Amanda Wrigley chats toJenny Oldakerabout the evolution of her Notting Hill-based jewellery shop – an Aladdin’s cave of carefully chosen pieces to suit all budgets
Talking Shop
My parents were antiques dealers and as a child I would follow my mother around at work, going to antiques fairs and so on. I loved the small, colourful, sparkly things – some only cost about 50p and I began buying them with my pocket money. By the age of 12 I had started a stall outside my mum’s shop on Portobello Road, so I began selling them there. I’d also buy bead necklaces and make them into earrings.
When my mother’s business began to wane, she followed me into the jewellery world and we started selling together. The shop has been here since 1964 and today it looks like an Aladdin’s cave, with necklaces dripping from the walls. We sell a mixture of vintage and contemporary jewellery – anything with a fun, beautiful or unique design. They are mainly displayed on colour-themed shelves, which are full to the brim.
We sell vintage designers such as Chanel, Givenchy, YSL, Trifari, Weiss, Hobe and Kenneth Jay Lane. But we stock current designers as well, such as And Mary and Bill Skinner, and we have a large silver marcasite collection in Art Deco and Victorian style. treasure quest – you never know what exquisite piece you’ll come across next. I enjoy buying a piece that fits one of our themed shelves and placing it in among its new friends.
Though I feel sad if it sells too quickly and we don’t get to enjoy it for long. I try to wear some special nec
