
Antique & Collectors Fairs: Are They Worth Visiting?
Now that summer is over (judging from the view out of my office window...) it's time to start thinking seriously about antiques and collectors fairs again.
Despite the attractions of better weather and balmy days spent looking around outside stalls, summer fairs sometimes suffer from slightly poorer attendance than those at other times of the year. Our experience is that the period from now until Christmas is usually one of the best times to buy at fairs, despite the shorter days and worse weather.
Are Fairs Worth The Effort?
Visiting a fair often involves rising unsociably early on your day off and then driving some distance, paying admission and walking around in the cold. It's not always a tempting prospect - especially as websites like ours and the behemoth that is eBay make buying antiques and collectables online so easy.
Despite this, fairs do still offer a number of real benefits to collectors - whether new or experienced. Aside from being an enjoyable day out, fairs give you the opportunity to see and handle a wide range of pieces.
Hairline cracks, worn gilding, restoration and healthy signs of genuine age can all be seen 'in the flesh'. Different materials and decorating techniques can also be much more clearly understood - as can subtle but important differences like whether a pottery's mark is over or under the glaze.
On the other hand, when buying at fairs the principle of caveat emptor normally applies. It's essential that you check pieces over carefully yourself before agreeing a deal. Don't be content with the dealer's description of its condition - look out for restoration, damage or wear, and other problems such as mismatched or missing lids and saucers.
Our two-part guide to inspecting antique pottery might help:
How to Find Antiques & Collectors Fairs
Knowing which fairs are on when isn't always easy and we often get emails asking for fair details. The secret, as always, is knowing where to look.
There are a number of useful online and paper publications that provide comprehensive fair diaries, along with contact numbers, opening times and location details. Here are two we use:
- Antiques Trade Gazette - free fair and auction calendars on their website (registration required)
- The Antique Trade Calendar - an A5-sized, quarterly printed guide to virtually all of the antique and collectors fairs in the UK. Indispensable for planning buying trips. It costs £1.50 per copy and if you can't find it locally, you can call them on 020-8446 3604.
So if you’re planning to head out hunting, have a look at one of these two guides; we hope you find them as useful as we do.
Regards,
Perfect PiecesNewsletters
Here you'll find a list of our past newsletters. They feature information on different potteries, some of our featured stock and information on antique fairs and general news from the antique and collectors world!
Happy reading!
- Happy Christmas from Perfect Pieces!
- Christmas Offers & New Stock!
- Late Summer Offers & New Stock Updates...
- A Visit To York & More Special Offers!
- Summer Is Here! Summer Antique Fairs, Special Offers & More!
- Summer Is Approaching - Antique Fairs, New Stock & A Special Offer!
- Springtime & Bunnies - Antique Fairs & New Stock!
- Special Offers, Antique Fairs & New Stock!
- Spring Antique Fairs & Rabbits Galore!
- Happy New Year!
- Merry Christmas From Perfect Pieces!
- Unique & Collectable Christmas Gift Ideas!
- Will The Sunshine Hold For September?! Antique Fairs & PenDelfin Rabbits
- Summer Continues...Retired PenDelfin & Troika Pottery Galore
- Summer Sunshine At A Norfolk Antique Fair
- Summer Sunshine & Cornish Treats!
- PenDelfin Rabbits Galore!
- Troika Pottery, PenDelfin Rabbits & Puzzling Pottery Marks!
- Are We Going To Have Snow This Easter?!
- Happy Valentine's Day!
- Welcome To 2013!
- Happy Christmas From Perfect Pieces!
- Countdown To Christmas!
- Troika Pottery - A Popular Cornish Collectable!
- Denby Pottery
- Antique Fairs, New Stock & More Rain!
- Antique Fairs, Diamond Jubilee Celebrations, New Stock & Lots Of Rain!
- Summertime News & More Pottery Marks!
- Happy Easter from Perfect Pieces!
- Spring Fairs & Mothering Sunday - It's March!
- February News - Antique Fairs, New Stock & PenDelfin Rabbits!
- Happy New Year - Welcome To 2012!
- Merry Christmas From Perfect Pieces!
- Make This Year A Collectable Christmas With Perfect Pieces!
- Happy Halloween - Halloween Treats From Perfect Pieces!
- Perfect Pieces On The TV!
- Summer Holiday Reads - Antique & Collectable Book Reviews!
- Antiques Worldwide This Summer!
- Sunshine & Gales Calls For Blustery Antique Fairs!
- Royal Weddings & Easter Eggs!
- Steaming Around York
- Bruges: Chocolates & Curiosities
- Welcome to 2011. Doesn’t time seem to fly?!
- Merry Christmas From Perfect Pieces
- Burra Bears - A Unique Piece Of Shetland
- Lord Nelson Memorabilia And Collectables
- Steaming Into Autumn
- Antiques In The Summertime
- Pottering Around Antique Centres
- Father's Day Gift Ideas 2010
- A Flying Visit To Limoges
- Spring Is Here - Time To Get Out More!
- West Country Potteries
- February, Fairs & Valentine's Day
- Only Two Weeks Until Christmas...
- Collectables Don’t Have To Be Clutter
- Seeing Double? Not Necessarily...
- Errington Reay: A Real, Live, British Pottery
- Books, Books & More Books...
- Identifying Pottery Marks - Where to Start?
- Learning About Antiques & Collectables
- Happy New Year and welcome to 2009!
- Perfect Pieces Christmas Sale & Shipping Dates
- Thanks, Jean: A Look Back At 51 Years of PenDelfin
- A Visit to Newark International Antiques Fair
- Antique & Collectors Fairs: Are They Worth Visiting?
- Carlton Ware at the NEC
- A Potted History: Charlotte Rhead
- Troika Pottery: Stronger Today than 25 Years Ago?
- Springtime from a Tyneside pottery
- Poole Pottery: Phoenix from the Ashes?
- Daytime TV, Retro Glass & Bamboo...
- Merry Christmas from Perfect Pieces!
- The Enduring Appeal of the Supernatural - Still Popular Today?
- Understanding Pottery Marks
- Three Techniques: Many Styles - A look at three important decorating techniques
- Children's Wares For Grown-Up Collectors
- A Tale From The Lakes
- The Cornish Effect
- From Buyouts To Bunnies...
- From Switzerland to Stoke: Crown Devon's European Import
- Pottery Marks Guide and Pottery Valuation & Appraisal Service
- A Lustre Alternative - Matt Glazed Wares, Art Deco Style
- Truda Carter - Poole Pottery's Greatest Art Deco Designer?
- Odd Ones Out - Three unusual pieces from Wedgwood, Pendelfin and Troika
- Antique Pottery Price Guide Goes Live, and a look at three contrasting 1930s pieces.
- Focus on Carlton Ware - One Shape, Many Patterns
- Wedgwood: The legacy of Keith Murray
- Wonderful Wedgwood Lustre, and a couple of true British Collectables
- A rare Crown Devon Musical, some 1930s Maling lustre, and an early Poole Jug
- A look at the enduring appeal of Poole Pottery's 1950s Freeform Range