Clarice Cliff Feature Articles

Alexandra Palace! What a perfect venue for an Antique and Collectors Fair. It's huge, it's bright with the hall full of light It is one of the most comfortable of venues for a fair with wide aisles, plenty of eating and drinking places and of course, the building itself is one of the most magnificent of Victorian Follies every constructed! What a place and redolent with history.

The fair at Ally Pally has been going gradually downhill for some time and on speaking to the new owners, they say this is now the biggest Sunday Antiques Fair in London and they intend to promote it strongly and make it the best as well as the biggest. We wish them all luck.

The sun was shining on us today. The panoramic views outside were visible miles into the distance and by midday, people were sitting outside eating al fresco and you could have been fooled into thinking it was a summer's day! I could continue to eulogise about the building and its setting but enough said, it is the perfect setting for a fair. One thing that really hits you when you enter its portals is the sheer size of the place. The entrance foyer is enormous and dotted with islands with full-sized palm trees growing out of them and surrounded by Egyptian themed Cleopatra's needles and sphinxes sitting around, looking sphinx like! It is very impressive and attractive.

The fair is held in the main Hall which is truly grandiose with its decorated walls and wonderful stained glass coloured round window at the end. At the other end is an enormous organ. They usually have an antiques valuer come along to Ally Pally who gives free valuations and today, James Lewis of Bamfords Auction House was there. He is well-known from BBC TV programmes such as Bargain Hunt, Flog It and also the Antique Road Trips. As we walked passed his table, I noticed him clutching a 10 inch plate in the Farmhouse pattern and giving it the once over!!

Once inside, at 9.30 am, we made a bee-line for Andy's stand of course. He had an impressive array of pieces today including a Conical tea for Two in Solitude and most of the coffee set in Sliced Circle previously discussed on the Forum. One of my favourite pieces was an Eton Jug in May Avenue which had zillions of houses on it. And what about that Conical jug in Blue Lucerne? That Yo in Football? The shape 212 vase in Forest Glen was perfectly painted with the Delecia particularly strong and vibrant; a lovely example. I have never seen a sabot in Tennis before, fantastic. The Isis vase in Orange House was just perfect in every way. I could go on and on. As you can imagine, it was difficult to tear ourselves away but through sheer willpower, I managed it eventually. Time to explore the rest of the Fair.

As the new owners are a new broom and undertaking to make this THE Sunday fair of fairs in London, I asked Andy a few questions to obtain his opinion about various matters relating to this and future fairs at Ally Pally.

Question:  Do you have confidence that Alexandra Palace will prove to be a thriving event for the future under the new management?

Answer:  I think any fair can thrive if the location is good, it’s well organised and attended by proper dealers who will themselves promote and push the event rather than sitting there and just expecting people to turn up. IACF have a long history of fair organising and I’m confident they can turn it round to the best level achievable in today’s market.

Question:  Do you find this a user friendly venue for you as a dealer, i.e.: parking and unloading and facilities in the Hall with lighting and stands etc?

Answer:  As a venue it’s excellent, loading is fine as they let us set up Saturday afternoon which saves Sunday morning chaos, the hall itself has always been really good. As for facilities, the last time I did it the food wasn’t too great but I’ll survive!

Question:  Are the organisers helpful in supplying you with needs for setting up etc?

Answer:  The organisers are really good on that score. No hassle, nothing is ever a problem and they let the cabinet people in earlier so that when I arrive Saturday my cabinets will be in place, all set up.

Question:  Do you find much interest shown in Clarice Cliff outside of the club/members?

Answer:  Clarice Cliff outside of club members……. if you mean at fairs, then yes you do. Often it’s people who know about it but don’t collect. Everybody these days knows what Clarice is. I would say club members are about 30-40% of collectors.

Question:  Would you be able to choose a piece on your stand today which ticks all your boxes and that you could call your favourite/star piece today?

Answer:  I love the Sliced circle coffee set because of its rarity and I love abstracts, I’ve bought today privately a perfect conical tea for two in solitude which would tick most people's boxes so that would be a wow for most people. I’ve got loads of star pieces and they’ll all be there on Sunday!!

Colin Mawston also had some interesting comments to make in that he feels the fairs market is now struggling with the internet interest being so strong and with auctions also being successful in selling Clarice. He has been collecting and selling Clarice for about 25 years now and has seen many changes over the years.

Before having a good look round, we spoke with the new organisers who informed us that they have given stallholders tables 9 ft wide instead of the usual 6 ft and also given them more space between the stands. The whole fair certainly seemed roomier and very pleasant for the people to meander around. The eating areas were situated on the periphery of the hall and there is usually somewhere to sit and have a rest (and a think), whilst having a cuppa, to contemplate and deliberate or celebrate!

About one third of the Hall, near the organ, was devoted to Retro items which seems to be quite a growing market these days. Understandable, I suppose, as 50s, 60, and 70s items are now half a century old and there seems to be a definite market and liking for all things “Retro“. The rest of the fair was devoted to antiques and Art Deco. We were told that the new organisers are not responsible for the Retro side, only the Antiques and Art Deco. Usually the fairs at Ally Pally have a sizeable number of stands with Art Deco items but we did notice that there were fewer today. The probable reason for this, as we discovered later, was due to the fact that there was an Art Deco fair today at Eltham Palace.

As with all Fairs, there was a massive choice of all things you could possibly wish to look at - plenty of lighting and much 20s and 30s lighting, furniture including display cabinets, nests of tables, armchairs of all shapes and sizes, and lots of silver, Moorcroft aplenty, costume jewellery to suit everyone's taste and pocket, and so much more. Of Clarice, apart from Andy and Colin of course, there was very little today. I did spot a little Humpty bowl in Nasturtium. When we first began going to fairs and collecting, there was a mass of Clarice to be had. There has been a shifting of direction, the internet playing a huge part, and also plenty of auction houses selling Clarice as well. As there is a finite amount available and more andmore collectors then inevitably there is less in the market these days and will become even less with time.

Going back to the fair, we had a very relaxed wander around. This time round, we actually came away with our money intact being well aware, of course, of the forthcoming Fieldings Auction in October ! It was just fun to be in the haven that is an Antiques and Art Deco fair with its blaze of colour and myriad attractions everywhere!

You all know already that I am a fan of our favourite lady but I am also a fan of fairs held at Ally Pally and very much hope that they will soon return to their former glory !

The next Fair is on Sunday 7th December  and I would encourage those who enjoy fairs qnd can make this date to come along to Ally Pally.  I feel sure you won't be disappointed.  See you there!

Feature & Photography by Peggy Wilson

Edited and Posted by Doreen Mann