Decor Fair’s Autumn Event a Warm and Welcoming Affair
Blessed with an ‘Indian Summer’ September, visitors to the four day, Henley Decor Fair last week at Greenlands, were treated to beautiful antiques and interiors, as well as the gloriously warm and sunny weather!
The Restoration Workshop’s Gary Wallis was once again single-handedly manning the helm, supported by a team of both full-time staff and contractors. The general consensus being that trade was brisk, with some real star-buys, including one trader who sold out of every piece of art!
Included were all elements of exteriors and interiors, including architectural salvage, antiques, reclaim & upcycled, home & garden and vintage fashion.
The fair’s opening day was reserved for sales amongst traders, with scouters from fields such as the film prop industry coming to find unique pieces to dress sets of the next big on-screen dramas!
Friday through Sunday was general admissions, with local celebrities and those from the industry participating, with Rebecca Pritchard from Salvage Hunters presenting awards to winning exhibitors.
Gary Wallis said, “At the root of the event is hard-core buying and selling. It’s become an established decorator source and national event now. We’ve gone from 60 stands to 180, in the course of the last three events and with some real cool sponsorship interests.”
He goes on to explain what we can expect more of at the Spring event… “Most other decor events are indoors, which gives us a unique atmosphere. The actual feel of the event is evolving more and more into a festival-type atmosphere, with live music, food and drink all areas we’re set to expand on. So, it’s not just an antiques fair. The spectrum of goods is endless, with around 200 of the top dealers in the country coming to this event. And with our glorious riverside setting, it sets itself apart from anything else in the country.”
Another success story from the fair was found in the very first exhibition of metal sculptor and blacksmith from Thame, Lukasz Juchniewicz (LJ for short), who took on two new sculpture commissions. LJ explained that his friends persuaded him to share his artwork with the public, which had previously been kept in his garden.
He said, “My dad introduced me to steelwork and I was basically raised in the workshop, watching him. I love to work in the old, traditional ways with metal, keeping the history and art of blacksmithing alive. Everything is made by hand, inspired by nature, like flowers, insects, atomic molecules, or these more complex wind sculptures. They are a completely new generation of kinetic sculptures, which I’ve been making for the last ten years.”
The wonderfully intricate sculptures stood tall on display and being a particularly still afternoon, LJ demonstrated the full effect with added wind on cue, leaf blower in hand, and the kinetic sculptures silently spun in circles, polished metal sparkling in the sun.
He added, “The response and feedback to my work was amazing, I’m overwhelmed by what’s happened today. And I’m so thankful to the organisers of this show for having me here and giving me this opportunity to show to the public.”
Catch the Henley Decor Fair’s spring iteration in May of next year!
