About Antique & Unique…

A love of antique furniture, interior design and craftsmanship drove the creation of Antique & Unique.

We are a family business whose background is in the design and manufacture of kitchens and furniture. Antique & Unique’s sister company, Churchwood Design, has been trading for over thirty years and we have made kitchens and furniture for properties all over the UK. But… our first love is antique furniture. So we decided to turn a hobby into a second business and started building a collection of antiques, collectibles and decorative salvage items.

What is it that we love about antique and vintage furniture?

There are many things. The build quality, the design, the history, the beauty of timber that has been loved and cared for over many years, sometimes centuries; the knowledge that for something to have survived so long, it must have been an important item, either financially or sentimentally, to whoever has owned it… Antique and vintage furniture tells a story. And then there’s the fact that reusing furniture is an environmentally friendly option, especially when you consider that most modern furniture is mass produced in the far east and has a huge carbon footprint by the time it arrives at your door. Older pieces of furniture would often have been locally made, using locally grown timber. By their very nature, antiques are a sustainable choice. ‘Antiques Are Green’ is a movement to promote the sustainability of the heritage industry. One of its studies has shown that a Georgian chest of drawers has one-sixteenth the carbon footprint of its new flatpack alternative. And a Georgian chest of drawers will also be infinitely better in quality, more attractive, and will last another couple of hundred years if looked after, and you can’t say that about a flatpack from Ikea!

There are four people involved in sourcing stock, each with a different ‘eye’ for what appeals, so our range of products is quite varied. We don’t aim to source items of any particular period or style (though as we all appreciate lovely timber and fine cabinetmaking, we are all drawn to quality antique furniture), but instead buy items we love. So far, we’ve had stock ranging from a Jacobean oak coffer, to an exceptional piece of late twentieth century Ercol, and everything in between. But it’s not just furniture - we are always on the hunt for beautiful ceramics, glassware and decorative objects.

We have a woodworking factory at our disposal, so we also ‘upcycle’ salvaged items to create one-off pieces and occasionally create items using waste timber from our furniture business. We also have the capability to restore any antiques we buy (should they need it) in house.

We are always looking for new stock, so if you have any antiques you would like to sell, please give us a call or contact us we will be happy to have a look and offer a valuation if it is of interest to us.

Do we have a bricks and mortar shop?

Antique & Unique has a small ‘shop’ area at our factory showroom in the beautiful village of Tideswell in the Derbyshire Peak District, which you are very welcome to visit. It is nothing fancy, but most visitors seem to enjoy having a look around. Most of the stock shown on our website is available to view, and there are usually also various pieces that are new in and haven’t made it onto the website yet, or that are awaiting restoration.

Please note that the shop is up a flight of stairs and unfortunately we don’t have disabled access.

Well behaved, clean and dry dogs are very welcome in our shop.

We are usually open during the week from 10am to 5pm, and on most Saturdays afternoons from 12 - 4pm. It is advisable to call before visiting to check that we are open. We can also open on Sunday, by appointment, if required.

Antique & Unique, Unit 2 Tideswell Business Park, Meveril Road, Tideswell, Derbyshire. SK17 8PY. For detailed directions please see the contact page.

Contact: 07813 369871 (I am not always able to answer the phone, so please leave a message if there is no answer and I will call you back as soon as I can).