fairs making a comeback?

If last year’s figures are anything to go by, scouting for hidden treasures at antique fairs has become a national pastime. LAPADA Art and Antiques Fair in Berkeley Square gained 15 per cent more visitors than previously. Similarly, the two largest antique fairs in Europe, Newark and Ardingly, reported an average rise of 12 per cent on the attendances across their 26 shows in 2010. With such a growing interest in antique fairs, it was only a matter of time before tech geeks designed an iPhone app. Launched last week, the Antiques Roadshow iPhone App demonstrates how antique fairs appeal to a young demographic. Players virtually collect, appraise and bid on antiques based on images of real objects. ‘Antiques Roadshow remains a huge hit on-air, and local events draw large crowds,’ says Marsha Bemko, Executive Producer of the Antiques Roadshow. ‘The series is part adventure, part history and part treasure hunt, and now the app takes it to another level, allowing players to become antiques dealers-in-training.’ Whether this app will boom or bust is yet to be seen but what is certain is that antique fairs are a growing sector in the antique industry. This is a welcome respite after years of hardship. The late Nineties were tough for the antique market as shoppers veered online for bargains and withheld spending. Fairs and markets responded by getting smaller forcing many stallholders out of business. But those dreary days are coming to an end. Why the renewed interest in antique fairs? ‘Despite the recession over the last couple of years we have seen an upturn in business,’ says Robbie Timms of S&S Timms Antiques. ‘I think one of the reasons surprisingly was the recession itself. Interest rates dropped so low that antiques and art became a viable long-term investment compared to elsewhere in the market.’ People take comfort in the (perhaps delusional) belief that spending on antiques is a way of hanging onto their money.