A Visit to the Bath Decorative & Antiques Fair

I’ve never been a prize before, let alone a first prize! Last Thursday, Judith Miller and I visited the Bath Decorative & Antiques Fair to give a personal tour of the fair to 6 of their competition winners. They also received a bottle of vintage champagne, and a free Miller’s book. One lucky couple also won a night at the truly sublime Royal Crescent Hotel, with dinner included!
If you don’t know this well-established fair, you really should. Co-organised by Robin Coleman and the truly marvellous Gail McLeod of Antiques News & Fairs, over 50 of the country’s best decorative, vintage and retro antiques dealers came together at the Pavilion to show and sell their latest finds. For anyone who thinks ‘antiques are dead’, I can tell you that this fair proves you wrong. Gail’s own words sum it up best, “We are still recovering from a major success here!  We have been given so many wonderful compliments from both trade and private visitors alike. Our shoulders are heaped with praise!  It was one of those times when a number of elements came together – the right mix of inventory, an upbeat attitude, the place in time, and so many buyers actually getting their cheque books out to buy beautiful objects!  It provided the alchemy for success, and the buzz in the room from the first day did not recede.  Sunday opening, which was an experiment for us, was very busy indeed with plenty of business for many dealers.” And to back it up, a typical comment from a visitor was, “I have never been to a fair where I have wanted to buy so many things…‘
I particularly enjoyed meeting Patrick Macintosh and Stuart of Fontaine in the blossoming Margate, and it was great to see old friends such as Mark Newsum again. Our tour was both successful and enjoyable, it was fantastic to have such an interactive, interested and intelligent group of competition winners (above) to walk around the fair with. A first prize all round!