Latest News Articles by Joan Porter
Five questions with Mehmet Keskiner of Kent Antiques
15 January 2024Mehmet Keskiner is the founder of Kent Antiques specialising in Islamic and Indian works of art as well as 19th century Orientalist paintings. Keskiner runs Kent Antiques from a gallery in Queen’s Gate by appointment only with his brother Dr Philip Bora Keskiner and his wife Melis Aran Keskiner.
Perfect places to worship antiques
08 January 2024More businesses housed in historic and spacious former churches and chapels come under the spotlight
Love Fairs delighted with ‘excellent’ Detling growth
02 January 2024Words like ‘excellent growth, full house and waiting lists’ are music to any fair organiser’s ears.
Spa town’s book fairs boom again
02 January 2024Revived event in Tunbridge Wells is full with a waiting list, reflecting the strong national trend
French and Scottish-based dealers support Malvern flea fair
02 January 2024English-born dealers living in France are coming over to stand at the Malvern Flea Fairs which is good news, not least as they offer stock not seen on the market before, says Helen Yourston of B2B Events.
Review of the year: Revived events fly the flag in 2023
18 December 2023The return of Ally Pally and glass fairs helped to spread good cheer along with centres expanding
Hemswell centres set to expand
11 December 2023Huge Lincolnshire business is among the firms that are confident for the future after a buzzing year
History lesson on how to reuse buildings for art and antiques
04 December 2023The repurposing of buildings for use as antiques centres and sometimes fairs has seen a revitalisation of historic buidings.
Sunbury thanks loyal traders
04 December 2023Prices frozen for pre-booked pitches at Kempton Park Racecourse for fourth year running
Atmospheric places to shop for antiques in Shropshire and Somerset
27 November 2023The Times recently ran a feature on seven of the most atmospheric towns in the UK in which to do your Christmas shopping for one-off gifts, maybe combining this joysome activity with a weekend break. Here are some art and antiques options in two of them, Ludlow in Shropshire and Frome in Somerset.
A fair? What an Offaly good idea
27 November 2023Mother-and-daughter team start new event in Ireland with hopes for several others across the island
Flood fund raiser will return to Shrewsbury
20 November 2023To help raise funds for a flood appeal at the West Midlands Showground in Shrewsbury, local fair organisers Emma and Oli Jones, aka JOS Events held a special ‘yard’ sale there earlier this month.
Grandma’s Attic Fair in Chichester is full
20 November 2023Running in Chichester on December 3 is Grandma’s Attic Fairs’ antiques and vintage fair at the Westgate Leisure Centre.
Actress Emma Thompson agreed it was ‘Very Nice’
20 November 2023The Vintage and Very Nice Market is held monthly in the pleasant surroundings of the 18th century Assembly Rooms in Chichester.
Ephemera that’s here to stay
20 November 2023Valerie Jackson-Harris is stepping down as chair of The Ephemera Society, a position she has held since 2008.
‘Three months’ became 32 years for Hexham antiques market
13 November 2023When he launched his midweek antiques fair in the Northumberland market town of Hexham in 1991, Colin Caygill told the manager of the Wentworth Leisure Centre where it was held that “he would give it a go for three or four months”.
High time for an auction house
13 November 2023Owners of a rapidly expanding chain of shops turn their attention to opening a saleroom in Somerset town
‘We can deal with stray shells - but not heartbreaking monotony’
06 November 2023In November 1915, Captain Wilton John Rix of the 6th Bedfordshire Regiment wrote from France to the East Suffolk Gazette with an understated and moving plea for a relief from the war’s monotony.
Suffolk village’s charms include two fairs and three antiques shops
06 November 2023Two popular fairs are running in November and December in the Suffolk village of Long Melford which also offers three antiques businesses as an extra draw for buyers to part with their cash in a pre-Christmas splash.
How nostalgia fuels toy collecting
30 October 2023The growth in toys and collectables is related to the age of buyers and the items they remember from their own childhood, auction houses say.