Biographies

Martin Swintonmartin-head-shot-vm1

The 10-second bio:

  • Ezinearticles.com Expert Author
  • The VoiceAmerica Channel radio show host 
  • Teaches courses on antiques
  • Does appraisals
  • Does estate sales
  • Appearances

A lifelong lover of all things old, Martin was born in Toronto, Ontario and spent time in Malaysia as a child.

Martin learned to restore furniture when he was a teenager, has worked at an auction house and owned an antique shop for ten years.

Martin does appraisals and estate sales, teaches courses on antiques and has written for the Town Crier newspaper, the Home Advisor , UK Auctioneers.com and BC Home. His articles have been reprinted in publications around the world. He has hosted Let’s Talk Antiques, a internet radio program on The VoiceAmerica Channel  and he has appeared on a number of television programs.

Items from his shop have been featured in internationally recognized antiques expert Judith Miller’s Price Guide books.

Martin recalls that he has always been interested in things from the past, so it is not surprising that he graduated from the University of Toronto with a degree in Archaeology. He holds a high school equivalency diploma from the Ontario Ministry of Education. Martin completed his grade 2 course of studies at Cedarvale Public School before being home school through to high school.

Age seven was a pivotal year for Martin. he was diagnosed with severe dyslexia, which explains a lot of the problems that he had in Mrs. Mansica’s grade two reading circle. On a brighter note, as a seven year old, Martin joined his parents and attended the infamous Woodstock  concert.

His personal areas of interest are Asian art, European furniture and the Arts & Crafts movement. Martin is a proud member of the Clan Gordon and is never shy to don this kilt. He lives in Toronto with his wife, Andrea.

Andrea Swinton
The 10-second bio:
Organizational guru
Marketing wiz

Andrea takes care of the “back of the shop” – everything from paying the rent to talking to the accountant. Her strong organizational skills ensure that these tasks are completed promptly. She brings experience in marketing, public relations and communications to the company and she is always looking for low cost (free), high impact marketing opportunities.

Andrea graduated from Queen’s University in Kingston, Ontario with a Bachelor of Arts degree; holds a now extinct grade 13 diploma from Sudbury Secondary High School; a grade 12 diploma from LaSalle Secondary School; a grade 8 diploma from Churchill Public School; a certificate of graduation from Mrs. Bretzlaff’s kindergarten class and a birth certificate from a non-denominational hospital in Sudbury, Ontario.

Due to Andrea’s strong organization skills, all these degrees, diplomas and certificates are kept individually in sheet protectors in a clearly labelled binder and naturally are in alphabetical order.

When Andrea is not updating the blog, she is power walking through the neighbourhood or doing yoga. Andrea collects coloured Depression glass. Andrea is a member of the Sports Clubs of Canada and has a Toronto Public Library card.

Andrea lives in Toronto with her husband.