Yes, Wonderful Things

There are many exciting facets of owning an English antique importing business, but nothing is more highly anticipated than “Container Day”. Every few months, we receive a new shipment of hand-selected pieces from England, ready to find their new homes abroad.

On this glorious day, our container arrives at the warehouse to be unloaded. Just as a restless child awaiting Christmas morning, I’m never able to sleep well the night before our shipment. I am usually an early riser, but my eagerness on this day has me brushed, breakfasted and out the door in record time! I’ve come to enjoy the quiet, early mornings at the warehouse before anyone else arrives; the sound of birds chirping in the surrounding fields and the sweet smell of summer grass in the air.

My team shows up about an hour later, and the excitement is palpable - everyone is eager to unveil the precious cargo! Each shipment contains over one hundred pieces, and it generally takes us about four hours to unload. I know exactly where I want the trailer delivered and will flag down the semi (usually a new driver each time) to direct him to the location where we will begin “destuffing”. The driver will return later that evening to pick up the vacant carcass.

Unloading the container is backbreaking work and can be harrowing, at times. Some of the furniture is very cumbersome to move: stone sinks, farm troughs and garden statues are among the heaviest items we receive. A sturdy pitch pine housekeepers cupboard is sure to cause a bit of back distress! I’ve torn a muscle or two moving an oak armoire, dropped a stone birdbath on my foot and aggravated my sciatica on more than one occasion!

Sadly, items can get damaged during the shipping process, and there are a number of reasons this may occur. The container takes a freighter all the way across the Atlantic, so it could be the rough seas, or when an item is picked up by a crane as it gets loaded onto the freighter, and unloaded. Even the extremes of heat and cold during shipment may cause damage. Sometimes it’s as simple as a scratch on a harvest table, but can be as catastrophic as a Georgian mahogany breakfront that has been shattered and reduced to splinters! I’ve had a beautiful oak tall boy lose all of its molding on the container, as if something had scared the trim right off of it!

Coffee and breakfast sandwiches are provided to the team as we fuel up and prepare for the grueling day ahead. Each item will need to be carefully unloaded, organized and stacked in the warehouse. Josh is our team unloading expert, and I tend to follow his lead. (Resistance has proven futile…he always has the best strategy!) Once delivered and unpacked, each item will need attention – a quick buff to bring back the luster, a complete wax, or (in the case of the Georgian breakfront) sent to the scrap pile for parts and pieces! These special furnishings have traveled a long way, and are inspected and restored to the highest standards before I offer them to you.

As the driver prepares to leave the shipment, he takes a pair of huge metal loppers and cuts through the one-time lock that has been affixed to the container since it was packed in England. The moment the container doors are pulled open, I’m reminded of the way Howard Carter must have felt when he first set eyes on Tutankhamun’s tomb and Lord Carnarvon asked "Can you see anything?” Carter, who was holding a flickering candle to illuminate the tomb, is said to have replied… "Yes, wonderful things.”

Cheers,

Brad