This month we met a lovely lady named Sophie. Sophie has a local business called “Sadlers Woodhouse” that specializes in pyrography art!

So what is pyrography art? The word comes from the Greek “pur” (fire) and “graphos” (writing), meaning writing with fire. In modern practice, this is more drawing than writing, with some artists creating truly fantastic pieces of art.

The exact origins of pyrography are unknown, as wood doesn’t survive well over thousands of years. Some believe its origins pre-date history, where cavemen would use charred sticks, to mark and burn the wood.

The practice of pyrography however can be traced back as far as the Han Dynasty (206 BC – 220 AD), where it was known as Fire Needle Embroidery.

Pyrography is an ever changing art form, as it is always being reinvented with new tools, techniques, materials and styles. With pyrography art, there is no set style, it’s open to personal interpretation.

While some artists stick to a traditional approach, others are bending the boundaries with their own unique styles, by incorporating paints, wood oils and stains.

What on earth does pyrography have to do with Hungerforad Arcade Antiques & Collectibles you say? Well! Sophie was after a tea strainer of all things to use as a new type of tool in her wood burning trade. You can see more of Sophie’s fantastic work via the below links:

Facebook: Sadlers Woodhouse

Instagram: Sadlers Woodhouse

We recently had a visit from a wonderful young man named Kobi Patrick! Kobi is a talented 10 year old who has taken up the skillful and challenging art of Ventriloquism! Kobi has been practicing for 4 years now and is always looking to improve.

On this occasion, Kobi visited us here at the Arcade in search of some new tools for the job! In particular for a suitable “dummy” to help perform his act. After a good hunt in the arcade, Kobi found what he was looking for from one of our stall holders, Sarah Jane (unit 32s). A new sidekick for his show!

We wish all the best to Kobi and his ventriloquist career ahead, who knows, Britain’s Got Talent could be round the corner!

Many thanks for visiting us and hope to see you again soon Kobi!

We were so excited to have experts Thomas Forrester and Neil Shuttleworth from SAS

Auctions in Newbury here at Hungerford Arcade filming an alternative programme to Bargain Hunt for Newbury Weekly News.

L-R David Evans, Diana Barley, Thomas Forrester, Adrian Gilmour, Rita Kibble, Neil Shuttleworth, Maddie Evans & Richard Evans

Each pair of contestants had £300 to spend and with the help of their experts, bought some wonderful items.

All the money raised when the items are sold at auction with go to a Children’s Hospice.

The contestants were Maddie & Richard Evans with their expert Neil and Diana Barley & David Evans with their expert, Thomas.

A great afternoon was had by everyone.

My name is Jacque and my obsession is all about the glow!  I am of course talking about Uranium and Vaseline glass collecting which i have been amassing for the past 3 – 4 years.  I have 2 units here at the Arcade (109 & K), with good intentions to sell the Uranium glass to spread the love of glowing glass!  At the moment I only have a small collection on offer and am failing miserably as most pieces I acquire stay at home on my shelves

Uranium glass can actually be dated back to Roman times (79AD), but it had its heyday from the 1880’s to the 1920 – 30’s when it enjoyed its greatest popularity with the likes of James Powell Whitefriars Company producing many types of decorative Uranium glass.

To get glass to glow, uranium oxide is usually added to a glass mix before melting or colouration, it can be as low as 2% or as high as 25% uranium added, with the colour range generally from yellow to green, though it can also be found in amber / blue glass.  The fun of uranium is when you shine UV light on to it and see it become fluorescent and really does become a thing of beauty.  If you are worried about collecting, most pieces are considered harmless and not very radio active

It became very popular in North America in the early 20th Century and was extensively produced into tableware and household items for everyday use,  for example, Depression glass was low cost or distributed free around the time of the great depression. WW2 stopped production in America of uranium glass because it was classed as a strategic material needed for the Manhattan Project.  It never regained the heights of popularity from the late 19th – early 20th century but was still produced right up until the 2000’s.

Vaseline glass can also be another type of UV reactive glass, at the end of the 19th century glassmakers developed more opaque types of decorative glass by added certain minerals including Iron Oxide. This gave glass the appearance of petroleum jelly, which gave rise to the name Vaseline glass

Other types of UV reactive glass to look out for are:

Custard Glass – opaque or semi opaque pale yellow

Jadite Glass – opaque or semi opaque pale green

Burmese Glass – opaque shades pink to yellow

Names to look out for when hunting out the glow (remember to carry a UV torch with you)

Davidson & Co

Bagley Glass

August Walther & Sohne

Thomas Webb

James Powell / Whitefriars

Sowerby

Murano

This week we had a visit from Carol Atkins who works at AAW Control Systems Limited in Newbury. Carol came to us in search of a gift for one of the electrical engineers who is now retiring after 19 years of service at AWW!

After a good look around the Arcade, Carol and Vanessa discovered a fantastic pocket watch in unit 18 (Sarah Allison).

The watch is a beautiful example of a Birmingham 1908 Silver Waltham Full Hunter Pocket Watch as pictured. We are delighted that Carol chose to come to us in search of a gift and feel her choice is most fitting of a retirement present.

Click here to see more about AWW Control Systems Ltd.

We just want to say Happy Mothers Day to all the wonderful ladies out there from all of us at Hungerford Arcade. We have dressed our window to celebrate this occasion and wish you all a fabulous day this Sunday.