Toy dealer Mark Tomlin pictured at IACF Ardingly in October. He will be exhibiting at B2B Events’ Detling fair.
Christmas is coming, which inadvertently means B2B Events has had to cancel its popular Malvern Flea on December 4.
It is because the Winter Glow festival – billed as ‘Worcestershire’s ultimate Christmas celebration’ – has unexpectedly returned to the Three Counties Showground where the Flea is held.
However, much better festive tidings are that bookings for B2B’s fair in Detling at the Kent County Showground on Saturday and Sunday, November 26-27 are looking good, says Helen Yourston, director of B2B.
From day in court to playtime
One of B2B’s most regular and enthusiastic of stallholders will be there: Bristol-based Mark Tomlin of Severn Beach Antiques.
A former lawyer who got into dealing in toys by accident and now has a substantial collecting base as well as a huge amount of stock, Tomlin sells predominantly, yes, toys including trains and old games at as many two-day fairs as he can muster.
“Everybody loves toys, they are so nostalgic”, he says. “Jigsaws are back in fashion, we sell a lot of those, and as more family activities returned during Covid and stayed, sales of games are picking up.”
Tomlin is embarking on a big venture early next year as he is opening a shop in Bristol selling the contents of a museum – “a history of British culture”, he says – which involves the transportation over four years of 15 tonnes of material.
