About Us

^{Sinclairs at Georgian House, Hallgate on the left - Taken May 1962. Image permission from Dubdee on Flickr}

Sinclairs History

Sinclairs began in 1949 on Watergate, Doncaster. Edna Sinclair, grandmother to the current director of Sinclairs, opened a shop after the war when china and crystal were still in short supply.

She specialised in wares from factories such as Johnson Bros and Poole Pottery, which were on allocation and delivered by British Rail in wire crates packed with straw.

The business grew as chinaware became more readily available, moving to Georgian House, an imposing Georgian building at the top of Hallgate, Doncaster, in the late 1950s.

In the 1960s, the second generation of Sinclairs forged their own paths in the china business. John Sinclair opened his first shop on Glossop Road, Sheffield, in 1967.

Sinclairs expanded further, opening a specialist shop in Stamford, a European Porcelain shop in London, and a Cook 'n' Dine factory outlet shop at Lakeside Village, Doncaster.

For over 50 years, Sinclairs has been one of the country's leading independent china, crystal, and luxury leather goods specialists. Our staff have over 40 years of experience and knowledge of the world's finest brands. Sinclairs is proud to offer bespoke services, corporate gifts, and a worldwide delivery service.

We pride ourselves on our product knowledge and can often locate discontinued and back-issue collectables and dinnerware items. Sinclairs remains a family business committed to providing excellent customer service and an enjoyable shopping experience.

Meet The Sinclairs Team

Cristian Sinclair
Director

With specialist training at Lalique in Paris, Royal Copenhagen in New York and with 25 years of experience in the china and crystal industry, he has gathered an encyclopaedic knowledge of antiques, discontinued and contemporary ceramics and glass.

His knowledge extends to areas such as matching products, care and repair, identification and advice on discontinued items, bespoke decoration, manufacture and personalisation. Cristian has made multiple visits to the most famous european porcelain, china and crystal manufactures such as Waterford, Herend, Meissen, Wedgwood, Royal Crown Derby, Lladro and Royal Copenhagen. Cristian visits all of the Sinclairs stores regularly and is very happy to meet customers and share his wealth of knowledge and give specialist help. He can also be found at many shows and events across the country, such as the Badminton Horse Trials. If you can’t make it to a store or show, you can contact Cristian through our contact page

John Sparre
Sales & Corporate Director

John started in the world of collectables working for Royal Crown Derby, where he worked for 12 years, finishing as their international sales manager. He then moved to Sinclairs as our Mail Order Manager in 1977, organising the department and building relationships with customers and manufacturers. John has travelled frequently to manufacturers such as Meissen in Germany and Royal Copenhagen in Denmark and each year attends the Frankfurt Ambiente Trade Fair to meet with many more, such as Villeroy and Boch. His links within the industry have given him the opportunity to organise many special commissions for names such as Rolls Royce, Eton College and Harrow School, where he was involved from design level through to costing and edition size. He has also worked with Coalport, Caverswall, Wedgwood and many others to produce commissions exclusive to Sinclairs, most notably being the main force behind a new and exclusive edition of Royal Crown Derby paperweights starting with the Bakewell Duck, the first in a series of 6 all with a limited run of 500, exclusive to Sinclairs. Over the years John has dealt with many famous brands such as Baccarat, Lladro, Royal Doulton, Wedgwood, Swarovski, Waterford, Richard Ginori. David Winter Cottages, Meissen, Herend and Villeroy & Boch. And that is just the tip of the iceberg of the vast array of collectables that Sinclairs is associated with.

Graziella Ciaraolo
Sales Supervisor

Graziella has worked for Sinclairs ever since leaving school, and has over 30 years of experience. As part of the mail order team, Graziella has extensive knowledge in collectables such as Royal Doulton, Wedgwood, Waterford, Masons, Beswick and Baccarat. She is a hoarder and keeps many price lists & catalogues, some going back decades, so if you’re looking for the December 1989 catalogue, you know who to ask.

Claire Strong
International Sales Supervisor

Claire has been with Sinclairs for 20 years, starting out in the mail order department. Claire has a wealth of knowledge going back to the mid-ninties when Royal Doulton figurines, Royal Crown Derby paperweights, Lilliput Lane Cottages and Royal Copenhagen year plates were the must have collectables of the time. Claire handles customer enquiries for all of our brands and makes sure your lovely item is successfully delivered, even when it is travelling across the country.