Organised by Caroline Penman, it will be held from January 13 to 16 in Kensington Town Hall, W8, with some 70 dealers, all eager to get back to serious trading. This fair has actually perked up a lot in recent years with more and more good dealers anxious to take advantage of the first opportunity of the year for London fair business.
The event does attract some serious private buyers who might have been experiencing antique fair withdrawal symptoms over the holidays, and certainly there are plenty of dealers visiting, especially on the opening day, anxious to restock.
The fair is now nicely timed to close before the January opening of the Decorative Antiques & Textiles Fair in Battersea and The National Fine Art and Antiques Fair, which was launched last year at Birmingham's National Exhibition Centre to replace the now defunct Winter LAPADA fair at the venue.
Although the top end of the furniture market struggled at the 2004 West London, there were plenty of sales for smaller items and pictures priced at under £5000. What is more, I remember the general mood was quite upbeat and most exhibitors did not hesitate before signing up for the 2005 staging.
However, there are eight or so newcomers this time, among them Ashcombe Coach House Antiques from West Sussex, Freshfords from Bath, Wilsons of Worthing and Beechridge Antiques from Hertfordshire, all with period furniture; Benjamin Silverman from London with silver and Neptune Fine Art from Derbyshire, whose stock will feature Lowry. Regular exhibitors include Lennox Cato from Kent with his distinctive, decorative quality furniture; Jenny Hicks Beech from Kent with Oriental rugs; Ingrid Nilson, again from Kent with her decorative prints; Mark Seabrook from Cambridg-eshire with country antiques and Sussex sculpture specialists Garret & Hazlehurst.
There are no longer datelines at West London, but, as with all Penman fairs, everything is vetted for quality and authenticity.
Caroline Penman also has a new initiative for all her fairs, and she will start at this West London.
As part of her efforts to appeal to the younger, design-orientated market, she says: "I will use one stand at every fair throughout the year to display a stylish combination of antique, 20th century and brand new pieces, to appeal to today's ever-evolving tastes."
She continued: "I will bring my own modern props and some 20th century pieces, as a foil to older items selected from the exhibitors. All but the modern, mass-produced items will be for sale."
The stand will be manned by Louis Aldred, who has recently joined the Penman team.
Admission is £5.
