Antique shop offers Vintage Charm in Horsham

They have starred in music videos and graced glamorous photoshoots - so a Horsham couple’s new challenge of setting up an antiques shop may seem a surprising venture.
JPCT 110714 S14290066x Horsham. Vintage Charm -photo by Steve Cobb SUS-141107-104700001JPCT 110714 S14290066x Horsham. Vintage Charm -photo by Steve Cobb SUS-141107-104700001
JPCT 110714 S14290066x Horsham. Vintage Charm -photo by Steve Cobb SUS-141107-104700001

But Jade Green and John McLean’s developing ‘passion’ for French antiques, which first led to a stall at Horsham Markets, has now blossomed into a store, Vintage Charm, in Queen Street, Horsham.

While pregnant with baby Sonny, Jade, 27, began painting items of furniture around the house - initially due to boredom.

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Her newfound enthusiasm for arts and crafts transferred to John, 32, who immediately shared her eye for design.

Jade said: “I couldn’t work because I was humongous, and I was really bored at home so I started painting my furniture - I didn’t know I would enjoy it, I just wanted to make the house look nice.

“One day John came home from work and he wanted to paint something, I was a bit sceptical at first, but he painted a chest of drawers and I was really shocked because it was amazing.

“People loved our stuff so we thought it would be nice to have a shop.”

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John and pregnant Jade began visiting antique fairs, developing a fondness for French antiques and learning about the industry.

French designs provide the inspiration for Vintage Charm, which opened in Jade’s hometown in early July.

Jade said: “At antique fairs, John got friendly with the French guys who would bring the furniture there, and now we have scouts in France who will send us pieces.

“I couldn’t go back to modelling because I wanted to be a mum, and the shop is a good base for Sonny.”

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Both Jade and John have previously worked as models - their romance began when Jade managed to arrange a joint photoshoot for the pair.

Together, they performed in the music video for London rapper Professor Green’s ‘Remedy’, while Jade has also appeared in an Olly Murs video.

She has even appeared as a body double for Hollywood A-lister Cameron Diaz, mixing with the star off camera.

But being a mum and store owner are Jade’s new priorities - ‘I couldn’t do it now, I love this too much’, she added.

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She singled out ‘pretty’ Armoire wardrobes as an in-store highlight, as well as pointing out the more ‘manly’ middle section and garden area.

She said: “I am a bit of a shopaholic, so really this is my dream job because I can buy furniture - how can you not enjoy it?

“It is really hard to part with a lot of things to be honest.”

She added she believes other antique shops in Horsham ‘do their own thing’, but said she hoped the area could become a hotbed of antiquing.

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She said: “Our prices aren’t too high and we have original pieces that are really stunning.

“There are other antique shops in Horsham but they do their own thing. I like to think we are different because we specialise in French antiques - that is my passion.”