For nearly 20 years a Phibsborough antique shop has been combing skips and household clearances to breath new life into discarded hidden gems.
Dave Doyle, the owner of Fado Antiques, spends his days talking to customers, building relationships and fixing anything that he sees potential in.
Since 2004, Dave has been selling one of a kind, vintage items in his shop, and they all have a story behind them.
Even the shop itself has a story behind it as it’s one of the only three-storey buildings in Phibsborough.
Dave told Dublin Live: “I’ve always been selling antiques, I started at the markets up in Mother Redcaps Market in Christchurch and I’d a stall there.
"We used to travel to the old Hill Market on Cumberland street at 2am where people used to dump all sorts of stuff out on the street, we used to pick bits and bobs out of it, do a bit of research to see where the stuff came from and then sell it."
Most of the items Dave sells have been recycled from Dublin tip heads, skips and house clearances. He'd comb through the clutter, picking out interesting and collectible bits to resell.
He added: “Light fittings are what we kind of specialise in, they’re all old and we restore them. Most people have done up a house and want to get lights fitted. We work with some interior designers too.
“The chandeliers are very unique, we probably have 200 here. We’ve a lot of interesting bits and pieces that we’ve restored.
“We do house clearances, people contact us and some of them pull up outside and show you stuff. If I'm fitting a chandelier, some people might want you to look at something, they might have bits in the shed that they want to get rid of.
“We travel to Belgium for chandeliers, we buy them and bring them back here and then we take them apart, rewire and clean them.”
This form of recycling has acted as a huge educational experience for Dave and has been an opportunity for him to expand his knowledge of antique furniture and lighting.
He said: “It’s the quality of the old stuff, the way it was all made, it was handmade, what’s out there in a modern lighting shop is all junk really, it’s poor quality and disposable. People buy it and throw it out after 10 years, whereas the antique pieces were made to last.
“They hold their value as well, an antique light fitting is something that you might spend a lot of money on but it keeps.
“I love the customers and meeting people. I also love going to these magnificent houses to fit the lights. These lights are a personal touch and we guarantee a personal service because we’re a small business.
"You go into these businesses in town and you’re never talking to the boss, people don’t care whether you buy the item or not, whereas we care.”
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