Wednesday, June 19, 2013
Ardingly Antiques Fair.
There is a big antiques fair at the showground at Ardingly six times a year.
I don't go very often these days, which is a shame.
There is always lots to see....and buy.
I have seen visits in the past as being a bit educational.....showing the trends in the world of antiques and collectables; and what people expect to get for their wares.
Trends always shift; I have seen pretty tea sets go out and then come back in again.
At the fair today it is clear that the look of the 30s, 40s and 50s is very much in....painted furniture, pretty fabrics. Much is manufactured yesterday! But there is also a demand for the real thing too.
Shabby chic is still popular..... the older and shabbier the better; even if the shabbiness has been created only recently.
There seems to have been a return to stuffed animals - maybe stuffed somewhere abroad specially for the strange UK market.
I didn't look at china or glass today.....always after the more unusual decorative items.
And we didn't look at any of the indoor stalls.
We wandered in the sunshine....for perhaps a bit too long.
Contestants on Bargain Hunt have only one hour....we took 3 hours and that was enough. And we stopped for a drink half way through.
Contestants on Bargain Hunt have £300 to spend....my aim was to limit myself to £50.
I went a bit over that....but not much.
Now join me for a quick stroll round the stalls.... seeing things that I didn't buy. And then there are pictures of the things I did buy.
I don't know about walking sticks.....but I know they are collectable.
And I know that my friends ancestors (Hicks) made walking sticks.
Don't know how comfortable it.....sofa not good for sprawling and sleeping on.
But I like the shape and the cane work.
Do you want of these in your sitting room?
Old suitcases are very popular now. Battered is fine....pristine leather is wonderful.
They are part of today's interior design trend.
Something for the garden.
Anything from an old tin bath, ceramic butler's sinks, enamel buckets......all good for the garden containing plants.
Part of a shabby chic cupboard.
I know, most of you would take it to the dump!
Strangely I am beginning to see its appeal.
Small bathing beauty ornament and a mirror.
The combination caught my eye as walked past the table.
I have bought and sold wedding photos before.
This antique frame sets this photograph off wonderfully.
Glass sweet jar.
It is my belief that all is not quite as it seems.
I think you can buy these printed labels.
Nevertheless I am sure somebody will see it as a useful and decorative addition to their kitchen shelves.
I couldn't resist those 1950s colours and its style.
Maybe it needs oil and vinegar bottles.
These boxes are made by the thousand, probably in China.
I particularly liked the screwed on decoration.
I might keep it.....goes with all my violets on the shelves in the loo.
I like to have bottles of all sizes for sale if they have the names of places relevant to either me or the shop.
Guildford is not far from Dorking.
Bill wouldn't buy it.
He couldn't tell me why. But I think Bill, like a lot of people of our age (me included sometimes) can't leave the prices of the olden days in the past.
A cheap tin aeroplane should cost 6 shillings and fourpence!!!
Bill doesn't like to buy stock for more than the prices of his youth.
I liked the plane....push it along and the propellers turn.
So I bought it....I buy quite a few things these days for Bill's section.
Can you imagine older age cooks.....I paid £3 for this pack of jam pot covers.
That's a whole lot more than the fourpence ha'penny it originally cost.
I think it looks very decorative and will enhance my kitchen shelves at the shop....and maybe somebody will pay me £5.
There was so much more that we could be looking and learning from.....but ambling around on the hottest day of the year so far leaves one a bit weary.
So I left all the other treasures behind.
I don't go very often these days, which is a shame.
There is always lots to see....and buy.
I have seen visits in the past as being a bit educational.....showing the trends in the world of antiques and collectables; and what people expect to get for their wares.
Trends always shift; I have seen pretty tea sets go out and then come back in again.
At the fair today it is clear that the look of the 30s, 40s and 50s is very much in....painted furniture, pretty fabrics. Much is manufactured yesterday! But there is also a demand for the real thing too.
Shabby chic is still popular..... the older and shabbier the better; even if the shabbiness has been created only recently.
There seems to have been a return to stuffed animals - maybe stuffed somewhere abroad specially for the strange UK market.
I didn't look at china or glass today.....always after the more unusual decorative items.
And we didn't look at any of the indoor stalls.
We wandered in the sunshine....for perhaps a bit too long.
Contestants on Bargain Hunt have only one hour....we took 3 hours and that was enough. And we stopped for a drink half way through.
Contestants on Bargain Hunt have £300 to spend....my aim was to limit myself to £50.
I went a bit over that....but not much.
Now join me for a quick stroll round the stalls.... seeing things that I didn't buy. And then there are pictures of the things I did buy.
I don't know about walking sticks.....but I know they are collectable.
And I know that my friends ancestors (Hicks) made walking sticks.
Don't know how comfortable it.....sofa not good for sprawling and sleeping on.
But I like the shape and the cane work.
Do you want of these in your sitting room?
Old suitcases are very popular now. Battered is fine....pristine leather is wonderful.
They are part of today's interior design trend.
Something for the garden.
Anything from an old tin bath, ceramic butler's sinks, enamel buckets......all good for the garden containing plants.
Part of a shabby chic cupboard.
I know, most of you would take it to the dump!
Strangely I am beginning to see its appeal.
Small bathing beauty ornament and a mirror.
The combination caught my eye as walked past the table.
I have bought and sold wedding photos before.
This antique frame sets this photograph off wonderfully.
Glass sweet jar.
It is my belief that all is not quite as it seems.
I think you can buy these printed labels.
Nevertheless I am sure somebody will see it as a useful and decorative addition to their kitchen shelves.
I couldn't resist those 1950s colours and its style.
Maybe it needs oil and vinegar bottles.
These boxes are made by the thousand, probably in China.
I particularly liked the screwed on decoration.
I might keep it.....goes with all my violets on the shelves in the loo.
I like to have bottles of all sizes for sale if they have the names of places relevant to either me or the shop.
Guildford is not far from Dorking.
Bill wouldn't buy it.
He couldn't tell me why. But I think Bill, like a lot of people of our age (me included sometimes) can't leave the prices of the olden days in the past.
A cheap tin aeroplane should cost 6 shillings and fourpence!!!
Bill doesn't like to buy stock for more than the prices of his youth.
I liked the plane....push it along and the propellers turn.
So I bought it....I buy quite a few things these days for Bill's section.
Can you imagine older age cooks.....I paid £3 for this pack of jam pot covers.
That's a whole lot more than the fourpence ha'penny it originally cost.
I think it looks very decorative and will enhance my kitchen shelves at the shop....and maybe somebody will pay me £5.
There was so much more that we could be looking and learning from.....but ambling around on the hottest day of the year so far leaves one a bit weary.
So I left all the other treasures behind.
