You become an expert by working hard. We've got fantastic museums, collections and antique shows. You can go and just start looking. That's the great thing about knowledge. If you collect Doulton figures, you know about the rare ones.
The great thing about costume jewelry is that there's something for everyone - there are very humorous pieces and very extravagant and outrageous pieces.
I started buying bits of broken porcelain. I furnished our first flat with pieces of 'junk.' Some of that 'junk' is now worth an awful lot of money. What I was calling 'junk' in the '60s people wouldn't call 'junk' now.
I think when you get interested in antiques, the most frustrating thing is that books don't have enough photos. When you go to a flea market or garage sale, you see lots of things you've never seen before and you have no idea what the price is going to be or should be.
When you're visiting an antiques fair, turn left once you've passed through the entrance. Everyone else will turn right, which means you can get to the bargains before them.
Dealers always like to sell chairs in sets of four, six, or eight. And they charge a premium for supplying the whole set. Individual chairs, though, go for much lower prices, and if you carry around a reference photo of the chairs you want, you may be able to build up a cut-price collection, chair by chair.
If you're at an antiques fair, and have been unable to beat the dealer down earlier in the day, pay a return visit at the end. They may be more inclined to accept your offer, rather than having to pack the piece up and take it home.
The modern designers are quite showy, and a lot of the young people really like it. Costume jewelry has always been about being noticed and not discreet.
When I did my first price guide in 1979, publications weren't interested in mentioning it. Now I get phone calls weekly if not daily from publications and television shows who want to know what's hot, how to get started in antiques, and the best way to buy antiques.
I buy 1920s iridescent Scottish glass. I love the way the sun hits it every morning. You touch something and you know. To me, people should buy something they love. Buy something you'd want to come downstairs and stroke.
