Antiques with history, story and secret - Indian Antique Quest & Giveaway

Hark back to the golden era of antiques with Sridhar Marappan, a History Background Academician, Researcher and blogger all rolled in one, who is making us revisit the glorious past of brass. Propelled by passion and open to learning at every turn Sridhar's online venture Indian Antique Quest is an Antique Curio E-Retailer with the classical forms, decorative details and a decadent touch of gold. 

Indian Antique Quest is one stop stomping ground for antique hunters. Sridhar's keen eyes for antiques and his addiction to hunt genuine pieces takes him to the sources like estates, homes, temple auctions, yard sales, renovation sites, government auction sale etc. where he also learns the history and past of each piece. With the flashback of struggles Sridhar sums up that having traveled the lengths & breadths of our country for academic research, it has provided him the opportunity to gain much inputs. Spending hours and days scrolling through and scanning through the best he accumulates only the pieces with steeped history, stories and secrets. 

The creative brain and champion behind this project is bringing you this pure luxurious metal with an equally illustrious past. With my big appetite and Sridhar's abiding passion we, the brass lovers, are taking you today for some inside scoop of Indian Antique Quest – an online gold mine of brass lovers. 

The path to antiques was set for Sridhar since his childhood, as he coins: Antiques and historical places had always fascinated me right from my childhood which is not strange as my grandfather is a great connoisseur of art and finesse. Its his experiences, stories and history was what I grew up with. Luckily some of his collections which stood the test of time were passed on to us. Firmly choosing to nurture my profound interests in history and objects through time, I achieved masters degree in history and tourism and that has helped me much through curriculum and field visit where inputs on antiques and history were gained. 

Asked upon his small business success mantra, Sridhar proudly claims: Customers are my only reason for what I am now, and that's due to my policy of high volume of business with low profit margin and non fixed prices. I often accumulate pieces from some places at a very lower prices than market value. Keeping the customers in my priority, I sell those pieces at the same low buying price giving the benefit to customers. If you consider the actual market value of the same piece, it will be way too high than our prices. In some instances, if a customer is loving a piece due to some sentimental connection but not being able to afford then in such cases I have sold for less than my buying price also. My these courtesy acts have made a strong list of regular buyers  and well wishers. I have unique pricing much lower than market because I source directly. Apart from these I myself select only the best antiques being an antique lover myself and do not settle for less, so high quality guaranteed.

Sridhar does not shy away talking about his creative soul and his role behind his brand. Sridhar opens up: I am a born dreamer, always oriented towards beauty and creativity. I am on a constant hunt of ideas and improvisations every day. There have been days when I visualize ideas in dreams and wake up to jot them down to implement next day. Fun part of my business is picking the décor stuff from my own collection and give them some perky updates around the home.

Because every successful story begins with a carefully devised products, Sridhar get excited talking about the genuineness of his products: All are 100% original antiques with a clean, happy history and story and not to forget the positive vibe. I take immense proud in giving full details about each and every piece. All are sourced directly after thorough check for quality, damages, usablity and memory inputs they carry. I also note down the history of each piece and gain additional information of improvisation of each antique and their other names.

Being on a constant hunt for antiques manning a physical outlet is not feasible for Sridhar. He belts out how his products are mainly acquired from: My self-directed observation and exploration makes me take a dive into very interior and unknown places. My main source is through few relatives from interior cities of Kerala (via royal homes) where no others can penetrate. While other come from Andhra antique regions via my good friend in the region. Thankfully many of our relatives have settled and own huge farm lands in Mysore and through their links I can reach in to huge properties. Sourcing directly from the original owners with their entwined stories my every product make it a one of a kind piece with unique appeal.

Sridhar has translated his same very experience far and wide through his online venture, where he spreads brass love with signature items and character rich accessories. If you also have a natural affinity and big appetite for antiques then do get connected on India Antique Quest's social medias to see more dizzying array of brass varieties. 

Instagram Feed 

Pinterest Account

Blog 

Facebook Page

And now some Giveaway Time :). Indian Antique Quest has a beautiful giveaway for all the readers of Pinkz Passion for celebrating 10k followers on Instagram. One lucky winner will be walking away with an antique English bowl (8 inches tall & 8 inches wide).

Follow along few simple steps as mentioned below to participate in this wonderful giveaway. 

1). 'Follow' the feeds of Pinkz Passion & Indian Antique Quest on Instagram.

2). To increase your chance of winning, follow the Facebook pages of Pinkz Passion & Indian Antique Quest

3). Leave a comment here or on any of my social media mentioning the actions you have followed.

It's as simple as that. The giveaway is open from April 2nd to April 13th. The lucky winner will be announced on April 15th (Sunday). 

The giveaway is open for all the readers across India, USA & Canada so spread the word & share the post :).

Signing out today's post thanking Indian Antique Quest for hosting a wonderful giveaway and wishing all the very best for all future business ventures. Until we meet again, stay connected, toodles!

(All images belong to Indian Antique Quest and do not copy or use without prior permission of the owner, you may pin them from Pinkz Passion's Pinterest account)

A pot of memories...

My mom, a fervent antique lover, owns exquisite antiques and treasured handed down brass. Inhabiting in an aged pixie dust brass and special centuries past era treasures is something I have completely inherited from her. Surprising juxtaposition of different styles and era mixing with her chock-full of alluring and interesting used family heirlooms truly resonates her art of mastering the mixology. With abundance flow of flowers from her garden paired with a fresh approach in my grand mother's pot connects her to the past in a tangible way! Some day, hopefully I will share her amazing collection with you all :)

I have definitely got same good genes of her ;) For the very same sense of nostalgia few of those antiques are handed down to me by mom and now they are a cherished part of my own home décor. The diverse mix of decorating with antiques of a bygone era offers an absolute personal touch in your décor. Connecting the dots of "old" story with "new" story and probably creating "another" story with next set of users when I pass it on to my children warms up my heart. 

The excellently crafted pot, engraved with  my great grand father's name,  housing the mounds of bright yellow mums is over 100+ years old. As we grow older memories of our early childhood seems to fade away, though,  I still have vivid memories of my grandma using it. Ditching out the tray, I have also used the set of same very old "German Silver" plate as a tray on the table. I personally believe antique world treasure never go out of style. They were, they are and always will be classic, timeless and stylish.

Hold on tightly to those priceless faded treasures of antiques hiding in your parents attics, bring them into your home with whole new outlook and let them take on a new life full of exuberance and excitement.

On the other note, I have started to seize the home gracefully and have rolled down the sleeves for the upcoming festivities. Stay connected on passion page of Facebook for further updates, until we meet again, toodles!