Alfies Antique Market is set to celebrate its 30th Birthday on 10th June 2006
April 3, 2006 (Press Release) --
In the year that Taxi Driver won the Palme d’Or at the Cannes Film Festival and in the weeks that Abba and the Rolling Stones topped the singles chart, a revolutionary new antiques market opened…Alfies. On Saturday 10th June, Alfies Antique Market will celebrate its thirtieth year in grand old style. From 10am-6pm a nostalgic summer fete will be held within the market, evoking memories of 1976 and the hottest summer on record.
Bennie Grays’ plan that year was to turn the derelict premises of an Edwardian department store into an unpretentious antique market; his father the inspiration for its name. Alfies gave dealers the opportunity for the first time to trade in an indoor environment, unencumbered by punitive overheads – a concept almost unheard of in its day. To begin with, only the ground floor of Alfies was used and it only opened on market day, but within a couple of years the market had grown to fill all four floors of the building and expanded to trade five days a week.
Thirty years on, dealers who have been at the market from the beginning have shops alongside new and upcoming young dealers. Gloria Goldsmith of Goldsmith & Perris, Alfies’ original silver dealers, remembers when the now highly collectable 20th Century pieces were thrown away without a second thought. Yet Alfies now has more 20th Century dealers than anywhere else in London, selling pieces such as a black lacquered table and chairs designed by Arne Jacobsen in 1970 or a colourful and collectable 1970's Baret Ware biscuit tin.
The traditional aspects of the antiques market remain, with dealers of silver, paintings and prints, jewellery, ceramics and glass, making the range of pieces available second to none. But with the development of the Quad, a 20th Century design emporium, in 2005 and the re-opening of the basement later this year, Alfies continues to evolve and redefine the boundaries of antique dealing.
Many dealers began their careers at Alfies and their lives have become inexorably linked with the market’s community - this summer will see the wedding of two dealers who met at Alfies. The summer fete on 10th June will celebrate this remarkable building and all the characters that make it the home of a maze of treasures and a wealth of knowledge. Everyone is welcome to help the dealers and staff celebrate this special day!
-Ends-
Notes to Editors
Alfies Summer Fete
Saturday 10th June 2006, 10am-6pm
Alfies Antique Market, 13-25 Church Street, Marylebone, London NW8 8DT
Nearest tube is Marylebone or Edgware Road
Entrance is free
Call 020 7725 9601 for more details.
www.alfiesantiques.com
Alfies is London's largest antique market, located on a historical street market in Church Street, Marylebone, minutes from the West End. Home to 75 leading dealers, the range and quantity of stock is breathtaking and includes 20th Century Design, furniture, paintings and prints, jewellery, ceramics, vintage clothing and much more. It is open Tuesday to Saturday from 10am to 6pm
Bennie Grays’ plan that year was to turn the derelict premises of an Edwardian department store into an unpretentious antique market; his father the inspiration for its name. Alfies gave dealers the opportunity for the first time to trade in an indoor environment, unencumbered by punitive overheads – a concept almost unheard of in its day. To begin with, only the ground floor of Alfies was used and it only opened on market day, but within a couple of years the market had grown to fill all four floors of the building and expanded to trade five days a week.
Thirty years on, dealers who have been at the market from the beginning have shops alongside new and upcoming young dealers. Gloria Goldsmith of Goldsmith & Perris, Alfies’ original silver dealers, remembers when the now highly collectable 20th Century pieces were thrown away without a second thought. Yet Alfies now has more 20th Century dealers than anywhere else in London, selling pieces such as a black lacquered table and chairs designed by Arne Jacobsen in 1970 or a colourful and collectable 1970's Baret Ware biscuit tin.
The traditional aspects of the antiques market remain, with dealers of silver, paintings and prints, jewellery, ceramics and glass, making the range of pieces available second to none. But with the development of the Quad, a 20th Century design emporium, in 2005 and the re-opening of the basement later this year, Alfies continues to evolve and redefine the boundaries of antique dealing.
Many dealers began their careers at Alfies and their lives have become inexorably linked with the market’s community - this summer will see the wedding of two dealers who met at Alfies. The summer fete on 10th June will celebrate this remarkable building and all the characters that make it the home of a maze of treasures and a wealth of knowledge. Everyone is welcome to help the dealers and staff celebrate this special day!
-Ends-
Notes to Editors
Alfies Summer Fete
Saturday 10th June 2006, 10am-6pm
Alfies Antique Market, 13-25 Church Street, Marylebone, London NW8 8DT
Nearest tube is Marylebone or Edgware Road
Entrance is free
Call 020 7725 9601 for more details.
www.alfiesantiques.com
Alfies is London's largest antique market, located on a historical street market in Church Street, Marylebone, minutes from the West End. Home to 75 leading dealers, the range and quantity of stock is breathtaking and includes 20th Century Design, furniture, paintings and prints, jewellery, ceramics, vintage clothing and much more. It is open Tuesday to Saturday from 10am to 6pm
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