Man with a Van: My Story

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He hit the big time with Salvage Hunters which is shown on Quest and is watched by millions of people across the globe. Mr Pritchard had owned premises outside Glan Conwy for more than 20 years.

He says he knows this because when he was dealing in industrial furniture, they were all dealing in industrial furniture. “And when I was dealing in quirky oddments, everyone was buying quirky oddments. And now I predominantly deal in very fine furniture and they’re all doing that now. So it’s just made me up my game again.” It’s a world with its own language, although Pritchard says daytime antiques shows have ruined it and watered it down. He is, I am beginning to learn, characteristically, dismissive of those who aren’t experts in his field. When I ask about the fashion for brown furniture it is some minutes before he draws breath. And yet, when Pritchard started out, antiques was a closed shop. “It was like the Mafia.” It’s not quite the same today, but with his advice he hopes he can get anyone through the door and give them a start. “The rest is down to what you make of it. That’s what I love about it.” The main thing is that I want people to be enthused. They might be terrified for half of it but then they might suddenly go, ‘You know what? I could do that.’ I want people to have a go. The only time to start is now. Right now.”

So I ask if, perhaps it was a “worthless” piece of furniture and it’s made someone happy to paint it so they can keep using it where’s the harm? Pritchard asks me to imagine how much art and culture society would have lost to landfill but for the enthusiasm of the antiques dealer. “To me it’s a service. Yes, we make money out of it, but so does a roofer. So does the butcher.” Between the 1940s and 70s, he explains, the Americans bought all our best antiques (presumably while we were investing in G-plan and mid-century modern furniture by designers such as Robin Day and Ercol) and they hung on to them and all that remained in the UK was a “load of old toot” from after the Second World War. But despite being a master of his trade he faces an uncertain future. He said that like many other businesses he had been hit by surging costs - making it increasingly hard for him to compete with mass producers.

Speaking to the Telegraph Drew said: "I’ve had a blip in the middle where everything just got too much for me, which I’m over now and working on. I’ve started again from scratch. I’ve completely binned my old life and started afresh."

A Volvo estate is part of any antique dealer’s essential kit. When Pritchard was starting out in the 1980s it was that or, if you were slightly posher, a Mercedes estate, but today’s Volvos are better, he says. We have been trained to buy new but don’t be afraid of buying old. Break the cycle by buying something with soul. There is a story attached to it and you can find someone to restore it and the love affair starts.” If like me you were the kid who preferred skips to school and learnt more from lost relics in sheds than lessons – you might be interested in my first book..... "Man With A Van". It may be just as well. His remarkable success, and the televisual fame that has accompanied it, have inspired many people to try their hand at what he does. “I have a lot of imitators – and some of them are now doing Drew Pritchard better than me.” Staying honest

He added: “My parents are still digging up boxes of old rubbish I found when I was a kid – I’d drag it all home. They even built another shed for me as I’d filled all the sheds in the garden with junk."Within two minutes I realised this house was an absolute gem. Just as the estate agent was walking out, I said, 'I'll give you this much for it. No survey. And I'll give you the deposit immediately. Take it off the market now'. I've been working on it ever since." I was talking to a dealer friend the other day who said so far this year he has turned over a million quid but he said he hasn’t made any money at all because he just keeps buying more stuff. And that’s what I do. It’s a passion and it [the selling] allows us to keep hunting for more” Put your hand on it, say you love it, smile and say you will take it away that day and I guarantee you will get the best price possible.” Drew Pritchard for Barker and Stonehouse – Harling Snuggle Chair North Wales Live has spoken to local business and property owners about whether losing Drew has impacted the town or if Dylan's has been an ample, or not superior, replacement. I understand where his dislike of Ikea and upcycling comes from, but nobody appointed him the head of the furniture Stasi, as far as I am aware.

The only person getting anything from this is the person who sells you the paint and if it makes you happy then FINE – but as I said stone cladding was in for a while wasn’t it?”The emporium helped cement Conwy's position as a top destination for shoppers wanting independent stores and attracted visitors from around the UK and further afield. Finding and selling antiques is in his blood, and he can’t imagine ever stopping. He only wishes he knew as a young man what he knows now. For this reason, in May he published a book, “How Not to Be an Antiques Dealer: Everything I’ve Learnt, That Nobody Told Me”. Pritchard lovingly restored the building, getting everything from the panelling, to the lighting and the music perfect, but now it’s gone. Sold to a local businessman who offered him a price he couldn’t refuse. “Everything is always for sale” is another piece of antique-dealer wisdom. Opening your own antiques shop might be your goal. And of course it was Pritchard’s too. Aged eight, when his mum took him to buy shoes on Conwy High Street, the idea of his own double-fronted domain was beguiling. He eventually succeeded, and by coincidence it turned out to be the very same premises where he bought those childhood shoes. The former Ysgol Dyffryn Conwy pupil has been an independent antiques dealer since 1993, having trained initially as a stained glass restorer and designer.