I’d never been to an antiques fair before and had no idea what to expect from one – Newark is well known for it’s antique auctions, antique shops and also its antique fair which is one of the largest in Europe. Having lived in the area for many years, I’ve only attended one auction (which was quite a disappointment!) and only visited the antique shops a few times. To be honest, I always feel that I get that judging look when I walk in their antique shops. Some of the items, OK, most of the items are very very very expensive. And I’m clearly not their average buyer-description, and let’s be honest.. I don’t even have that much money. But it’s nice to look right? I’ve been in other antique shops outside of Newark that are bit more of a jumble-sale; you can find all sorts with all sorts of prices, but the Newark shops, yep, they’re just for the high and classy really. Which leads me to the antique fair, to which I had no idea what to expect. But it was HUGE. I mean, HUGE. Not only was it HUGE (did I mention that yet?) but there was so much in every stall to look at! We didn’t even get around the whole place before the dealers began packing away their stalls. It was insaaaanely huge.
There was a bit of everything for everyone. Plenty of furniture, lots of knick-knacks, collectable ornaments, silverware, doors, windows, and those crazy one-off gems like antique barber chairs and miniature kids ride-around cars. It was kind-of like a jumble sale but without the rubbish (you know what I mean, no one wants your broken pound-land snakes and ladder set). Everything was old and of quality. I love antiques that can be re-used in some way and saw plenty I could have bought. However, we’re not rich, so we set ourselves a £50 budget for the day. I actually bought the tickets in advance via Amazon-Local who were doing a deal for £5 entry for two people (usually £5 each) – Bargain! So that left us with a full £50 to spend. I didn’t actually expect us to spend all of it, but we found so much awesome stuff that we spent every last penny, including £3 on coffee.
So here’s some pics from the day and what we bought with our dollar..
Not antique, but these are collectable.. Bought this as a Christmas present for someone – £5
£5 for all three keys, I think these will be hanging up somewhere soon..
I think this toilet roll holder is a reproduction piece and not antique but I love it all the same! – £20
Love this Hawaii Licence Plate – £7
£10 for these old kitchen scales
Would I re-visit? Hell-to-the-yeah! These events actually take place every few months, so I shall certainly be making another visit before the year is up, although I’m sure the summer months have the most amount of dealers considering it’s an outdoor venue. The event is run by IACF who hold these events in four other locations throughout the UK. I would thoroughly recommend a visit, who knows what you might find!
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