Today’s episode features Angel Tan, CEO of The House Directory, the leading UK website for every interior design source under the sun. You will recall in Season 2 that Toma Clark Haines, CEO of  The Antiques Diva & Co, announced they are now doing MORE THAN ANTIQUES.

As always, the quest is to help make your antiques business more profitable, and one cannot ignore the age old joke among dealers, “Once again, I’ve paid my rent on pillows and candles!” In order for an antiques store to be profitable, you have to think outside of the chaise lounge.

A brilliant way The Antiques Diva & Co do this is by helping their clients not only source antiques around the world but also one-of-a-kind handmade and artisanal goods.

Toma has personally followed The House Directory for more than a decade, and “personally” in this instance means not just as a business contact but as an avid user in her own decorating. Toma first utilized the site to decorate at least 50% of her home in the Netherlands back in 2010.

As a long time fan of the site, Toma is excited to sit down with Angel Tan – a relatively new CEO – who took over a year and a half ago when the last of the founders decided to step down from this 22 year old venture. Angel is a fellow antiques enthusiast with a passion for bringing timeless classics into her home and a penchant for mid-century modern. “I just love the juxtaposition of antique pieces in a contemporary environment. The older items, so full of character, can just sing more in the calmer, more minimal space.”

The House Directory is an online sourcebook for interior designers. They curate the resources in their list. Angel originally encountered the founders over a decade ago. The House Directory started as a series of books under House & Garden magazine. Serendipity allowed that many years later – Angel discovered that a friend’s mother was one of the founders, and Angel began her journey working with The House Directory.

Angel spent years training and working as a qualified architect, has founded several businesses, and also took a foray into teaching. She brings this wealth of skills and knowledge to the table in her oversight of The House Directory as it strives not only just to be a resource but to also educate people in as many areas related to design in the home as possible. In addition to the directory, they have a bi-montly newsletter as well as a blog. The site has 21 categories (which were the same categories that the founders initially put in the books) and hundreds of sub-categories that can be searched alphabetically by the company name and through the sub-categories – making it an incredibly flexible and user-friendly site.

Many of the companies that are part of The House Directory have been with them for the entire 22 years, but Angel shares that they are always on the lookout at trade shows and events and on social media for companies that they think would be a good addition to the directory and to which they extend invitations. There is also an online application so that businesses who feel like they are a good fit and would like to be considered for The House Directory can apply. The House Directory has a great listing of antique dealers, which is an area that Angel would really like to grow. “Decorating with antiques is one of the many ways in which interior designers and home-owners can be more sustainable,” shares Angel.

Angel and The House Directory have recently partnered with Gail McCleod of The Antique News and Fairs (and also VP of The Antiques Diva & Co.) to bring a special advertising offer for dealers to join both sites at once! (See link at end of post.) While The House Directory will continue to offer excellence as a go-to online resource, Angel sees the company returning to real life in the future starting with an exhibit they will be creating for London Craft Week: a celebration of crafts across London, focusing on restoration and craftsmanship that will feature as many of the craftsman in their list as possible allowing them to showcase what they do.

Toma agrees that there is “No substitute for real life,” as The Antiques Diva and Co are also launching their restoration workshops in the south of France where they will be teaching antiques dealers to do the basics of restoration, including gilding courses and helping people to learn veneers, gilt and plaster work, among other things. “We need to champion the dying crafts,” agrees Angel.

To learn more about The House Directory, check out their website at: thehousedirectory.com, sign up for their newsletter at: thehousedirectory.com/newsletter, or take advantage of the incredible offer that Antiques News and Fairs and The House Directory are currently offering before it’s too late! thehousedirectory.com/thdxanf.

You can also follow The House Directory on Instagram: @thehousedirectory.