Today was spent at the excellent National Glass Fair in the Motocycle Museum, just outside Birmingham. Organised by the innovative and impressive Oxbridge Fairs, this is perhaps their largest and busiest event, with three large rooms packed with over 100 dealers offering glass from the 17th-21st centuries.
This time around, a friend had suggested that I ‘tweet‘ about what I saw there as I walked around the fair. Organisers Paul and Christina loved the idea, so off I went. There was plenty to tweet about with fantastic dealers such as Andrew Lineham, Mike Moir, Peter Elliott, Danny Walker, and Duncan Robinson all present. One of my favourite items was this Sèvres ‘Jade’ hand-carved cameo glass vase. Produced c1900, it just shouts about the Art Nouveau style of the day with its clear inspiration from nature in the curving lines of the leafy plant and the colours. There’s also a strong Chinese feel to it too, most noticeably on the rim.
I didn’t have time for much more than half a dozen tweets, as my time was more than pleasantly taken up chatting to friends, both old and new, and looking at so much lovely glass. These events always whizz by, but I hope to do a better job at tweeting at the next fair, called Reflect, which will be held in London on 13th June. To follow me and read my tweets on Twitter, click on one of the links on this page, or else click here.
