Fairs and Markets

In the lead-up to Masterpiece, the organisers suggested that, despite the high-quality offered, the fair offers more than just the astronomically expensive.

The summer fairs and markets scene is cranking into high gear, so here is a short selection over the next two weekends.

Bookings are going well for the collaborative venture between B2B Events and Bentleys Fairs at the beginning of August.

Milan’s Navigli district dates to the 12th century and nine centuries later it is full of vintage shops, restaurants and bars, with its canals a great backdrop for the city’s biggest antiques and vintage market.

Coming up next for Cooper Events is the second of three annual Cotswolds Decorative Fairs, which take place in the grand hall of Westonbirt School in Burnham-on-Sea.

The pretty Suffolk coastal town of Southwold is well known for its delightful pier, Adnam’s brewery, multi-coloured beach huts and a Grade II-listed lighthouse in the middle of the town.

Fine art was a leading field at Masterpiece London (June 28-July 4) which, despite some challenges, retained and even reinforced its position as a top international fair during its most recent run.

Gary Halford of Guildhall Antique Fairs is anticipating upwards of 150 stallholders at his annual antiques and vintage event at the Rutland County Showground, Oakham.

The 'Art & Antiques Fair Olympia', the 45-year-old staple of the London summer calendar, finished its most recent run (June 25-July 1) to subdued reports.

A dealer will offer what he believes is a Joseph Wright of Derby self-portrait at the LAPADA Art & Antiques Fair this autumn.

Launched earlier this year, the two-day New Road Vintage Market in Brighton has four dates in 2017, with the next on Saturday and Sunday, July 22-23.

Penman Fairs holds its second annual fair at Burford School in Oxfordshire from July 29-30.

Along with its sister group in the US, members of Antiques Young Guns – “brilliant old things from bright young things” – now span at least three continents. AYG’s core message of support for up-and-coming professionals in the trade has never been stronger.

The July 28-30 antiques and fine art fair at George Watson’s College in Edinburgh brings 35 dealers from across the UK to stand in the foyer and assembly hall of this 18th century building.

What is selling well in the clocks and watches world? Dealer Warren Wilkinson, who has been collecting and repairing clocks and watches for 40 years and who is a regular standholder at Love Fairs events, is a good man to answer that very question.

The Dublin-born journalist Abraham ‘Bram’ Stoker’s first book, The Duties of Clerks of Petty Sessions in Ireland, a handbook of legal administration in Ireland, hit the streets in 1879.

The Antiques for Everyone fair is dubbed by the organiser as “a barometer for what’s in vogue with collectors, interior decorators and furnishers”. So what are dealers to do when pressure for their offerings slackens?