwardian display cabinet and she needed to get into there Not to worry I said i'll be over at 3 with a box of keys to come and sort it out for you .
So off i set 250 keys in my box ready to do battle, trying each key one at a time for 40 minutes I finally find the right one with 4 left in the box , in that 40 minutes I felt like I was sitting with my Nanna just chatting bubbles and remembering the time so long ago with fondness .
Having done the job I got up to leave and she reached for her purse . " How much do I owe you ? " she asked " your ok my love " i said " your a town girl we look after them where i come from . "
"No I must give you something wait right there !!! " with that she disappeared saying " hold on I have some chocolates somewhere don't move "
I stood where I was told with a smile on my face remembering my own Grandmother saying the same type of thing till she popped her head around the door frame to tell me she'd run out of chocolates buts she's found 2 shiny Apples that I can have .
Holding the apples in front of her as she came back into the room I declined them gracefully and said she should keep them to help build up her strength as one day if ever my car where to run out of petrol or break down  I might need a push and she would be the first person I would ask .
The moral of the story is " In this world so much goes by that we cant ever change so if we get the chance to help someone , to make someone smile or just to ease the sadness in someones heart , take 5 minutes of your time and make a difference " .

www.snowdoniaantiques.co.uk

The Importance of being unimportant .

There's nothing special about this clock , the case is like so many other mass produced case's made form the lesser Mahogany's with brass columns on brass ball feet  , the works even more so being the kind at one time that flooded the European market at the turn of the 20th Century  and the face a simple affair that has no name  to show who proudly made this beloved family heirloom.
What sets this clock apart is its history unlike any other, this clock so simple and so unimportant looking was handed down to its present owners with the tail that it was given to his father by Admiral of the Fleet Louis Francis Albert Victor Nicholas Mountbatten, 1st Earl Mountbatten of Burma, KG, GCB, OM, GCSI, GCIE, GCVO,DSO, PC, FRS otherwise know as Lord Mountbatten Viceroy of India . For services rendered whilst he was in the viceroys employment .
Everything has a History weather in time , person or place everything lends something to a piece to give it a character and charm .

www.snowdoniaantiques.co.uk

Bank Holidays !

How come there are so many bank holidays in this country ?????
When they first came about in the late 19th century there job was to allow the masses a break from the drudge and gloom of a 7 day week all except those of us who are as we like to call it " SELF INFLICTED !!!! "
I really can't remember the last time i had a bank holiday off , they even had a special one a couple of years back for the Royal wedding , which didn't make any difference to us at 8am the open sign went on the door and 10 hours later it came off just like any other day .
It's the thought of sitting in traffic on a busy Friday afternoon shuffleing along at a snails pace i don't get ?
With Kids and wives , dogs and rabbits we see them mile after mile all with that same look of desperation on there faces hoping no willing the car in front will move 40 feet without its break lights coming on , praying the car doesn't overheat and leave them stranded on a grassy verge waiting for the AA man to come to their rescue .
All for that 3 day break which honestly and truthfully after you take in the 12 hours it takes you to travel 100 miles there and back surrounded by people doing the same , 3 hours to sort out your tent/caravan  the endless hours of wondering if you've packed everything you need even though there are shops just up the way that sell everything you'll need makes you think is it really worth it .
Well take it from me when your walking along the beach with sand in your Ice Cream , the waves lapping against your flip flops , and the beginnings of a t-shirt suntan there is no price you can put on your freedom even if it is just for 3 days ! Happy Bank Holiday

Llanrwst's legacy

Through out the century's it seems that provincial towns and there trades are lost in mists of time .
Take Llanrwst a small market town that nestles along the banks of the river Conwy hugging the hills and mountains of the Snowdonia National Park arguably one of the most stunning beautiful areas of Britain .
These days more well known as a mountain bikers paradise that runs through the forests along the Marin trail than the beautiful furniture once made by local craftsmen in the town out of the timbers grown up on the hill .
One of the family dynasty's that set this wonderful little town on the map is the Owen family , a family of clock makers who for almost 100 years set the provincial clock making market alight .
The family business started by John Owen went from strength to strength using local joiners and carpenters who's skills in making stunning clock case's developed with each order for a case that came through they produced master pieces far ahead of their time using techniques that where exclusive to themselves the family over the years produced hundreds if not thousands of time pieces that exude quality and style .

The advancement of the ages .

Modern Technology still amazes me , the thought that a wonderful Lady in London can look us up on the internet buy a beautiful Walnut Music stand and i do mean beautiful , pay for it and organize the delivery all from the comfort of an armchair whilst having a coffee  is absolutely fantastic .
I still remember the long hall slogs driving down to the smoke to deliver items then having to stay over night before the long haul back ,sometimes the cost to deliver the piece was almost the amount the item was worth .
Happy Days  .

www.snowdoniaantiques.co.uk