Martin Swinton The 10-second bio: The VoiceAmerica Channel radio show host Ezinearticles.com Expert Author Teaches courses on antiques Does appraisals Does furniture restoration Does caning & rushing repairs Consults for others who want to own antique shops A lifelong lover of all things old, Martin was born in Toronto, Ontario and spent time in Malaysia as a child.   Martin learned to restore furniture when he was a teenager and has worked at an auction house. He owns Take-A-Boo Emporium, an antique shop located at 2064 Avenue Road, Toronto, Ontario. Martin teaches courses on antiques and has written for the Town Crier newspaper, the Home Advisor , UK Auctioneers.com and BC Home. His articles have been reprinted in publications around the world. Currently, he has hosted Let's Talk Antiques, a internet radio program on The VoiceAmerica Channel (www.voiceamerica.com) and he has appeared on a number of television programs. Items from his shop have been featured in internationally recognized antiques expert Judith Miller's Price Guide books. Martin can be found in his shop restoring well-worn furniture, gluing vintage tables or re-caning and rushing chairs. On warm summer days, he has been seen multi-tasking in front of the shop when he chats up the locals and works on his tan.   Martin recalls that he has always been interested in things from the past, so it is not surprising that he graduated from the University of Toronto with a degree in Archaeology. He holds a high school equivalency diploma from the Ontario Ministry of Education. Martin completed his grade 2 course of studies at Cedarvale Public School before being home school through to high school. Age seven was a pivotal year for Martin: he was diagnosed with severe dyslexia, which explains a lot of the problems that he had in Mrs. Mansica's grade two reading circle and, on a more positive note, he attended Woodstock. His personal areas of interest are Asian art, European furniture and the Arts & Crafts movement.  Martin is a member of the Monarchist League of Canada. He lives in Toronto with his wife, Andrea and his teenaged son.
Andrea Swinton The 10-second bio: Organizational guru Marketing wiz Andrea takes care of the "back of the shop" - everything from paying the rent, talking to the accountant to vacuuming the shop. Her strong  organizational skills ensure that these tasks are completed promptly. She brings experience in marketing, public relations and communications to the company and she is always looking for low cost (free), high impact marketing opportunities. Andrea graduated from Queen's University in Kingston, Ontario with a Bachelor of Arts degree; holds a now extinct grade 13 diploma from Sudbury Secondary High School; a grade 12 diploma from LaSalle Secondary School; a grade 8 diploma from Churchill Public School; a certificate of graduation from Mrs. Bretzlaff's kindergarten class and a birth certificate from a non-denominational hospital in Sudbury, Ontario. Due to Andrea's strong organization skills, all these degrees, diplomas and certificates are kept individually in sheet protectors in a clearly labelled binder and naturally are in alphabetical order. When Andrea is not reorganizing the shop, she is power walking through the neighbourhood or hitting the gym. Andrea collects coloured Depression glass and Inuit art. Andrea is a member of the Sports Clubs of Canada and has a Toronto Public Library card. Andrea lives in Toronto with her husband, Martin and her teenaged stepson.