Founder of PIECES and Editor at Porter Magazine

For this very special ‘How To’ feature we have invited self-proclaimed ‘chronic collector’, antiques curator and arts and culture writer, Olive Wakefield, to give us her tips and tricks to building a collection of unique forever pieces.

Founder of the eclectic interiors platform, PIECES, Olive is an expert at picking up pre-loved pieces and giving them a new lease of life. Her passion and curiosity for finding and learning more about second-hand and sustainable sourcing has meant she has curated a fascinating collection of items, including original artworks.

I fell in love with second-hand shopping as a young girl. My mum has an incredible eye for vintage and filled the house with antiques and curiosities picked up on her travels. We would spend hours sifting through dresses from the ‘20s and ‘30s in her favourite shop Past Caring in Holt, Norfolk. When we moved to Primrose Hill in 1999, I would slip off to Camden each weekend to people-watch. It was there I discovered the amazing vintage dealers in the Stables market. I can still smell the leather jackets and musty tea dresses. My first vintage purchase was a pale blue Wedgwood trinket dish which I still have.

For me, both buying pre-loved pieces and shopping from independent makers are similar principles. It is about investing in something unique, produced sustainably - and that has a story behind it. There is something so edifying about owning a piece of history or a future classic. My website and mailout PIECES was born of an appreciation of all things one-off, old and new. It’s a place to discover artists and makers and also find something pre-loved for your home.

Finding the perfect vintage piece is a curious concoction of serendipity and hard graft. Sometimes it seems like the piece finds you; other times it requires scrolling into an internet abyss or trudging round markets at dawn. I have an abundance of Google alerts and eBay searches set and I try to sift through all of them. You never know what’s waiting for you.

Much like music, art can have a subliminal effect on a person. It carries so many memories, desires, and hopes- some buried, some conscious. I started my interview series Desert Island Pieces to hear my guests explore the memories associated with their favourite artworks. I was lucky enough to have Georgia [Spray] as a guest. She chose a Lucian Freud painting which reminded her of her time working for the famous art dealer Ivor Braka. Linda Rodin chose a piece by the iconic Gösta Peterson who was her mentor and great friend.  

Art is so deeply personal; I don’t believe it’s possible to have bad taste in art. Some of my biggest influences include Julian Trevelyan, Francesca Woodman, Craigie Aitchison, Lorena Lohr, David Hockney, Aubrey Levinthal and even the album artwork from my favourite bands, like the Smashing Pumpkins. If I could own any three pieces of art it would be Sylvia Sleigh’s portrait of Enid Irving; Stella Vine’s, “Holy Water cannot help you now” and Julian Schnabel’s beautifully haunting painting of his daughter Stella, which is the cover of the Red Hot Chili Peppers’ album, “By the Way”.

The rarest piece I own is a Mary Fedden painting from 2006 which I came across by accident at auction. My most sentimental items are the framed Victorian doilies my mum gave me; my first edition copy of Franny and Zooey by J.D. Salinger (one of my favourite books which my husband tracked down and framed for me) and the Faye Wei Wei painting that hangs above my bed. It watches over us as we sleep.

I get really excited when I find any pieces by the Memphis Group such as Peter Shire, Ettore Sottsass, and Nathalie du Pasquier. I love the humour behind their creations; the colours and shapes are bonkers and never fail to put a smile on my face.