This was Mr Bailey’s 34th fair at the Pavilions, but it was his first in early January (in the past it has been at the end of the month) and certainly will not be his last.
He said: “This is the first time Bailey fairs have held a New Year fair in Yorkshire and, as my experience in the South of England has shown, New Year fairs can be extremely successful.”
This one worked for most of the 45 exhibitors with some enjoying very good sales. Pictures seemed to do very well. Michael Brew of Lamont Fine Art from Worcestershire enjoy his best-ever fair, selling a number of landscapes, while Eric Ford of Stow-on-the-Wold’s Kenulf Fine Art enjoyed good furniture sales as well as paintings.
Ed Lomax of Lancashire’s Brunswick Gallery pinpointed one very plausible reason for his success when he said: “Having a fair adjacent to the holidays worked so well for us because it meant that couples came out together and decisions were made there and then.”
Silver, ceramics and jewellery also proved a popular choice.
Spending by couples helps holiday fair in Harrogate to success
ESSEX organiser Robert Bailey travelled North at the end of December and saw the new year in at Harrogate where from January 2 to 4 he held his Harrogate Pavilions Antiques and Fine Art Fair.
