1. Furniture did sell
The extra social-distancing space at IACF Ardingly allowed dealers selling furniture to spread out – and belie the accepted wisdom that ‘brown doesn’t sell’.
“We sold mostly furniture here today – good-quality small pieces you can put into a house straight away, like an Edwardian pedestal desk and a Georgian workbox,” Carol from Dawkins Antiques (above) told ATG. Such quality furniture is terrifically cheap, however – Carol sold this Edwardian sheet music cabinet ticketed at £68 to a dealer for £55.
2. What dealers did in lockdown
Dealer Karen Dalmeny at the IACF Ardingly fair.
IACF helped stallholders to trade during lockdown with free listings on its loveantiques.com portal.
Karen Dalmeny (above) said she and other dealers who don’t trade online “went into complete lockdown, some with government help” after the March 23 government instruction. “I decorated the house, did the garden and walked the dog,” she said. “I didn’t move online but I know dealers who did well selling on the internet.”
3. How to sell to Drew Pritchard
Gordon Kennedy at the IACF Ardingly fair.
Conwy-based dealer Drew Pritchard is the same in reality as he is on the hit Quest TV show Salvage Hunters. So says dealer Gordon Kennedy (above), who sold items to Pritchard during lockdown. “He knows what he wants to pay for sure. But if you try and second guess Drew by lining up items specifically for him, he won’t buy any of them. He’ll always want to rummage in the back to discover things for himself.”
