About Us

Like so many small businesses, Perfect English Stuff was born partly from necessity and partly from newfound opportunity and creativity during the lockdown of 2020.

At this point there were three generations of women involved in the business - renowned antiques dealer Margery Byam Shaw, her daughter Ros Byam Shaw, and her granddaughter Elizabeth Kemp.

What started as a means of selling Margery’s stock online soon blossomed into a thriving antiques business, run largely from our Instagram page @perfectenglishstuff.

Sadly, Margery died in 2021 after a short illness, and since then Perfect English Stuff has been run as a mother-daughter operation by Ros and Elizabeth.

Ros balances Perfect English Stuff with her career as a writer and author of many bestselling books including the “Perfect English” series from which our business takes its name.

Having previously worked in the commercial art world, Elizabeth considers herself a perpetual apprentice in the trade, and alongside antiques dealing she paints and cares for her three small children.

We buy only what we love, and would want in our own homes - and our stock is not restricted to what could be considered “perfect” nor “English”!

We are proud to be a small, family-run, sustainable business, and we hope that you find some lovely stuff!