William Carr in his Darlington warehouse surrounded by the antique chairs in which he deals.
Image: Audrey Tremewan
One young award-winning dealer for whom a new fair on the Scottish Borders is also a first appearance is William Carr.
Many in the trade are forever gripped by the passion they feel for their chosen field but Darlington-based Carr, whose obsession is antique chairs, has taken this to another level, saying: “They are all I think about quite literally. I find their forms and construction methods quite captivating.”
As reported in ATG No 2636, the organisers of the Paxton House Antiques Fair are welcoming 70 exhibitors who will be supporting their first event on Friday to Sunday, June 14-16, to be held in the grounds of the Palladian mansion high above the River Tweed near Berwick-on-Tweed.
Own company
Carr’s drive has taken him to start his own company, Chairfinder, by way of a route through antiques - including helping his father Michael Carr in his fine arts business, of which he became a co-director in 2018. Carr Jr has a sports science degree and it was while teaching PE at a secondary school that he had an epiphany.
“I knew I was meant to be somewhere else doing something else. I asked myself, what do you want to do more than anything else in the world? There was only one answer… to be an antiques dealer.
“So I sold my car, gathered all my personal funds together and went straight into it.”
He added: “The Paxton House Antiques Fair will be my first fair that I’ll be standing at which is really really exciting for me.”
Coming up soon
Seppe Anthony, one of the four co-organisers of Glam Racket Events, which will stage the Paxton House event, gave ATG an update on preparations.
“Included in our list of dealers are Graham Smith Antiques, King George Antiques and Malcolm Eglin Antiques. Linus Carr will be selling garden antiques, Les Marchands de Toffes have French period textiles and lace and there will be plenty of dealers selling jewellery and silver as well as one with a personal collection of Hardy fishing reels.”
Anthony added: “Potential visitor numbers keep me awake at night, as an antiques fair in this area or location has not been done before, but 2000 to 3000 would delight us.”
If you miss the June event a second fair is planned at Paxton House from Friday to Sunday, August 16-18.
