Effortlessly glamorous, achingly stylish; old money grandeur with a humorous undertone. This is the Spencer Swaffer Antiques look.

Spencer Swaffer has been dealing in Arundel for 25 years and, largely supplying English oak furniture and brass to a predominately Dutch market, was an international trade dealer from the start. His business today is one of the most celebrated in the world of decorative antiques and is an almost compulsory port of call for hundreds of top dealers and decorators - predominately American. His clients are almost all within the trade and Spencer describes himself as a dealer's dealer.

LE FLEAMAN
His stock changes so fast that in no two weeks will the showrooms look the same, and as every piece is unique and impossible to repeat, buyers are advised to trust their instinct when they see something that attracts them. Spencer makes a weekly journey every Thursday to Paris, getting to the flea market for 3am, flying home on Friday lunchtime, and back in the shop by mid afternoon. He is known in Paris as Le Fleaman, and is respected for the quality and quantity of stock that he exports.

Spencer Swaffer's shop is one of the most talked about in the world, but despite its exalted position at the top it remains what it has always been - the place where the Trade come to buy. "I own my building," he says. "I have no borrowing, and overheads are low in the countryside. If I buy something for £2,000 I am happy to turn it over for £2,200 - and always have been. I always say I can't wait to buy it - and then I can't wait to sell it!"

ANTIQUES DEALER
At the age of 11, Spencer Swaffer had his own museum. Made up by a bric-a-brac that he bought in Brighton junk shops, he charged two pence entry fee to anyone who wished to see it and was featured on the BBC Radio Today programme. A Brighton dealer heard the broadcast, paid his entry fee to see the collection, and quickly offered Spencer £50 for two pieces of Egyptian pottery. Realising that he would rather have £50 than the exhibits, the young Spencer instantly converted from museum curator to antique dealer.

He started with a Saturday stall in Brighton, by 15 years of age had graduated to Camden Passage, and even after school, as a journalist for the Brighton Evening Argus spent more time buying and transporting furniture than he did at his job reporting on the workings of West Sussex County Council.

NO LAZY COUNTRY SHOP
The often whimsical and humorous style of Spencer Swaffer Antiques belies the seriousenes with which its owner takes his business and the punishingly long hours that he personally spends maintaining a constantly changing supply. He is, in short, something of a phenomenon within the trade. Perhaps we shouldn't be surprised when we remember that he was running a museum even before taking his eleven plus.

Employing 12 people, and open seven days a week, Spencer Swaffer Antiques is no lazy country shop. As well as the extensive Arundel showrooms there is a 3,000 sq ft warehouse similarly packed with delicious pieces. And only one third of Swaffer's stock is on display - the other two thirds is at some stage of the gentle restoration process that makes everything saleable without losing any of its charm.