Latest News Articles by Joan Porter

'Remain busy, stay positive' in order to cope with new lockdown say dealers
11 January 2021Firms in tier 1 enjoyed good trading in December but are now back in lockdown.

Cornwall lands at ground level
04 January 2021Two businesses from the West Country tell us how trade was going before the latest coronavirus restrictions

Yes, it was a bit challenging…
21 December 2020A bonkers year like no other did nevertheless have its highlights as the trade battled back

Online: PBFA monthly virtual showcase set to be a permanent booking
14 December 2020So well has the Provincial Booksellers Fairs Association’s (PBFA) monthly online book fair been received that it is being continued as a permanent fixture.

The tale of a 26-mile walk to buy a bible
14 December 2020Destined for the now cancelled Towy Events Christmas antiques and fleamarket at the Carmarthen Showground were two rare Welsh plates from the Llanelly Pottery, which Towy Events organiser and dealer Robert Pugh had planned to take.

Plans remain in flux for indoor art and antiques event organisers
07 December 2020Organisers of indoor art and antiques fairs continue to make alternative plans for the first half of next year.

Tin man Dan ready for B2B Malvern date
07 December 2020B2B Three Counties Showground in Malvern event now confirmed to run this month.

Beckenham gets go-ahead
07 December 2020Alison Davis and Alan Old will be running their So Last Century Christmas vintage market as planned at Beckenham Mansion on Sunday, December 13.

Dealers discover new platform
07 December 2020As Discover Vintage, Keeley Rosendale has run her well-supported vintage fairs in the north of England since 2009.

It’s open season in the square
07 December 2020Lucy Haywood runs her Country Brocantes in West Sussex, including the grounds of Parham House and at the Daylesford Organic Farm in Gloucestershire.

More than a nod to online
30 November 2020James Waggott of The Antiques Centre York is a happy chap.

Vintage fashion fair is among events creating a shop window online
30 November 2020Matthew Adams is holding his first virtual vintage fashion fair, 'Lockdown Frockdown', this Sunday (December 6).

Banana website proves fruitful
30 November 2020Julian Tatham-Losh, who owns Top Banana Antiques in Tetbury, reports that business is booming.

Midcentury Modern organisers host show on the web
30 November 2020The Midcentury Modern Shows team of Lucy Ryder Richardson and Petra Curtis are all grounded until next year.

Wiltshire ‘collective’ hails slow but steady transatlantic deliveries
23 November 2020Shipping in the older, literal sense of the word has played a vital role in coping with robust international demand during the current Covid-19 challenges, according to a Wiltshire business.

Back-to-front way of doing business
23 November 2020Quirky might be a way to describe Andrew Blackall’s antiques shop which is both Number 56 and 70 in the High Street, Corsham.

Video ‘shop tours’ prove popular selling method in Ashburton
23 November 2020In an enterprising move early last year dealer Lydia Wood launched an antiques trail in Ashburton, on the edge of Dartmoor in Devon.
Online is gift-wrapped opportunity
23 November 2020Martin Webster is the e-commerce manager for the Scottish Antique and Arts Centre in Abernyte, Perthshire.

Lock and learn: business lessons
09 November 2020Three dealers who stand at fairs and in centres describe how they meet the Covid-19 challenges

Grandma’s Attic restarts with the popular Wimborne event
02 November 2020Grandma’s Attic Fairs is holding its first antiques and collectors’ event this weekend since lockdown in early March.