Let me tell you a story about a wicker chair.
Breezing by on a Tuesday afternoon, I was drawn to Courtyard Antiques not just because of its beautiful back lane building, but by a conveniently placed, quaint wicker chair sitting pretty by the shop door.
On closer inspection, I realised said chair had caved in at the side - tragic, since it was The One (as far as chairs go anyway). It's a lovely moss green colour with embroidery on the seat. Not being put off by appearances and seeing its potential (I sound like a talent scout - for chairs), I ventured inside to ask the lady how to fix it.
What followed was bizarre and wonderful. She had a look at the article, diagnosed it as having been run over, and then offered to give me it for free since she couldn't bear looking at its disfigured side. Insisting that I shouldn't but thanking her for her generosity, I eventually ended up leaving with the battered airloom since she wouldn't let me leave it.
Vowing to love it, I wandered half a mile down towards Morningside before ditching the chair in apple blossomed suburbia (Grange Road). It was heartbreaking, leaving the chair spurned and rejected like that, but I had to review...I had to review. I also stay in Glasgow and don't drive, you do the math.
Hours later, I got caught with a pang of guilt. That chair had survived since the 50s (so I was informed) and there was a light shower...I had to save it! Hurrying way back westward, the chair was (unbelievably) still there! School kids had not ravished it, dogs had not pooed on it, and no one had snaffled it up. I carried it back and offered it to another antique stockist nearby who is now storing it for me till next week. How lovely are those people?! He didn't even think I was ridiculous for waddling about for miles with a chair...he didn't bat an eyelid.
I should've really spared you that story and talked some more about Courtyard, but I had to tell somebody! On with the rest of the review...it's a very classy establishment and looks like an old extended living room. Sometimes looks like a drawing room in parts (that'll be the Georgian tables and Victorian dressers). There's an eclectic assortment of stock very neatly and lovingly placed around the store. Prices vary depending on what you're buying but everything is in mint condition, so it's an investment more than anything else.
I'm not just five starring because I got a free chair out of this. It's great to come across somewhere professional and tidy, where the staff really care about the stock. That's why, despite its flaws, I'm gonna love that chair forever - because even bfore its accident it was well maintained by a woman who is passionate about her job and her customers! Conservation For Chairs - it's my new chairty. read more