Fairs, Markets, Shops and Centres

Buyers are spoilt for choice during May and early June when three decorative and salvage fairs will be running in the UK, all in interesting outdoor settings. Here is a short focus on them.

Fairs to visit this weekend in Didcot and Dorset.

The National Botanic Gardens of Wales spreads out into 500-plus acres at Llanarthne in the Carmarthenshire countryside and boasts a spectacular structure designed by Norman Foster: the largest single-span glasshouse in the world.

Former courthouse in West Yorkshire opens as antiques centre and community hub.

Back by popular demand, says Caroline Brown of Rose & Brown Vintage, is her biannual Vintage Furniture and Home Fair held in the Old Woollen Room at the atmospheric Sunny Bank Mills, a former textiles mill in Farsley near Leeds.

As testament to the popularity of Love Fairs’ antiques and vintage events at both Brighton and Lingfield racecourses, the waiting list for both is in the hundreds, reports organiser Donny Mann.

Bi-monthly Sunbury event has carved out a strong niche – a picture special.

Edinburgh offers an antiques trail as does Carmarthenshire in Wales. Now it’s the turn of Ashburton, a small town in south Devon on the edge of Dartmoor with a population of 4000.

Time has moved on for events at the National Motorcycle Museum in Solihull organised by Liz and Carl Barnes of Time Fairs.

Speaking before Parliament’s vote on Brexit scheduled for the week beginning January 14, Helen Yourston, director of B2B Events, said: “Obviously that is a real concern for dealers at our fairs, but so far bookings for 2019 are looking buoyant.”

Organiser launches Malvern fair to run alongside existing venues.

Glass specialists Liz and Mike Flatter will be first-time exhibitors at the IACF Shepton Mallet antiques and collectors’ fair at the Bath and West Showground on Friday to Sunday, January 18-20.

Jane Alexander of Dovehouse Fine Antiques Fairs reports that 2018 was another busy year for her fairs at the Dorking Halls, particularly as she has managed to organise a second room at this Surrey venue.

Philip and Claire Crosthwaite, who run Hingham Antiques Fairs in the south Norfolk town, have embarked on a new venture: launching the Norfolk and Suffolk Antique Dealers Association (NASADA).

The two-day Big Brocante held at the Hop Farm in Paddock Wood, near Maidstone in Kent, is organised by Katrina Palsager and her family who also run the well-regarded 150-dealer annual Firle Vintage Fair at Firle Place near Lewes.

An antiques dealer for nearly 40 years and the long-time owner of Below Stairs in Hungerford, Stewart Hofgartner, pictured below, is a colourful character.

Organised for more than 20 years by aviation enthusiasts Dave Sutton and Alistair White in conjunction with the Croydon Airport Society, the annual Croydon Aviation and Military Fair is run on a charity basis aiming to keep the history of Croydon aerodrome alive.

“What’s the death on this snuff mull?” asks Tom Hurst, a dealer in African and Oceanic art attending Newark to buy for his online shop and in preparation for his first stand at Tribal Art London in 2019.

At the height of winter across one week, IACF mounts two fairs catering for different audiences. Noelle McElhatton visited the events at Alexandra Palace and Newark to see what brings the punters out in hail, wind or rain.

Though IACF Newark markets itself firmly as a trade fair, it ensures the public has access too, in particular die-hard collectors who similar to trade buyers, know the dealers they want to visit.