A glamorous brunette with red nails and an infectious laugh, 32-year-old Livia Brynin is something of a rarity among antiques dealers. It’s a male-dominated field that doesn’t attract many people of her age, but she knew from childhood there was no other job she would rather do.

Her parents, Peter and Rebecca Brynin, have been involved in the antiques trade in Brighton for more than 40 years and run Brighton Lanes Antiques. Livia learnt her trade at her father’s knee; it was her destiny, she says with a smile, to end up working alongside him.

The family’s two shops, which face each other in an alleyway off Brighton Square, are The Lanes’ only antique shops and stock a broad range of goods from vintage wristwatches to grandfather clocks, tea caddies to telescopes, engagement rings to crystal chandeliers.

The variety is one of the job’s biggest attractions says Livia. “Every day is different.

I never know what people are going to bring in to the shop.

One day we’ll get a Staffordshire figurine, the next an old surgeon’s kit complete with knives and scalpels.”

She has a soft spot for silver – easily dated thanks to its hallmark and always a good investment – and was fascinated by the recent arrival of a Victorian chatelaine, a decorative belt hook or clasp that would have been worn at a housekeeper’s waist to allow her to remedy any problems she encountered around the home. Holding everything from a thimble to a small bottle of vinaigrette, chatelaines are a fascinating piece of social history says Livia.

“I love the way even the smallest object can tell you so much about the way people lived and about our wider history,” she says. “I often lecture and I enjoy telling people about the significance of ordinary items such as tea caddies. Tea pretty much saved the British Empire and also led to all sorts of unexpected behaviour. At one point the British exported opium to China from its Indian colonies to ensure tea kept arriving. People tend to be rather shocked by that.”

As Seven Days’ newest columnist (read her first column on page 27), Livia will share her expertise with readers, and offer advice on collecting and caring for antiques. “I’m going to focus on more affordable treasures rather than pricey artwork or furniture – lovely things like Vesta matchbox cases and decanters. You can build up a good collection quite easily.”

She avoids telling people to snap up specific pieces or periods, however. “I think first and foremost it’s important to collect things you like,” she says, “You’re going to be living with these objects so you need to appreciate and enjoy them regardless of their commercial value.”

Antiques are Livia’s life; she even met her husband, a French polisher and restorer, through the trade. The couple married in June with antique rings bought from the shop.

“I do worry sometimes that mine is a dying trade,” she says.

“There aren’t many younger people doing this, mainly because it’s not something you can go to university to learn. There are short courses you can take but really, you need to learn from someone else. I’m so fortunate it’s what my family does.”

On occasion, visitors will find three generations of Brynins in the shop when Livia’s son joins her behind the counter. Does she hope he will follow in her footsteps one day? “Well, he’s only seven at the moment and he can do what he wants. But it’s a business that’s always been kind to me. I certainly wouldn’t discourage him.”

* For more information, visit brightonlanesantiques.co.uk