Sven, owner of Hunt & Gather Antiques & Collectables open his shop in 2015 after spending several years selling items online. According to Sven, it was important that he had a physical space that represents dealers and puts a face and name to the business. Since childhood, he was aware and interested in antiques thanks to his parents’ home being full of oddities and spending weekends with his Grandmother trawling around Antiques Emporiums. His hobby turned into a career soon after Sven & his wife bought their first home, and he was instantly hooked on the ‘hunt’ of finding items. Once his house was full, he found he still could not stop hunting for and buying antiques, so began buying and selling items.
To encourage consumers to visit his store, Sven believes that great styling and photography are pivotal for advertising and selling merchandise. In terms of the social media aspect, American dealers ‘Obsolete Inc’ provide great inspiration for photography and visual merchandising too. On observing both Hunt & Gather and Obsolete Inc social media pages the photography and branding has a clear identity and is memorable due to the unfussy background, which allow the merchandise to really shine. According to Sven, a piece of advice for budding antique dealers and shop owners would be to ensure they start a social media profile before anything else. This is an effective way to advertise your name and business and paramount in the 21st century market and broadens networking greatly.