BRITAIN'S dealers and auctioneers are being encouraged to promote themselves as never before in the search for the country's best antiques businesses.
The competition, which is being run by Homes and
Antiques magazine, will be the major focus of this year's
National Antiques Week (November 14-21) and the public
will be invited to nominate their favourite antiques destinations
from early October until the end of November.
With this week's issue of ATG comes a display card inviting
customers to nominate their favourite businesses. All firms with
suitable premises are urged to display this on the counter or in
their window, as well as contacting potential voters by all
available means.
The message from similar initiatives in other industries is that
the businesses who do most to promote themselves to existing and
new customers not only stand the best chance of winning but also
find that they do more business. At the same time the profile of
the whole sector is raised by the publicity generated by the
competition.
Nominations can be made online and they are invited in five
categories:
- Best antiques shop
- Best specialist shop
- Best auction house
- Best antiques centre
- Best mid-century/vintage shop
All those who submit nominations will have the chance to win one
of ten prizes, each worth at least £200.
The businesses with most nominations will be visited by a panel
of judges early in 2012 to determine the winner in each
category.
The campaign is being backed by TV celebrity and champion of
antiques Kirstie Allsopp. She will launch National Antiques
Week at the Olympia Winter Fine Art and Antiques Fair
and announce the winners at the Bath Decorative Antiques
Fair next March.
"Everyone wants to be a winner and antiques shops are no
different," she says. "Too many people are afraid of buying
antiques or think they're expensive. The message that needs to be
sung from the rooftops is this: this is the right way to buy -
antiques hold their value in a way that modern furniture simply
does not. This initiative is the perfect opportunity for the trade
to reach out to new customers."
National Antiques Week is co-ordinated by Gail McLeod
of Antiques News & Fairs and is supported by a
committee of organisations and businesses representing the whole
art and antiques industry, including ATG.
For further details visit www.nationalantiquesweek.co.uk
or www.homesandantiques.com
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