As usual, the smalls did well but Robert and Carol Pugh, who comprise Towy, were pleasantly surprised at the volume of furniture sales (helped, indeed, by the Pughs who treated themselves to a burr ash desk from North Wales stalwart of the showground scene Martin Goddard).
As he has said before, Robert thinks one reason West Wales seems cocooned from the general malaise in the trade is that almost all his business is local private, and those customers are very much “maximalist” in that they like filling their homes with antiques.
And the Pughs feel the secret of sales being evenly spread throughout the Carmarthen fair is that, with 200 exhibitors, they have exactly the right number. This is why they resist pressure to expand this event with outside stands.
The next Towy event is at Cowbridge in South Wales on February 19 and 20 and the first Carmarthen fair of 2005 is on March 12 and 13.
Carmarthen is sized up
CARMARTHEN’S own Towy Antiques Fairs ended the year on a high note with good sales across the board at their Christmas Carmarthen Antiques & Collectors’ Fair, held at the local showground on December 11 and 12.
