Fairs and Markets

SPRING Olympia, held from March 1 to 6 at the West London exhibition centre, changed its name this year to Fine Art, Design & Antiques and, although around half of the 170 or so exhibitors had traditional antiques, the 20th century design and contemporary look dominated.

HOT on the heels of their event at Arley Hall in Cheshire, Cooper Antiques Fairs move on to two more March fixtures, the more notable being the one held this weekend from March 18 to 20 at Powderham Castle, near Exeter in Devon.

MARCH is a busy fairs month for many organisers, but none more so than Cooper Antiques Fairs who hold three events, starting this weekend with their long-established fair at Arley Hall, near Knutsford in Cheshire, from March 11 to 13.

NOW in its 13th year, the BADA Antiques & Fine Art Fair has become not just an established but a highly regarded fixture on the British quality fairs scene.

The annual Paris Salon du Dessin will showcase 30 of the world’s premier drawings specialists at the Palais de la Bourse in Paris from March 16-21.

PRESENTER and interviewer Jeremy Paxman, pictured right, has agreed to be the patron of this year’s Antiquarian Book Fair, which will be held at Olympia in West London from June 9 to 12.

Following the success of the discounted entry to the Newark fair, dmg Antiques Fairs will test a reduced entry price of £10 for trade day at the Ardingly fair on April 19.

THE currencies of the world will be traded at Maastricht, but no exchange is likely to match that seen on the stand of West Yorkshire porcelain specialist Valerie Clark at Robert Bailey’s Winter Fine Art and Antiques Fair in Harrogate over the weekend of February 4 to 6.

WITH the emphasis this week on Europe, a reminder that life goes on elsewhere.

MARCH in the small and ancient Dutch city of Maastricht is not just the hub of the international art world for the duration of the world’s top fair, TEFAF Maastricht. It has an impact which reverberates throughout the whole year and is a commercial event unparalleled in its quality and expertise.

“FAIRS here are not as big by any means as those in the UK. The biggest regular fairs would have between 30 and 45 dealers and even the annual equivalent of a LAPADA fair would only have about 40 dealers or so.”

THERE was an unprecedented attendance at the February Newark fair as buyers took advantage of a free ticket offer to experience the fair’s new three-day format.

The number of stands at the Summer Olympia will be almost halved by June 2010 in a bid to make it one of the world’s top art and antiques events.

“SWINDERBY goes it alone, a week before Newark,” was the headline in the ATG’s October 23 issue last year. With dmg’s Newark ditching their Monday and Tuesday slot in favour of a Thursday to Saturday event (February 3-5) this put Swallow Fairs’ at RAF Swinderby a full week ahead with their Thursday to Sunday show on January 28-30.

Following the lead of The Fine Art Auction Group, Fernhurst auctioneers John Nicholson are to increase their buyer’s premium from 15 to 17.5 per cent.

Atlanta, Georgia will have a twice-yearly vetted antiques fair to be launched by dmg World Media in October 2006.

Whether you are an aficionado of antiques, Contemporary art, photography, antiquarian books or all of the above, Cologne aims to cater for your needs later this month. The Rhineland city mounts a trio of fairs running concurrently at the city’s Rheinhallen from February 23-27.

IT is never too early for some advance news of the world’s top fair, TEFAF Maastricht, which will run in the Dutch city from March 4 to 13 with the private preview on March 3. So here is a sample of what to expect on the stand of Dutch Chinese specialists Vanderven & Vanderven, who have been with the fair since its inception.

Centre Exhibitions, best known as the organisers of the Antiques For Everyone fairs at the NEC in Birmingham, have announced the cancellation of this year’s equivalent event at Earl’s Court.

ELR, Sheffield, December 10, Buyer’s premium: 15 per cent Changing fashion was the talking point at ELR’s recent quarterly antiques sale. While the market for traditional furniture remains difficult, collectable names from the 20th century were in high demand.