Latest News Articles by Joan Porter
Staying serene in modern Stamford
08 May 2017The calm and grassy plain by the River Welland in the middle of the town of Stamford where Field Dog Fairs holds a biannual event was not always so serene.
Dolls show moves house for spring selection
08 May 2017Antique dolls supremo Judy Bebber has been organising the biannual Kensington Doll Show at Kensington Town Hall for 20 years.
Deco down in the south of London
08 May 2017Described as a building full of clues and symbolism created by its architects John Seely and Paul Paget, Eltham Palace was designed in 1933 for the vastly rich art collectors Virginia and Stephen Courtauld of textiles fame.
Country house fair shows great in tent
08 May 2017Dealer Julie Brisbane’s triannual Antiques in Tents has been described in glowing terms by an American visitor as “a fair with a fantastic range and quality and probably the most enjoyable and charming fair I have ever visited”.
New angle as fishing fair venue changes
08 May 2017The biannual National Vintage Fishing Tackle Fair at the Redditch Sports Centre in Redditch on Sunday, May 14, which has been fully booked for months, is the last to be held at this venue in its 13 years of existence, as the centre is closing.
Game on for fair dealer who sells Chinese counters
08 May 2017If you are interested in Chinese mother-of-pearl gaming counters then it’s a pretty good bet that the name Bill Neal will also come up.
Event organisers keep an eye on what is in vogue for interior design
02 May 2017Textiles dealers Caroline Zoob and Hetty Purbrick, organisers of the annual Decorative Living Fair at Eridge Park in Kent, met more than 20 years ago when they were exhibiting at the Kensington Brocante.
Norman’s glass conquest
02 May 2017A selling exhibition at the National Glass Fair on Sunday, May 7, will showcase some 40 to 50 pieces from the contemporary glassmaker Norman Stuart-Clarke who will be at the fair himself.
Weak pound is good flea news
02 May 2017Alan Wilkinson is in a good position to assess the current state of the Brighton and Lewes flea markets, having owned them for 25 years. Both markets are fully let with a total of 80 stallholders and 40 cabinets overall.
Vintage events to expand in West Country and Midlands this summer
24 April 2017Keeley Harris is so pleased with the way her vintage home shows are going that she is expanding them.
New vintage market to open in South London
24 April 2017Maxine Stonehill of Pop Up Vintage Fairs has launched a vintage market at a new London location.
IACF marches on with Shepton Mallet rising up
24 April 2017Ahead of IACF’s popular Shepton Mallet antiques and collectors’ fair from May 5-7, with up to 600 standholders, the organisers have announced that the March event showed an impressive increase in buyers’ attendance.
Visitor numbers up at Margate’s vintage market
24 April 2017The opening of the Turner Contemporary in Margate in 2011 reinvigorated the tourism industry in the north Kent area.
Two Suffolk events to savour
21 April 2017Launched last year by Kate and Mike Button of Blackdog Antiques in the pretty north Suffolk town of Halesworth, the monthly Halesworth Brocante, held in the Old Print Works, has become become a regular and popular fixture.
First scientific fair cancelled
18 April 2017The first of the biannual Antique Scientific Instrument Fairs due to be held on Sunday, April 30, at the Doubletree by Hilton Hotel in Bloomsbury, London, has been cancelled owing to unexpected refurbishment work at the hotel, advises Don Edwards, the organiser.
Muck and brass: Yorkshire delight at Bowman Fairs' first Skipton fleamarket
18 April 2017Helen Bowman and Ben Wray of Bowman Fairs launched their first fleamarket earlier this month in the unusual setting of the Skipton Auction Mart in North Yorkshire. In its daily life, the venue is a cattle market.
Swallow director Richard Burgoin loves the buzz of salvage
18 April 2017“Seeing the vans arrive and all the wonderful things being unloaded and then built into something beautiful on their stands is a real buzz: we can’t wait.” These are the words of Richard Burgoin, director of Arthur Swallow Fairs, when talking about his ‘summer of salvage’.
Vintage event at coalmining museum aims to “to provide value for money for stallholders"
18 April 2017As Fox & Moon Fairs, Tony Crellin has been running regular vintage events at the National Coalmining Museum in Yorkshire, near Wakefield, for the past four years.
Welsh gardens event is a growth market
18 April 2017Since its launch eight years ago, Derwen Fairs’ antiques and vintage market at the National Botanic Gardens of Wales has gone from a one to two-day run, trebled in size to 100 stands and has four dates this year.