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QUICKTEST AT THE ANTIQUES FAIRS From the late 1970s to the mid 2000s I exhibited at antiques fairs throughout Britain, mostly midweek 'trade' fairs. At their peak I exhibited 6 or 7 times per month, from Exeter to Kent to Edinburgh. For the Newark fair, for instance, I would close the office and take a block of five stalls (and two helpers) (and two vehicles) and we would all work frantically for two days. In addition, I visited every fair of significance, and for six years I wrote a monthly column in the Antiques Dealer Newspaper. Those heady days are over. From the mid 2000s, the fairs went into decline. As regards exhibiting, nowadays it's just myself on a single stall at Kempton once a month. And one of my original helpers, Bob, runs the QUICKTEST stall at Shepton Mallet. As regards visiting fairs, I do like to go to Newark in the Spring and Summer - and that's about it. The links to organisers' websites were last checked at the end of 2010. There is also an interesting archive of photographs, some taken by myself, some by my son when he was eleven, click here to see them. DETAILS AND DIRECTIONS The following directions are written from my own experience, telling you what I see as I drive and giving you what I consider to be the best route. These are NOT computer-generated directions! The numbers on the left are mileages, set your trip meter to zero where it reads 00.0. I have also included the size of the fair, as counted by me, often quite different from the size advertised by the organisers.
KEMPTON
Fair:
Kempton (organiser's website) Directions
to Kempton from M25 M3
J1 / Sunbury At
the traffic lights at the end of the sliproad be in the middle lane,
careful, difficult roundabout, stay in the lane marked A308 KGSTON Now look at your mileometer, entrance is on left after 0.3mile, (it appears very suddenly, your cue is: keep looking ahead to your left and you will see the struts that hold up the Grandstand - floodlit if it's dark). Directions from Kempton to Sandown Park The Kempton fair often clashes with the Sandown fair, Kempton starts at 6.30am, Sandown starts at 1pm, the two are very close, here are directions, 15mns in light traffic, 30mns in heavy traffic. 0.0
Turn left out of the main gate (Grandstand entrance)
[you are on the A308 towards Hampton] 3.3
at roundabout 2nd exit (= turn right) A307, Esher,
Sandown Park 5.2
at big junction (a squiggle followed by roundabout)
turn right A307 Esher, Sandown Park 5.9
entrance on right
CLOCK
& WATCH FAIR (Was 'Brunel') More details + an article on this website PHOTOGRAPHS Fair:
Brunel An
alternative route is the local cut-through from Ruislip, Pinner and
Harrow via Ickenham to the M40, like this:
SHEPTON
MALLET These
details last amended: September 2008 Fair:
Shepton M3 Junction 8 onto A303 (a long exit slip) 00.0 At the end of this long sliproad, at the END OF MOTORWAY sign (and not before) set your trip meter to zero 58.7 Exit. Signs read WINCANTON A371 and Royal Bath & West Showground and SHEPTON MALLET [etc] A371 At
the roundabout at the end of the exit sliproad, 1st exit (or if you
want to pop into the supermarket, 3rd exit) 70.3
Entrance on left (known as Yellow Gate) If you have a better suggestion for a route or wish to tell me about roadworks, diversions etc that I don't yet know about, email me on raffi@quicktest.co.uk
SANDOWN
PARK I visit this fair only, we no longer exhibit, orders delivered, binoculars bought, contacts sought, telephone the office before the fair on 01923 220206 or telephone me directly on the day: mobile number is 07976 [] 831953.
The racecourse and Exhibition Centre is well signposted from Junction 10 of M25, but just for the record, here is the stretch from the M25: 0.0 M25 Junction 10: at traffic lights at end of sliproad and 1st exit A3 LONDON4.1 at the roundabout, left lane and first exit A244 ESHER 5.9
at the traffic lights turn right A307 LONDON 6.2 entrance on left If you have a better suggestion for a route or wish to tell me about roadworks, diversions etc that I don't yet know about, email me on raffi@quicktest.co.uk It is important before traveling any distance to check with the fair organiser to confirm dates and times, QUICKTEST cannot accept liability for any errors and/or omissions or any loss, damage or costs incurred by anyone acting on the information in this web site.
