Latest News Articles by Joan Porter
Folkestone triennial – a tower of strength
28 August 2017Possibly the most memorable press exposure the Folkestone Triennial has had was at its first event in 2008 when Tracey Emin left a trail of bronzed baby clothes and booties across the town to highlight the numbers of teenage pregnancies across the south-east.
British Horological Institute launches a clocks and watches fair at its Nottinghamshire headquarters
28 August 2017A horological story rarely makes the national news, but the announcement that Big Ben is falling silent until 2021 as major conservation work begins rang loud and clear in headlines.
Mid-century gives musician much to chew on
28 August 2017This is the story of how James Watkins went from being half of the electro-pop duo Chew Lips, performing at music festivals across Europe including Glastonbury – “we were the sort of late afternoon band you don’t really listen to” – to running an online business selling mid-century design, particularly furniture.
Kimonos are a stand-out style
28 August 2017The great flowering of the kimono was in the Edo period (1615-1868) when the merchant and artisan classes, or chōnin, could not use their new-found wealth to improve their social status, so rigid was the shogun military hierarchy.
Pick up a bucket (or two) in Somerset
26 August 2017The Giant Flea and Collectors’ Market at the Royal Bath & West Showground in Shepton Mallet is almost fully booked inside with 200 stallholders.
High praise given to palace Deco delight
21 August 2017So enamoured was Deco dealer Bill Jones of Style 1900 with the biannual Art Deco fairs held in the Great Hall at Eltham Palace in south London that he started his own: in Norfolk and East Sussex.
Fundraiser brews for malthouse
21 August 2017The popular annual Antiques in the Street event held in the market town of Ashbourne is being revived and will support restoration of an 18th century building.
Artist shows his love of Aldeburgh musical magic
21 August 2017Cavendish Morton became prominent as a landscape artist after the Second World War, focusing on pastoral and maritime themes, particularly in East Anglia, where he moved with his family in 1946.
Italian magnet for art and antiques
21 August 2017The ancient Tuscan city of Arezzo, with its Roman ruins, medieval walls, Renaissance architecture and murals by Piero della Francesca, has long been a magnet for art lovers.
Family flies into Hemswell
14 August 2017With a thriving antiques and retro trade business, Mike and Vicky Mills of Antique Interiors in the Lincolnshire town of Gainsborough are also one of the UK’s largest dealers in stained-glass windows.
Do you feel lucky, steampunk?
14 August 2017Steampunk is described in earnest tones on Wikipedia as “a subgenre of science fiction or science fantasy that incorporates technology and aesthetic designs inspired by 19th century industrial-power machinery”.
Dealer chuffed to be rolling onwards
14 August 2017Nick Gerrard, who has been dealing in railwayana largely at the Pickering Antique Centre in the North Yorkshire market town, is rolling out his stock, moving on and expanding his business.
Cars help a sales drive
14 August 2017Alex Robins of Antique Fairs Cornwall (AFC Fairs) has run her biannual two-day antiques, vintage and decorative fairs at the Royal Cornwall Showground for nine years.
From Far East to East Midlands
07 August 2017Back in the day, the most common overseas buyer at IACF Newark would have been American. However, a larger number now hails from the Far East, with visitors from Korea, Japan and Taiwan making up 30% of the overseas buyer numbers at the East Midlands event, according to IACF estimates.
Honeypot Antiques Centre holds a last sale
07 August 2017After a successful 21 years of trading, 16 of them under the current management, Honeypot Antiques Centre is closing later this month because the site has been sold for redevelopment.
Provence sets out its stalls
07 August 2017Isle sur La Sorgue, near Avignon, is one of the most ravishing towns in Provence.
The Berkshire town hungry for antiques
07 August 2017Hungerford is a handy hub for art and antiques fairs judging by two events held in the Berkshire town.
Selection of summer fairs and markets
24 July 2017The summer fairs and markets scene is cranking into high gear, so here is a short selection over the next two weekends.
Organisers B2B and Bentleys at the double for joint south coast fair
24 July 2017Bookings are going well for the collaborative venture between B2B Events and Bentleys Fairs at the beginning of August.
Go with the market flow in Milan
24 July 2017Milan’s Navigli district dates to the 12th century and nine centuries later it is full of vintage shops, restaurants and bars, with its canals a great backdrop for the city’s biggest antiques and vintage market.