+nigel davies Thank you and yes I am also a mere mortal and have devoted half a century of my life to trying to promote modern furniture design in the UK and this is the only chance to get it on television!!! It reflects the value in our culture of the work of today.

I know that. I was on the show to have the opportunity to educate people. The experts did not know what wood it is made from and thought it was a rare wood. I should have said well watch the other channel 'Come dancing' as the floor is made of Canadian maple. They sell memorabilia on this show. You mention Habitat type outlet so I presume you mean IKEA. There is no way such an intricate cabinet could compete in production costs with China, Indonesia etc that make IKEA furniture. I was invited to show this piece but they did not mention it was one of four I ever made, the first one being auctioned at Sotheybys and sod to the richest man in the worl (Art collection)! My early rocking chairs sold for £40 and made from pine and sold for £40 in the mid 1970s are asking £2,000 - £5000 in galleries in the UK and in Europe! I was advised to pitch at the price I did by an ex Habitat chief salesman friend and expected to come down to £4,000. My furniture students who are completely unknown would sell for at least £4,000 but it was the wromng show, thdy never sell modern work. It always acquires value in some later era.

Its okay thanks. I have put up with this devaluation of contemporary furniture for over four decades. The positive truth is that over the years the clients (early adopters) who have commissioned my work, I have never had to sell a pitch, they buy what they like and my clients rend to be highly educated well travelled people, so they can for instance see the , German Bauhaus, Italian and Scandinavian minimalist influence in my work . Another re-assuring fact is my rocking chairs are fetching prices around £1500 for originals that sold for £40.

Four variations of this cabinet were made by me between 1980 and 2002, one of which I own and use. Fortunately the other three went to appreciative clients. I think the last on sold for £4,500 and that price was negotiated with the client after a little healthy haggling.

Mitch Peacock - WOmadeOD Great point. They are finciers, not art patrons, nor mere casual crafts enthusiasts. Great way to get exposure but I can't think of a better field to rid of the proverbial middleman.

Woodomain - Jeremy Broun Thank s to you for sharing your interest. I can watch for hours

Yes I kind of took it with a pinch of salt and it was after all a rare opportunity to show there is life beyond antiques on British television! .

Of course I know that - I asked £8K expecting offers for half that. The show is about haggling but they didn't like it basically - too modern.

+Balenza345 Well the biggest crunch to me was that for decades exhibition curators and journalists acknowledged me as one of the leaders in my field and I was presented as an unknown - but in fairness during the filming of my Four Rooms piece it was acknowledged who I am by one of the dealers but the editor in the final cut chose to leave that out as well as the provenance that the original cabinet sold at Sotheby's to the art collection of the richest man in the world! Its a game show and a rare opportuniy for modern furniture to be shown on mainstream television.

+Woodomain - Jeremy Broun I just loved that cabinet, it's beautifully crafted and with such an interesting design. I was very surprised by their low bids!

Thanks. The low bids I suspect were because the dealers probably phoned around the art dealers to find out who i was and today I am an unknown but at the time the cabinet was made I was an A-lister in British furniture making and they would have known who I was, but they still would have offered way below par. In my field there are only a couple of names who command Art market prices. Second hand values are way down, mainly due to ignorance of dealers and probably a lack of confidence and modesty on the part of many craftsmen. Any of this kind of work would make a good investment but not short-term.