A Visit to Newark International Antiques Fair

4.30am on a cold October morning. Time to brave the autumnal darkness and wake up and make our way south to Newark International Antiques & Collectors Fair, in time for Friday's 8am opening time.

Newark is billed by organisers DMG as "Europe's largest antiques event". Boasting up to 4,000 stalls spread over 84 acres in 10 buildings plus countless marquees, it probably is. Trade buyers come from all over the UK as well as from continental Europe and the USA - although fluctuating exchange rates have affected this business in recent years.

Be warned, however. Some stallholders don't bother staying for Friday - or start packing up by lunchtime. If you can go on Thursday, you will get a better choice of stock - and if you go on Friday, get there as early as possible. Arriving after lunchtime is pretty much a waste of time and money. You will walk around a semi-deserted landscape of abandoned stalls and departing vans - there will hardly be any stallholders left.

Admission to Newark on Thursday is £20 per person - Friday costs £5 each. This reflects the fair's focus on trade buyers, who traditionally go on Thursday and spend enough to make the cost worthwhile. However, to encourage visitors during the winter months, admission on Thursday at the next two fairs (December 2008 and February 2009) will only be £10, according to DMG's website.

Here are a few photographs from Friday - note the empty spaces as well as the number of stalls:

Newark Antique & Collectors Fair Newark Antique & Collectors Fair Newark Antique & Collectors Fair Newark Antique & Collectors Fair Newark Antique & Collectors Fair Newark Antique & Collectors Fair Newark Antique & Collectors Fair

Happy shopping if you decide to brave the winter weather and head there in December!

Perfect Pieces

Newsletters

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!