I love the friendly atmosphere. It\u2019s like a fantastic five-day antiques market with dealers who really go to town on their stands. The visitors, who include the best international dealers and interior decorators as well as celebrities, are low-key. The dealers are allowed to remove and replace any stock that sells immediately, so there is an intense atmosphere because if visitors buy something, they can take it away there and then.<\/p>\n
I\u2019m now on the Standards Committee for the fair and I\u2019ve had stands there for my business too. At the first one, a nearby stall-holder was selling taxidermy<\/a>. On the second day of the fair he said, \u2018If ever you want to get a cup of tea or something, ask someone to mind your stand and give them your mobile number in case you\u2019re away for 10 minutes or so.\u2019 Good tip, I thought. Later on he said, \u2018Mind my stand for me,\u2019 and I said, \u2018No problem,\u2019 and took his mobile phone number.<\/p>\n You might also like<\/strong> antiques fairs and auctions around the UK this month<\/a><\/p>\n He didn\u2019t come back after 10 minutes. In fact, he didn\u2019t come back that day, or the next. He came back two days later. \u2018Where have you been?\u2019 I asked him, astounded. \u2018I\u2019ve been shooting,\u2019 he replied. I found out that he\u2019d just been left a shooting estate \u2013 and I\u2019d been selling and dealing for him for two days.<\/p>\n The second time I did the fair, I\u2019d just come across some storming dining tables from the Welsh National Library<\/a> in Aberystwyth \u2013 the perfect size, made in the 1970s, and I had about 12 of them. I couldn\u2019t believe my luck. Now, the things you don\u2019t take to antiques fairs are big tables \u2013 they don\u2019t sell \u2013 but no one had told me this.<\/p>\n I rolled up, pleased as punch with myself, and a very experienced dealer friend, Richard, said, \u2018You\u2019ll never sell these.\u2019 I was gutted. Yet somehow I sold every table. It was luck, the right product at the right price \u2013 trusting your instincts. Yet that\u2019s not to say that I knew it all.<\/p>\n At the next antiques fair I was selling a cellaret<\/a> \u2013 a wine cooler with a drain hole and plug underneath to let out the ice when it was empty. This example had bronzed empire feet and was so big I could practically sit in it. By 6pm, Rob, a fellow dealer, and I had been on our feet all day, so we had a bottle of wine, then another, and three or four dealers joined us.<\/p>\n Half-an-hour before closing time a guy came over. \u2018I\u2019ll buy it,\u2019 he said of the cellaret, \u2018but I want it for a party tonight at my house in Chelsea.\u2019 \u2018No problem,\u2019 I told him, \u2018we\u2019ll bring it round in a cab.\u2019<\/p>\n Rob gave me a hand. We got to the house and the buyer wanted it on the top floor. We swayed and staggered up five storeys of a lavish house crammed with more empire furniture with bronzed feet \u2013 not a square metre without a fantastic piece on it. Unbeknown to me, Rob had been putting the empties in the cellaret all evening. When we got to the top and looked back, a deep red trail of wine had followed us up every floor from its unplugged drain, all over his beautiful carpet.<\/p>\n \u2018That\u2019s a \u00a340k bill to recarpet this house, at least,\u2019 I thought in panic. The buyer looked up at us two dishevelled antiques dealers and simply said, \u2018Don\u2019t worry about it.\u2019 So whenever he comes to my stand at the Decorative Fair, he now gets huge discounts.<\/p>\n Some you win, some you lose, but it\u2019s all the fun of the fair.<\/p>\n How I got into the antiques trade<\/a><\/p>\n Drew Pritchard\u2019s sofa collection with Barker and Stonehouse<\/a><\/p>\n Drew Pritchard on his book, favourite antiques and upcoming ventures<\/a><\/p>\n Why patina is king<\/a><\/p>\n How to create country house style<\/a><\/p>\n How to be a successful antiques dealer<\/a><\/p>\n Why I love industrial design<\/a><\/p>\n The antique that got away<\/a><\/p>\n The thrill of an unexpected find<\/a><\/p>\n Must-find garden antiques<\/a><\/p>\n![\"""\"](\""https:\/\/images.immediate.co.uk\/production\/volatile\/sites\/19\/2016\/02\/actual-hero-162ef5d.jpg?quality=90&resize=1023%2C682"\" "\\"\"\"\\"\/")
<\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/picture><\/div>More from Drew Pritchard:<\/h2>\n