Dealers' Diary

Fuchsia Voremberg works in the travel department at rare books and manuscripts specialist Maggs Bros in London

In our continuing series looking through the keyhole of ‘bricks and mortar’ shops, ATG talks to Sara Hughes, who opened Phoenix Antiques in Petworth in December 2008.

Decamping from the Big Smoke of London to the sunny beaches of a Caribbean island might sound like a happy daydream or at best, a holiday. But for Old Master specialist Theo Johns, relocating to the Dominican Republic represents a business strategy as well as a life change.

In the lead-up to Masterpiece, the organisers suggested that, despite the high-quality offered, the fair offers more than just the astronomically expensive.

Claire Schonhut launched Beya Fontenay with her husband Jack two years ago. The company saves relics from the past which would otherwise be scrapped. They “aren’t on the lookout for anything specific, but are attracted to anything which inspires”.

The two galleries in Wales that fall under the umbrella of Martin Tinney celebrate local art in their summer shows.

Coming up next for Cooper Events is the second of three annual Cotswolds Decorative Fairs, which take place in the grand hall of Westonbirt School in Burnham-on-Sea.

London Art Week (June 30-July 7) had its first run as a biannual event organised by a limited company.

Among the visitors coming to Bury Street gallery Rountree Tryon during London Art Week to view a painting of the doomed Lancastria was the youngest female survivor of that wartime tragedy.

Fine art was a leading field at Masterpiece London (June 28-July 4) which, despite some challenges, retained and even reinforced its position as a top international fair during its most recent run.

The 'Art & Antiques Fair Olympia', the 45-year-old staple of the London summer calendar, finished its most recent run (June 25-July 1) to subdued reports.

Two events organised by Brian and Anna Haughton featured among the busy programme of London events in June.

Charlotte Roper – “strictly a champagne girl” – started Plaza Jewellery in the mid 1980s. She specialises in French and European jewellery with a particular focus on pieces from the 1940s-‘60s. Her upcoming fairs include the Cotswolds Decorative Fair.

Mayfair Art Weekend (which was held from June 30-July 2) may not be the time to make major sales but remains an opportunity to raise the profile of commercial galleries in the area.

Penman Fairs holds its second annual fair at Burford School in Oxfordshire from July 29-30.

The July 28-30 antiques and fine art fair at George Watson’s College in Edinburgh brings 35 dealers from across the UK to stand in the foyer and assembly hall of this 18th century building.

In our continuing series looking through the keyhole of ‘bricks and mortar’ shops, ATG talks to Mark Coxhead. He works at Gutlin Clocks, a 22-year-old father and son family business specialising in buying, selling and repairing antique clocks.

The Fine Art Society in Edinburgh’s next pair of exhibitions from July 21-August 28 features works of the birds and the boys.

Rowena Morgan-Cox and Sara Terzi have been appointed to the board of directors of The Fine Art Society (London and Edinburgh).

The Antiques for Everyone fair is dubbed by the organiser as “a barometer for what’s in vogue with collectors, interior decorators and furnishers”. So what are dealers to do when pressure for their offerings slackens?