What a week! I’ve been busy sourcing new interesting items for you lovely lot, visiting local antiques shops, car boot sales and a fantastic antiques fair at York Racecourse. And this instalment is going to be a little insight into this triannual event. It’s always such a well organised feature in the York antiques calendar and it never fails to deliver. In fact, every time I go, I always leave with nothing left in my wallet, bar that odd little bit of fluff that seems to accumulate… And no, it’s not moth algae… the bloomin’ cheek of it!
For those of you who haven’t had the pleasure of visiting York Antique Home & Vintage Fair before, this will serve as a tempting little tease for you and will, I’m sure, make this a regular fixture in your own antiques diaries! So, without further ado, here is my blog of York Antique Home & Vintage Fair…
As keen as I always am to get the first dibs on things, I opted to pay £10 to gain early trade access to the event. This gets you in an hour before the general public. And as usual, no matter how early I arrive at an event, there’s always a few smart arses who have arrived even earlier…! Damn you smart arses!! **shakes fist in the air**
Obviously, this event, like many others happening around the UK, was being held under the new Covid-19 restrictions and guidelines, and with an increase in cases recently, it was a little unsettling to be venturing out to an event attracting a large number of visitors. But any worries and concerns I had were quickly put to bed. It is probably the safest I have felt at any event over recent months and that is credit to the organisers. There was the usual safety gear being worn by staff and ample hand sanitiser, but it was the space they had created, which meant that social distancing was easy at all times, which impressed me the most.
There were sellers inside and outside, and there was even the odd antiques celebrity spotted, like Rob Cain (aka @theenglishpolisher). Like, when I see anyone that has appeared on TV, I get very awkward and embarrassed, and far too scared to interact with them. Hence the blurred photo. This was taken from a distance of over a mile away!
Anyhow, there was a great variety in the items being sold, from industrial salvage to militaria, furniture to glassware and jewellery to clothing. Basically, you name it, they were selling it! I wasted no time in making my first purchase, a charming antique Victorian novelty cricket bat propelling pencil.
My friends and antiques associates then joined me. My regular sidekick, Claudia (aka @wrenandrust), Katherine (aka @katherineofyorkshire) and Claire (aka @uniquehaircombs). And this is what I love about fairs, but this one in particular, it’s a fantastic day out with friends and I always bump into a few other friendly faces. Chatting, buying and networking… unless they’ve appeared on TV, of course…!
With a one-way system in place, we ventured around to the east wing where I quickly spotted another novelty item. This late Victorian glass bottle in the shape of a pistol. Pistols at dawn…? This was more pistols at 09.00am…! After a swift haggle, I secured it, put it in my holster and in the style of John Wayne, walked upstairs to see what they had for me.
And then, I stumbled across antique novelty heaven! One seller, in particular, had items which were in true Source Vintage style. Fighting with Claudia for every item, I secured these two pieces. A snuff box made from a mussel shell and a very rare and unusual early 1900’s gun metal double sovereign case. The dealer was so very lovely and if I’m honest, I could have quite easily just bought every single item from her!
I then bumped into the organiser of this fantastic event, the legend that is, Richard. We had a quick chat and I congratulated him on arranging a great event under such difficult circumstances. I managed to get a quick selfie with him, at which point he told me I should get a photo of the antiques celebrity, Rob Cain, for my blog. I told him I already had, but failed to mention that it was taken from the neighbouring town…!
With our hands full, our bags bulging and our wallets empty, we said our goodbyes and got on our way. I think it’s safe to say we all had a brilliant time and got some amazing pieces. It’s definitely one of my favourite fairs, with the only downside being that it only takes place three times a year. But Richard and his team should take huge credit for keeping this fair going and for making it such a huge success. I’m already looking forward to the next one, which is normally New Year’s Day. But we’ll have to wait and see whether or not this will go ahead as normal. A massive fingers crossed from me.
So that’s it for this week folks! I hope you’ve enjoyed this little insight into York Antiques Home & Vintage Fair. Be sure to visit their website - www.antiquefairyork.com - and give them a follow on Facebook, Instagram and twitter (@antiqurfairyork) for their latest updates and announcements.
Until next week, stay safe, keep buying those antiques and keep spreading that Source Vintage love!
Stephen
Owner Source Vintage
Shop from Source Vintage here
Hi Stephen I found it very interesting. Lovely to see the crew with you. Kind regards Jim.