By Joe Wayte
Behind the Counter takes a peek into some of the things you may not know about our beloved shops and their owners. In this first edition we meet David Foord-Brown of David Foord-Brown Antiques, along with his partner, Sean Barry.

David grew up in Cuckfield and always had a passion for antiques. “When I was younger there were six antiques shops in Cuckfield,” David mentioned, “and my parents didn’t always see the trade as anything more than something that took place in a local village. I really wanted to take myself further.” David begun his career by buying and selling items based out of his home before joining one of Bond Street’s finest antiques and silver dealers. He then set his sights on the London markets such as Portobello.

Sean started life in the north of England and studied a degree in Fine Art at Preston Polytechnic. He started work at a printing business putting his skills to use before meeting David at a dinner party and moving to Sussex to start his own design business. “I packed up my things and hired a van,” Sean explained, “knowing that for a good career I would need to move to London. I drove down on a Saturday and I was offered a role in the printer’s by the following Tuesday.”

This extract was taken from an article published in the July 2018 Cuckfield Life magazine.