BIRMINGHAM, ST MARTIN'S ("THE RAG") PHOTOGRAPHS Here is a useful link for real-time travel information: Latest Incidents or Map with Roadworks etc. (you can also choose Rail, Car Parks, Bus & Metro, or Cycle Routes). Unfortunately, this site only covers the West Midlands area of England, it would be useful if it covered all of the U.K. I visit this fair a couple of times per year (we no longer exhibit), orders delivered, binoculars bought, contacts sought, telephone the office before the fair on 01923 220206 or telephone me directly on the day: mobile number is 07976 [] 831953.
These details last amended: October 2008 Fair:
Birmingham
M1 - M6 At the Give Way lines by the red doors of the fire station set your trip meter to zero Turn
left, stay in left lane, then: ON
FOOT: the market entrances are opposite Debenhams and Borders
NEWARK PHOTOGRAPHS These
details last amended: December 2007 The landmark I use is the Hatfield Tunnel at Junction 3, because it is difficult to miss, a tunnel 0.7 mile long that takes you underneath the town of Hatfield, just North of London / M25. As
you enter the tunnel set your trip meter to zero. If
you have a better suggestion for a route or wish to tell me about roadworks,
diversions etc that I don't yet know about, email me on raffi@quicktest.co.uk ALTERNATIVE
ROUTE:
I visit this fair only, we no longer exhibit, orders delivered, binoculars bought, contacts sought, telephone the office before the fair on 01923 220206 or telephone me directly on the day: mobile number is 07976 [] 831953. These details last amended: April 2007 Fair:
Ardingly SUMMARY: from J10 of M23 follow signs to Wakehurst Place and S. of Eng. Showground (A264 towards E Grinstead then B2029 towards Ardingly), the showground is next to Wakehurst Place. DETAIL: 0.00
At roundabout at J10 of M23 follow A264 E GRINSTEAD - also
signed WAKEHURST PLACE NOTE: if you approach from the other direction, along the B2028 from Crawley, the sellers' entrance will be on your left shortly after leaving the village of Ardingly and the buyers' entrance after another 0.5 mile If
you have a better suggestion for a route or wish to tell me about roadworks,
diversions etc that I don't yet know about, email me on raffi@quicktest.co.uk
When you email please tell me your first name and the place (nearest
town) you start your journey. ALEXANDRA
PALACE These
details last amended: September 2008 Fair:
Alexandra Palace SEPTEMBER 2008 THE NUMBERS At 8am there were 339 exhibitors including 26 furniture pitches. There is a possibility that a handful arrived later and there is possibility that I counted a handful twice. I did not miss any. So my count of 339 is accurate to within a handful. The number of stalls (tables) booked was higher since many exhibitors booked more than one table, and because each furniture pitch includes several tables. The total number of tables in the hall was 639 (excluding the 26 furniture pitches). By 9am exhibitors had spread their stock onto empty tables and the fair looked nearly full. HOW WAS IT FOR ME? I visited as a buyer, having decided that it is no longer worthwhile hiring a stall (I had been selling at this fair, under previous organisers, since 1979). I remembered that the 'feature' of this fair was that visitors parked near the hall at the top of the hill, so I made my way to the top of the hill. This was painful in itself, at each checkpoint (where exhibitors go in to unload) there were queues of cars as people argued with the stewards (I've no idea what it was all about) and when I got to the very top of the hill I was turned back and told to park at the bottom of the hill. I walked up the hill and was pleasantly surprised to find that if I took the footpath (as opposed to road) it was only an eight minute walk, a most invigorating climb. I was also pleased to find that we were let in at the advertised time of 7am (last time the buyers were kept waiting for ages) - some things had definitely improved since the last fair. Some of the other visitors complained that a huge queue was building up in the visitors' car park as dozens of trade buyers waited for the minibus to take them up the hill. I noticed, when I left at 10am, that the minibus had been replaced with a full-size coach. FEEDBACK Chatting to stallholders I got the 'feel' of what unloading and parking had been like. There was obviously some confusion about the arrival procedure. One stallholder said, "I arrived at 5am which was when we were supposed to go in, the gates were shut and they didn't let us in until 5.20am". Another said, "It was amazing, very smooth, we were meant to arrive at 6am but people were already unloaded and inside the fair at 5.30am" Everyone I spoke to said that the actual unloading went smoothly, and the organiser must be compIimented for inventing a 'flow system' that worked so well. However, many complained that car parking was chaotic and that they had to move their cars to the car parks at the bottom of the hill even though the car parks at the top were empty. CONCLUSION I saw only five items of interest to me and every one was selling for 3 to 5 times more than the retail price of identical items on this web site (see the secondhand section). I was therefore unable to buy anything and for me the.