Set in the heart of the picturesque and historic Carmarthenshire and yet minutes away from the M4 corridor, lies the impressive National Botanic Garden of Wales. It’s a hidden gem, just as is the array of antiques on display at the Antiques Fair and Vintage market, held at the Garden on April 7 and 8. The fair has grown steadily over the last eight years in both size and popularity. Visitors are impressed at the variety of antiques on offer at this unique and amazing setting. Its appeal is in the fact that visitors can wander around the gardens at leisure. The Gardens have observed record attendance during 2017 and the last fair in January 2018 was no exception. Demand is high, so the Botanic Gardens series of fairs now includes an extra date in July, making four fairs for 2018.
It is in the impressive Sir Norman Foster designed Glasshouse that the fair will be showcasing the Antiques Fair as well as in Principality house which is situated adjacent to the Glasshouse, Theatre Botanica, the Gallery Room and the large Wedding Marquee. The fair has also expanded into the Millennium Courtyard filling it with a Vintage Antiques Market. The Vintage market houses smaller marquees showing off vintage toys, clothing and retro furniture, plus numerous upcycled furniture and quirky items. This is a new and exciting addition to the established inside section of the fair
The National Botanic Garden of Wales’ fair has a reputation for discovering rare items to whet people’s appetites. From rare maps to rare paintings, these have all been found at this fair. Richard Bebb will be including some Kyffin Williams paintings and prints amongst his collection of Welsh art. It is the centenary of Kyffin’s birth and interest in his work has been heightened.
There will of course be an abundance of Welsh pottery ranging from Swansea, Glamorgan, Llanelli and the increasingly popular Ewenny. Welsh textiles will also be a main feature at the fair. There will be a large range of Welsh tapestry blankets on display with their extensive colour range and intrinsic patterns. Wales is of course famous for its rich heritage in the woollen industry Woollen blankets (carthen) having been woven in Wales for centuries and a wealth of patterns was produced. Many Welsh blankets were fringed at top and bottom but a true ’carthen’ or ’fringed quilt’ was to be used as a bedspread as well as a blanket.
You will be able to find stands displaying gorgeous Victorian linen, vintage clothes, costume jewellery, an appealing display of nostalgic interior designs and an impressive collection of books. There will also be fishing reels, pewter and collections of historic maps and garden tools. Amongst the quality stands, will be a selection of militaria stands, displaying some very unusual items from the past including rare medals, military swords and vintage fire arms. If you want to invest in that special piece of glass or a good item of jewellery or silver, then you will find them at this fair. The range is extensive. An exceptional display of impressive Worcester pieces, including Stinton, will also take centre stage at the fair together with other collections of Wemys and Moorcroft.
In all, the fair is very well rounded, with a balance of furniture ranging from an extensive collection of oak furniture and period mahogany pieces, to an array of country pine. Also on display will be a fine collection of period clocks, together with the more traditional long case clocks.
Bargain Hunt enjoyed making a welcome third return visit to the National Botanic Garden of Wales Antiques Fair and Vintage Market in January and filmed their popular programme over the weekend. It’s no surprise that this popular BBC programme chose to film at the National Botanic Garden of Wales’ Antiques fair, on account of its stunning location. Presenter on the day was the well-known ceramist expert Eric Knowles and he selected Jonathan Cox, one of the exhibitors, to chat about his own pottery.
Jonathan Cox is one of the top ceramic artists working in Wales today. Jonathan specialises in the unusual technique of ‘tube lining’. He has designed for Moorcroft and has had exhibitions at prestigious shows and galleries throughout the UK.
Jonathan has regularly exhibited at the National Botanic Garden of Wales Antiques Fair and Vintage Market with his exciting, flamboyant range of pottery. He was handpicked to discuss his work with the famous Antiques and pottery specialist Eric Knowles who was presenting Bargain Hunt, when filming the programme, from the Gardens in January. They filmed Eric Knowles discussing Jonathan’s pottery and the unusual designs and processes he uses. They will be making a special features of Jonathan’s pottery on the show, which will be screened on BBC 1 Bargain Hunt during the summer.
Jonathan stated in the interview with Eric that he was always “arty” and remembers a painting of his depicting daffodils hanging by the staff-room at school. He did not catch the pottery bug until his early twenties, having trained as a gardener initially. His mother had some pieces of early twentieth century Art Pottery which inspired him to go to Stoke-on-Trent to study for the BA in multidisciplinary design specialising in ceramics.
One of the techniques that intrigued Jonathan most was tube-lining, and it was through showing some examples to a gallery in Derbyshire that he had his first exhibition. It was a sell-out and he has never looked back.
Those early days were pretty crazy. He had a small kiln in the kitchen of his little terraced house in Stoke and was in fact dubbed the “kitchen potter” by a local newspaper. He could not keep pace with demand and moved to a workshop nearby having acquired a much larger kiln.
Subsequently Jonathan had a successful career with a mixture of gallery shows and high quality craft fairs including the prestigious Chelsea Craft Fair and the equally highbrow “Art in Action”.
In the mid nineties, it was time for a fresh challenge and he moved to Wales. It was a long-held ambition to have a home-based workshop studio close to the inspiration of much of his work. Here in Wales he has been able to express both a more direct and intuitive response to nature as well as a newfound interest in contemporary shapes for the new work.
In the last few years, developments have advanced in several directions. The “Faceforms” have been an exciting departure from the floral designs, attracting interest wherever shown. Landscapes have also appeared on the new designs often combined with flowers. Thrown shapes have given way to slab-formed picture vases and the matt-glazed “paperform” series entitled “Nature Studies” is another new venture in a modern idiom.
Traditional shapes still have a place though, and after a long period of research Jonathan has taken this range forward with some dramatic lustre and flambé effects.
You will find Jonathan’s display of pottery in the Glass house in April and you will find it breathtaking ,especially set amongst the exotic plants .His vibrant colours and rich glazes make his stand out and his pottery in an investment for the future.
The Antiques fair and Vintage market at the prestigious National Botanic Garden of Wales is on both days, Saturday and Sunday April 7 and 8 and can be found at Llanarthne, Carmarthenshire SA32 8HG at the end of the M4; you will find ample free parking inside the grounds. The fair opens its doors at 10.00 am and closes at 4.30 pm; admission is just £4 to both the gardens and the fair. Dogs are allowed to be walked on a short lead at the weekend fair.
Why not make it a double? The Llandeilo Antiques and Vintage fair is also on Saturday, April 7 and can be located in the towns Civic Hall, opposite the car park. Admission is just £1 and there are lots of antiques and collectables to be found plus a good vintage element. This fair is just a few miles away from the National Botanic Gardens of Wales and is well worth a visit.
For more information about the fairs contact Brita Rogers telephone: 01267 2202601 Mobile 07790 293367 or visit the web site: http://www. derwenantiques.co.uk/ or follow us on Facebook.