Welcoming William Trudgill to Sworders

^{William Trudgill - Cataloguer | Sworders Hertford}

William has always been interested in buying and selling objects, enjoying all aspects of the process from research and authentication to photography and marketing. He started off as a schoolboy trading second-hand clothes but soon found himself transferring these skills into the world of antiques, admittedly with a little influence from his father. Weekends were spent not just navigating listings on eBay but touring the local auction houses, and from this, a love affair with design and the decorative arts was born.

After graduating from Newcastle University William was eager to follow his passion professionally. His first step on the auction ladder is to join Sworders' Hertford team, to support Daniel Webster and James Flower in the cataloguing of new consignments.

William is particularly fond of English furniture and hopes that more of his generation will choose to buy into these pieces to form timeless interiors of charm and intrigue.

Let's get to know him...

How do you like to unwind?

Aside from knocking a small white ball around a field, I’m a keen home cook and find that an afternoon behind the stove with good seasonal produce doesn't get much better.

Is there a particular specialism you are excited to learn more about?

Gosh, well I think one of the amazing things about this job is the sheer diversity of objects you get to see and thus learn about. However, if I were to have to pick one specialism to learn more about it would have to be modern and contemporary art. James has already started to open my eyes to it, and he promises the whole team at Hertford a complete education on the subject!

Tell us an interesting fact about yourself?

My mastermind specialist subject would be the water-cooled era of Porsche, rather sadly I am a self-confessed nerd on the topic having wasted many hours of my childhood watching videos of cars on YouTube, maybe one day when I’m rich and famous I can swap my mini out for one! 

This is your first experience working for an auction house, what attracted you to the role?

In my second year of university, I decided that I would switch up the desk in my room from one made by that Swedish company we don’t mention to something with a bit more style. So, with a little advise from the parents, I headed down to my then local auction house to see what they had to offer. After a morning looking at pedestal desks and being immersed in the hustle and bustle of the saleroom, I was certain of two things - the desk I desired and the career I wanted. Sadly, I missed out on the desk, the good ones always do get away.