£10.00 entry fee was a complete waste of money. APRIL 2008 SUMMARY Size: quite respectable though noticeably smaller than past years. Buyers: lack of support from local trade buyers, though I don't know if this was because they didn't know about the fair (publicity was lacking) or because they had better things to do on that particular day. Moderate support from private buyers later in the day. Logistics / Parking: bad. Conclusion: we shan't be exhibiting here again, at least not in 2008. DETAIL For me (as a seller) the actual unloading went well (new system) but apart from that it was the most chaotic fair I have ever experienced: queuing, parking, check-in - a logistical nightmare, a complete shambles. Getting the sellers to park at the bottom of the hill half a mile away was an interesting idea, not over-popular. Frustration, too, for the early trade buyers. The idea was that everyone started trading at the same time - but the sellers went in half an hour early and the trade buyers over half an hour late (one told me 7.50am, the organiser says 7.20am). This left buyers frustrated at spending £10.00 entry then missing the first hour of trading. There was some good news for the buyers - parking was at the top of the hill near the hall. For later buyers it was easier still - no queues, little competition. The fair was moderately busy between 10.30am and 1.30pm, the rest of the time it was 'peaceful'. All this is, however, irrelevant if the buyers are able to buy and the sellers are able to sell. Some buyers were buying and some sellers did take money - on this basis the fair was not 'bad', though by no stretch of the imagination could it be described as a resounding success. This is a prime venue, the fair has potential, it depends on whether publicity can be improved and the great many teething problems sorted out. As for me, I set a 'target' I had to reach for the fair to be worthwhile and I did not reach that target. Although I have attended every fair at Alexandra Palace since 1979, professional traders must make commercial decisions and for me this fair simply is not commercially viable, not even to give it a second chance. I will follow the progress of the fair keenly, I would like this fair to succeed and I would like to be able to report a dramatic improvement I would like to be back in 2009 - watch this space, I will have a better idea after the September fair. THE NUMBERS All organisers of large fairs (without exception) play The Numbers Game. The organiser told me 685 stands were booked; in his booking form for the September 2008 fair he claimed over 700. Or if you take the figures from the Antiques Trade Gazette of 10 May, "...the final tally for the number of stands booked at Ally Pally was 648 manned by 500-plus dealers" At 7.30am I counted 302 exhibitors in the main hall and Palm Court, but I forgot to count the furniture pitches (about 30). I always like to be 'generous' in my counting, in favour of the organiser, so I shall say that there were 350 exhibitors. This is the number of EXHIBITORS not stalls (tables), this is the number of people who would have sent in booking forms to the organiser, this is the number of payments for rent the organiser would have received. On the one hand, buyers arriving from mid-morning were pleasantly surprised to see the large number of stalls, few were empty, the fair WAS very nearly full; on the other hand the early trade buyers were dismayed to see a large number of empty stalls. There is an explanation (this applies to every large fair, not just Alexandra Palace). The number of stalls (tables) is higher than the number of exhibitors because many exhibitors hire more than one table; because some exhibitors (me included) were given extra stalls for free [thank you Mr Organiser - no complaints!]; and because stallholders spread their stock onto empty tables (which is, of course, beneficial to themselves, the organiser and the buyers). I count 'Exhibitors' because it is a measure of the support for a fair, if you are merely concerned with the number of stalls covered with stock, please ignore my figures. HISTORY The fair ran for about 30 years (Pig & Whistle Fairs ran it for 25 years). Throughout 2006 the property developer Firoka Group was negotiating to lease the complex from its owner the Charities Commission (the main trustee being Haringey Council who also subsidized the complex). The lease was granted in May 2007. At the same time the Alexandra Palace management (pending the Firoka takeover) and the fairs organiser, Pig & Whistle Fairs, were unable to agree a new contract to run the fair...and so the fair folded. It was noticeable, from the official Alexandra Palace web site, that there were virtually no exhibitions (antiques or otherwise) planned for 2008. Then, two dramatic developments. In October 2007 the High Court blocked the Frioka sale (transcript of ruling). There followed a reorganization of the management at Alexandra Palace (Alexandra Palace Trading Ltd) who were keen to start running exhibitions again.The fair was re-launched in April 2008 under a new fairs organiser.
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