Welcome

Congratulations to LAPADA Members Christopher Clarke Antiques, Winner of the Best Specialist Shop category in the Britain’s Best Antiques Shops Awards!

Homes & Antiques magazine, in conjunction with Antiques News and Fairs, has announced the winners of its inaugural Britain’s Best Antiques Shops Awards.

Television presenter Kirstie Allsopp and Antiques Roadshow expert Mark Hill revealed the five winning businesses, from shops and vintage emporia to antiques centres and auction houses, at an awards ceremony at the Bath Decorative & Antiques Fair on 8^th March. Kirstie Allsopp, Channel 4’s property and interiors expert, has been a firm supporter of the awards, which champion these unsung heroes of the high street.

Britain’s Best Antiques Shops 2012 Award winners

• Best antiques shop: Blighty Antiques, Cheltenham
• Best specialist shop: Christopher Clarke Antiques, Stow on the Wold
• Best vintage/midcentury shop: Nanadobbie, Brighton
• Best auction house: McTear’s Auctioneers, Glasgow
• Best antiques centre: Hungerford Arcade, Hungerford

The Britain’s Best Antiques Shops Awards were launched in the November 2011 issue of Homes & Antiques magazine to tie in with National Antiques Week. Readers and members of the public were invited to nominate their favourite antiques businesses.

The five winning businesses will be profiled in the May issue of the magazine, on sale 5 April.

Angela Linforth, Editor of Homes & Antiques, commented: “Here at Homes & Antiques, we never cease to be excited by the intriguing, beautiful things we find at antiques shops and auctions up and down the country. The awards celebrate these high street heroes, and we hope they will encourage many more people to pop into their local antiques stores and see what they can find.”

Gail McLeod, Editor of Antiques News and Fairs and organiser of National Antiques Week said: “I have been delighted with the response to this campaign, launched last November in National Antiques Week, to raise the profile of this heritage industry and its fantastic green credentials. The general public have voted in their thousands to give their favourite dealer or auctioneer a chance to win a coveted award.”

LAPADA would like to congratulate everyone involved in this Competition and of course our Members, Sean and Simon Clarke of Christopher Clarke Antiques. Congratulations are also due to Members Richard Gardner Antiques, Spencer Swaffer Antiques and Manfred Schotten Antiques, who were all included in the final short list.

Well done, Everyone!

The LAPADA Conference 2012
Goldsmiths’ Hall, Foster Lane, London, EC2V 6BN – Tuesday 28th February 2012

The historic surroundings of Goldsmiths Hall provided an impressive and beautiful setting for the 2012 Conference.

Mark Bridge, Editor in Chief of the Antiques Trade Gazette opened the Proceedings and introduced LAPADA’s Chairman, Lord Chadlington.

The first session focussed on banking issues and included discussion of how Banks view the antiques and art market, how to present your case and what to do when things go wrong! Speakers included Lord Chadlington (CEO Huntsworth plc), Edward Oakden (Managing Director of UKTI), Daniel Sopher (Sopher & Co), Richie Coulson (Senior Business Development Manager, Lloyds Commercial Banking Division) and Dr Loretta Würtenberger (Fine Art Partners).

The second session offered ideas on how Antiques Dealers can compete for a share of the Luxury market: Mark Henderson, Founder and Chairman of Saville Row Bespoke, and a Director of the British Luxury Trade Association discussed how antiques fit into the luxury sector and how as an industry we can better compete in the luxury market place.

Before Lunch, Niall Fairhead of Fairhead Fine Art delivered an inspiring call to arms for the battle to limit the damage to the art trade of recent changes in the implementation of the Artists’ Resale Right and encouraged everyone present to sign his on-line petition.

Over lunch, David Beasley, The Librarian of Goldsmiths’ Hall, gave a fascinating talk about the history and the current role of Goldsmiths’ Hall and the Assay Office.

The afternoon featured a Panel Discussion which was open to the floor, covering a wide variety of topics of concern. The Panel benefited from a broad expertise of skills from different areas of the art market, including Ivan Macquisten; Editor, ATG: Daniel Bexfield; Dealer and Orchestrator of The Burlington Arcade Campaign; Ron Archibald; Director, Trade Access Programme, UKTI; Carmine Bruno; MD, Online Galleries; Sarah Percy-Davis; Chief Executive, LAPADA. Topics included the power of PR, how to make viral marketing work, trading in emerging markets and selling antiques on line.

There was plenty of opportunity for Questions from the floor, and much vigorous and lively debate ensued. It was encouraging to see such positive support from the Membership, with a strong attendance (90) and a participatory atmosphere throughout.

We are most grateful to the ATG, Besso and Cadogan Tate for their generous support of this event and we are already looking forward to the LAPADA Conference 2013!

One of the most contentious issues affecting our trade and a good number of our Members, is Artists Resale Right ( Droit de Suite). The Art Dealers amongst you will be aware that our worst fears have now been realised and as from 1st January 2012, this resale tax now applies also to dead artists up to 70 years after their death. The bitter battle to oppose this tax which is likely to be so damaging to the UK art trade has been fought long and hard and is not over yet.

It is important that the views of dealers themselves are heard, and not just through the trade associations, individual voices are also powerful – and the more of these that can be heard, the better.

For this reason, Niall Fairhead of Fairhead Fine Art has launched an on-line Petitition, and we urge all our Members to sign it. Mr Fairhead says .....

‘Living artists embarking on their careers and wanting to promote their art can usually only do so with the help of experienced art dealers. These dealers can also help manage deceased artists’ estates by offering storage, conservation, cataloguing, research and restoration services. Artists need a trade that is based upon dealers and galleries who are strong, efficient, professional and financially-solvent. The full implementation of the Right will hinder this by considerably reducing dealers’ margins and by increasing fourfold the bureaucracy they deal with. At a time when running a small business is becoming increasingly costly, the cumulative effect of 4% ARR on purchases plus 4% on sales will make it difficult for small art dealers to meet their overheads.’

The Petition calls upon the Government to:

(a) recognise this impact on small businesses by increasing from €1,000 to €3,000 the threshold above which the Right is collected in the UK, as allowed under the European Artist’s Resale Right Directive; and

(b) exert pressure on the European Commission to change the Directive so that it is less damaging to the art market, particularly the market in works by deceased artists.

Please visit the link below to view the Petition and more information on how to oppose this tax.

http://www.ipetitions.com/petition/damage-to-small-businesses-from-the-artists/?utm_medium=email&utm_source=system&utm_campaign=Send%2Bto%2BFriend

You might also like to keep an eye on this useful Blog devised by LAPADA Member Elliot Lee, which will also feature this Survey and general debate issues surrounding ARR Art, Antiques & Design Blog

Thank you for your support,

Sarah Percy-Davis
Chief Executive
LAPADA The Association of Art & Antiques Dealers