The late Jim Hill manning his stall at the NEC.
Jim had always been a passionate and knowledgeable collector with an in-depth understanding of ceramics, treen, antique prints, diecast toys and vintage radios and audio equipment. He turned this to great advantage when he started Fairway Antiques in Shepshed, Leicestershire.
For 15 years Jim and Shirley never missed a Newark or Swinderby and they stood at the prestigious NEC fair every year always with great success. Peterborough was another fair they attended.
Jim’s eye for quality and attention to detail ensured that they always put on a great show for the collecting public, and he gained a reputation for excellent and consistent quality at fair prices among both collectors and the trade.
He considered his years in the trade as the best of his life and derived great happiness and satisfaction from being part of the antique dealing community.
As a dealer he was a familiar face at most local auction houses in the East Midlands, such as Bamfords, Gildings, Hansons, Arthur Johnson and Churchgate.
Jim was forced to retire early due to his own ill health in 2012 and then became a full-time carer for Shirley, who he sadly lost in 2019. He lost his own long battle with illness on January 30.
His biggest regrets were that he had not become a full-time antique dealer years earlier and that he not spent more money on antiques over the years… oh yes, and all those things he’d sold of course that he wished he’d kept (isn’t that the dealer’s lot in a nutshell?).
From Darren Hill
