She’s one of TV’s most popular antiques experts and now, having opened her own Derbyshire auction house, Irita Marriott is turning the traditional saleroom on its head
For someone who’s so passionate about antiques and collectibles, it might be assumed that this ambition stems from a long-held interest for Derbyshire auctioneer Irita Marriott. Yet this isn’t the case.
Irita admits to being ‘thrown into the deep end’ just 12 years ago, when a family member dumped a job-lot of auction finds with her to dispose of.
Faced with clearing not only much needed floor space, but also this debt, she threw herself into the task, becoming obsessed with researching each item.
‘I got totally hooked,’ laughs Irita. ‘I think I was put on this planet to sell’.
Irita went on to formally hone her trade by working within an established auction house. Yet, growing-up in her native Latvia, there was no sign of this hidden talent.
Born into a rural farming community, Irita moved aged six to the northern town of Valmiera. With food often foraged and furniture made from scavenged wood, ornaments were not a necessity to surviving daily life.
However, a natural skill for communicating with people led to jobs in retail sales and hospitality, ahead of her eureka moment trading antiques.
‘Because of where I come from I will never take anything for granted,’ she reflects, ‘and I am a great believer that things often happen for a reason.’
Nevertheless, the transformation from small-time antiques dealer into a respected TV expert took customary tenacity.
A self-confessed super fan of the BBC’s Antiques Road Trip, Irita pushed herself to the front of auditions and screen tests before being cast in 2021.
Quickly, she became a favourite with viewers, whilst criss-crossing the country treasure hunting alongside celebrity guests. Appearances on Bargain Hunt and Channel 4’s The Greatest Auction followed.
‘Instead, it was me proving to myself that I’d got enough knowledge to be able to share it with people and that I could tell them something which they never knew.’
In June 2023 and now based in Derbyshire with her young family – in a house bought at auction – the 40-year-old mum of two knew the time was right to launch one of only a handful female-run auction houses in the UK.
The daily ups and downs are captured in another small screen show: The Derbyshire Auction House; filmed with an audience at the Melbourne Assembly Rooms, in-between her online sales.
‘I can’t believe that we’ve barely been open a year,’ says Irita, ‘it’s been such a rollercoaster.’
Here, Irita tells Derbyshire Life about her Melbourne adventure and life as an auctioneer.
What inspired you to open your own auction house?
Working alongside the girls at other auction houses, we’d often joke about one day opening our own saleroom. In January last year, I dreamt that I did just that.
For two weeks I didn’t tell anybody, including my husband, but I kept thinking about it. Then, having arranged to meet some of my ex-work colleagues, I told them about my dream whilst we were sat at the pub.
The moment the words came out of my mouth, I knew I just had to do it.
Why was Melbourne chosen for your new venture?
For over three months we looked at different premises, however nothing really spoke to me until I saw a photo of the property where we are now. It had just become available and I knew immediately that this was where I needed to be.
I’d been to Melbourne many times with my kids, taking them to baby classes there. It’s a beautiful place and one of those villages that still has a community with a sense of life to it.
At seven o’clock the next morning I was stood on the street opposite the building waiting for someone to open the doors. I agreed to rent it the very same day.
Is it a challenge to balance work and family life?
It’s never easy but my family is really supportive. I’ve always talked my kids through everything that I do and make them feel part of it all, that has helped.
They’ve been here when we first rented the building, when we remodelled it, and for the first online auction in January.
I’ve been able to show them that hard work can really pay off and not to be afraid of trying something new.
At the auction house I’m very lucky to have a team around me and couldn’t do this job without them. During filming of The Derbyshire Auction House we had 13 and currently we’re a team of nine, plus part-timers.
What was behind the decision to become an online auction house?
I love the atmosphere of a saleroom full of people and to have that direct interaction. However, the Covid pandemic really changed things because, then, everyone bought online.
By holding auctions online you reach markets you could never have reached before and achieve prices that you might never achieve in the room.
Our auctions are held across three online platforms around the world and we get between 850 and 1,200 people at any one time registered to bid.
You just can’t get those numbers in a traditional saleroom and, by opening auctions up to everyone, it’s good for our customers.
It could be that sellers come to a valuation day. Alternatively, they can walk through the door, or we may do a house visit.
Once the items are consigned, or entrusted to us, we bring them back to the auction house where they are researched, photographed and catalogued.
The catalogue goes out across the online platforms and, usually, ten days later the sale goes live. That’s the exciting bit, watching what happens.
The biggest satisfaction from the seller’s point of view is that they can be confident that the item is going to someone who wants it.
This is because it involves someone finding the catalogue and then, after viewing it, requesting a condition report.
They’ll register before bidding, pay for the sale, and, finally, arrange for delivery or collection.
Although there’s no open viewing for our online auctions, if anyone wants to actually look at a lot, they just need to make an appointment to come in.
What advice do you have for someone wondering if an item might be worth auctioning?
Before you take something to a car boot sale, donate it or give it away, check that the item’s not worth more than you think it is. Because you just never know.
People often say that they have ‘a little piece of costume jewellery’ and, sometimes, we find so much gold that they might walk out with thousands of pounds in their pocket.
Having a worldwide market at our fingertips on the day of sale can be priceless, so don’t be afraid of auctions.
When picking who’s going to sell on your behalf look at the commission charges and also at any extra charges for cataloguing, photography, and unsold fees etc.
You also have to believe in the auctioneer and will know the moment you speak to them. I’ve always trusted in my gut instinct.
I’ll never forget our first online lot: a tiny American 15-carat gold ring of a turtle with a reticulated head and limbs. This was the first item brought in through the doors by a lovely older lady from Melbourne.
We also had an Essex crystal bought for £3 from a car boot sale and that sold really well, making around £700.
My most exciting sale was at our second auction, filmed for The Derbyshire Auction House. We had a ring thought to have great age, but badly damaged.
After doing our best to describe it as accurately as possible, without saying that it was definitely Roman, bids from museums in France, America and England saw it make over £19,000.
The best thing about this job is that you never know what you are going to come across.
Sat in our stockroom, looking at each lot, I remember each one coming in and being told the story behind it. You’re really privileged when a customer lets you into their lives.
