Our Patch march 2017
Step this way: French furniture and artefacts dealer Janet Peters is a mine of information
COVER STORY
Tim Harrison spends a happy hour rummaging
in the Aladdin’ s cave
which was Chiswick’ s former picture palace
So where do you go when you want to buy your special one something truly original and different for a landmark birthday? One option is to stroll down to Max Inc, the Shepherds Bush vintage furniture and
8 / 9 lighting shop at 106 Askew Road, where the oversized‘ anglepoise’ lamp is the speciality.
But for sheer quantity of choice and stimulating variety, the place to spend a happy, browsing half day is undoubtedly The Old Cinema in Chiswick High Road. The building’ s history is as fascinating as its stock, and its system of operation is equally intriguing. What can you get in The Old Cinema? In a way, it’ s easier to list what you can’ t find. The range is boggling, from retro to antique, vintage to eccentric, kitsch to collectable.
One chap sells furniture made from the dismantled parts of old aircraft, so you could pick up a drinks cabinet made from a converted airline food trolley, or a clock made from the flywheel of an old Airbus A320, a coffee table(£ 245) from part of the fuselage of an Airbus, or a table from the leading edge of a Boeing 757.
How about a writing desk, an apothecary’ s cabinet, an Art Deco scroll calendar, screenprints, oil paintings, vintage photographic contact sheets, 1970s computer art( it used to be the big thing, kids), framed posters, signed prints, ancient etchings and photographic prints, framed butterflies, glass ornaments, glass dishes, vases, sculptures, cocktail shakes and drinks trolleys? This temple to antiques and retro items is, in a way, the local answer to Grace Bros; it runs along the lines of a slightly dotty department store.
Manager Will Hanness explained:“ Most of the showroom space is rented