Irita Marriott outside her new auction house in Melbourne, Derbyshire.
Image: Chloe Creative Photography
The saleroom in Melbourne has a schedule for 2024 involving five sales, starting with a debut offering on January 11.
These will be held at the saleroom but bidding in the room will not be possible – only online, commission or phone bidding.
The firm, called Irita Marriott Auctioneers and Valuers, will concentrate on virtual viewings but can provide in-person viewings by request.
It will host a weekly valuation day at the Williams Yard, Derby Road saleroom, as well as monthly valuation events in various locations.
Irita Marriott outside her new auction house in Melbourne, Derbyshire.
Image: Chloe Creative Photography
Marriott will run the firm and will work with consultant Isabel Murtough, a jewellery specialist and auctioneer.
Marriott, 39, moved to England from Latvia in 2004. After seven years working as a manager at a garden centre in Bradford she became a decorative antiques and collectables dealer in 2012, selling at fairs.
Following changes in buying patterns since the Covid pandemic, Marriott reassessed her business.
She said: “Covid altered the antiques and collectables business forever. Before lockdown, people flew from all over the world to buy at antique fairs.
“Covid stopped all that. By the time the pandemic ended, people had become used to buying online at auction.
“This is a key reason why I am launching my auction house. I want to continue to unite people with beautiful objects but make it easy for them to do so by buying online from Irita Marriott Auctioneers.”
TV appearances
Marriott is also well known from her appearances on TV.
She has featured in six seasons of the BBC’s Antiques Road Trip, three seasons of Celebrity Antiques Road Trip and recently started filming for Bargain Hunt.
