Long-standing committed dealers made up the bulk of the stalls at The Pavilions of Harrogate Decorative, Antiques & Art Fair.
Held from 14-16 June at the Pavilions in the North Yorkshire town, it was full to the brim of dealers that had been coming for years and intend to continue their patronage of the Cooper Events fair.
One of the agate and silver sword letter openers sold by Mike Wilson from Highland Antiques for £1200.
One long-standing dealer is Mike Wilson from Highland Antiques, based in Aberdeen. Wilson has been coming to Harrogate fair for the past 15 years and says that is because “the quality of the customer and the fact that it’s consistently good and well-organised”.
He had sold two similar agate and silver sword letter openers for £1200 each to different new customers within half an hour of each other on Friday morning.
Mike Wilson from Highland Antiques showing a continental import 1920 silver with gold gilt Spanish galleon to the customer that would buy for £3000.
Wilson also sold the star item on his stand by the end of the first day: a continental import 1920 silver with gold gilt Spanish galleon for £3000 to an established customer.
John Briggs showing off the 1960s Keshan Pengragi rug he had sold for £1700 to a new client.
John Briggs, who specialises in Persian rugs had also driven down from Aberdeen and has “always done well in Harrogate”. He sold a 1960s Keshan Pengragi rug to a new client for £1700 on the Friday afternoon.
Ede celebration
The great organisation was one thing that all the dealers could agree on, and everyone had a lot of praise for organiser Sue Ede particularly, who had taken over the running of the fair in 2010.
Freya Hart, a jewellery specialist from the Yorkshire Dales, says: “I like all the Sue Ede fairs and this is one of the very best.”
Brian Ashbee with some of the Burmantofts pottery on his stand - one of the rarest pieces sold early on for £500.
Another dealer, Brian Ashbee from Bristol, echoed these sentiments and said that they “do all of Sue’s fairs - we find a very receptive audience here”.
He has been selling at the Harrogate event for over 10 years and, as a specialist in Burmantofts pottery from Leeds, does well with buyers due to the local connection. One of the rarest pieces Ashbee brought to the fair sold early on for £500.
Sue Ede herself says “quality is absolutely sky-high at all our events, attendance is good and there are good sales”.
Mike and Kay Fletcher from Bottlebrook Antiques have been attending Harrogate for a long time agree. They say “people do spend at this one,” and they had good sales throughout the Friday when ATG was in attendance with seven pieces of Derby selling to one client, a scent bottle for £200 and a whisky top for over £300 to another.
An 18th century walnut cabinet sold for a sum under £4000 by Margaret Melody from Melody Antiques.
Margaret Melody from Melody Antiques has been attending Harrogate three times a year for around 20 years and had sold an 18th century walnut cabinet for a sum under £4000 on Friday. She said: “It’s really extremely friendly, a great venue and the people we get in are genuine buyers, not just lookers.”
Liverpool with a mahogany case, sold by Frodsham Clocks for close to the guide price of £2500-3000.
Simon Frodsham from Frodsham Clocks is one of the few newer dealers, although this was his third time at the fair.
He says: “I like Harrogate and you get some serious collectors who are open to looking at something else, and not just paintings.”
Frodsham sold a bracket clock from Condliff of Liverpool with a mahogany case to a local collector for close to the guide price of £2500- £3000 on Saturday. The dealer expects a few sales to conclude post-fair, with further interest in a number of his pieces.
Next staging
The Pavilions of Harrogate Decorative, Antiques and Art Fair takes place three times a year and the next edition will be held from November 15-17.
