Related Articles
Carlton Antiques began more than 30 years ago in a shop on Victoria Road, Saltaire, and moved into Salts Mill five years later.
The business was established by Malcolm Grey; Alan and I were trading in the centre as stallholders for two years, selling antiques from Victorian, to Edwardian, Art Deco and more.
Initially we did this as a hobby, as I worked in the NHS and Alan worked for Royal Mail. We would spend our weekends travelling around the country sourcing antique furniture, ceramics, lighting and taxidermy.
When Malcolm mentioned that he wanted to sell the business and retire, we took the opportunity to buy it and leave our careers to do this full time. We have now been running Carlton Antiques for 15 years and have never looked back, though at first we were like rabbits in the headlights as we had never done anything like this before. However, we but soon settled into our roles – Alan is more on the shop floor, and I handle all the clerical side of things, running the website and taking care of the financial duties.
We both take care of all the traders’ sales and a few of the traders volunteer to help out on weekends and busy holiday periods; it’s a great atmosphere of teamwork and also a good pool of experience to draw from as some of our traders have also been in the antiques trade for many years.
We have more than 80 traders in the centre, specialising in antique jewellery, period furniture ranging from Victorian to mid-20th century, art, ceramics, glass, vintage clothing, vinyl records, taxidermy, militaria and vintage collectible toys, movie paraphernalia, vintage watches, antique clocks ,coins and, most recently, Star Wars collectibles figures.
Our traders are a mixture of local people from all walks of life who are retired and see it as a hobby and something to keep them occupied, and people who are working and just enjoy the fun of going to antique fairs and auctions in their spare time.
People ask me all the time what is selling and my answer is: everything. We have such a wide range of items that there is something for everyone, from the casual visitor to people looking to furnish period homes or that special decorative item that catches their eye and just has to go home with them.
We recently expanded the centre into part of the mill that wasn’t being used and now have a vintage vinyl record section which is proving very popular.
Salts Mill is a fantastic place to be as it’s in the UNESCO World Heritage Site village of Saltaire, founded by Titus Salt, who established the mill and the village for his workers.
The mill is full of character. Huge windows and high ceilings with the original features of the building, including beams, exposed metal and brickwork, give you a feeling of its history and the textile machinery that once occupied the space.
Salts Mill is home to the Hockney 1853 Gallery and his work, a home shop selling modern furniture and accessories, a bookshop, and an art shop for all the budding artists in the area. There are also two diners which serve delicious food and drink as well as an outdoors/walking shop and, most recently, a sheepskin shop selling rugs and clothing. The Peace Museum moved from its home in central Bradford last year and is a popular attraction for visitors.
The mill also has various exhibitions from local artists and schools showcasing upcoming new talent. So as you can imagine it’s really interesting to visit – you can spend the whole day there.
This also means that we have customers who would never normally go into an antique shop and are always surprised by the range of things we sell and who will hopefully go away with the new opinion that antique shops are now no longer dusty places full of brown furniture, with a stereotypical snooty shop owner.
We have a great connection with our customers and the centre is always full of laughter. We strive to make everyone welcome and feel comfortable when buying antiques and collectibles, in giving advice and support when buying, or looking for that unusual gift or something for the home.
We constantly receive great feedback from customers, many saying that they didn’t expect the centre to have such a wide range of quality antiques and how wonderful the space is.
Stock is constantly changing and we get enquiries from traders wanting unit space and cabinets all the time, so there’s never a dull moment. We also have people contacting us wanting to sell items and furniture, whether downsizing or just wanting to move something on that they have loved and lived with and want to buy something else to love. So antiques is a great green business, giving items a new recycled life. Finding that unique object that isn’t mass produced and has history behind it.
*Carlton Antiques, Second Floor, Salts Mill, Victoria Rd, Saltaire, Shipley BD18 3LA
*The antiques centre is open: Wednesday to Sunday 11am-4pm. Closed Monday and Tuesday.
