Presented by The Lace Guild Museum from Stourbridge, West Midlands, the display will feature a wide range of rare and fascinating lace of all kinds plus bobbins, shuttles, netting needles and threads. The display will be a rare opportunity to view lace from the 17th, 18th and 19th centuries together with more recently made pieces from across the world. Staff from the museum will be on hand to speak about lace and its history and Honorary Curator, Gwynedd Roberts, will present a lecture on the Museum Collection and the items in the exhibition.

A number of exhibitors will be offering rare pieces of lace for sale. John Shepherd and Erna Hiscock from Kent, who specialise in early samplers, will have a lace sampler that includes the date, 1716, and was most likely the work of a trainee lace worker in the West Country. This rare item will be priced at £1,600.v The history of lace is fascinating. From the time of Elizabeth I, lace was a fashionable addition to clothes and as a decorative part of the soft furnishings in the homes of the wealthy. During the late 17th and 18th centuries, the handmade lace industry extended across the world. The advent of new fabrics in the 18th century, such as the cottons and embroidered muslins, had a major impact and influenced the development of lighter, airier laces.

By the early 19th century, the first machine-made laces appeared with a gradual improvement in quality and output, cleverly mimicking the desirable, expensive handmade laces, and thereby enabled the aspiring middle classes to emulate the higher classes. By the end of the 19th century, the handmade industry was in decline and the events of the First World War ended a once flourishing occupation.

Each country has its own unique traditional form of bobbins and lace-making tools. The distinctive English East Midlands beaded and decorated bobbins made from local wood or bone are now regarded as a unique pieces of folk art, so too those of very different design originating from Devon. Examples from both regions will be on display at the NEC fair.

Antiques for EveryoneFeaturing more than 200 specialist dealers, Antiques for Everyone is a major event that brings together collectors, interior designers, decorators, home furnishers and leading dealers for four days of buying, selling, knowledge exchange and great enjoyment for all things cultural. With many thousands of exhibits for sale, at prices from less than £20 to more than £20,000, and added diversions such as a special feature exhibition and daily celebrity talks, the fair has plenty to offer. The fair is designed to have a wide appeal, for both novice and experienced connoisseurs, occasional collectors and anyone seeking inspiration for home design and decoration.

Now in its 31st year, Antiques for Everyone continues to expand its appeal with a greater range of decorative, 20th century and selected contemporary pieces. Held at the hub of the UK’s transport links and within easy reach of people from the north, south, east and west, the fair is a major assembly point for dealers, collectors and interior furnishers.

Exhibitors are divided into two distinct sections, allowing dealers from across the trade to participate, taking either room-set style or smaller booth displays. Exhibits are vetted by specialist panels of experts for date and condition and to ensure all items for sale are correctly labelled. The huge opening day queue regularly exceeds 2,000 trade buyers and private collectors, all eager to discover new stock presented for the first time.

English period furniture is always sought after. Melody Antiques take a large stand to showcase English provincial oak and country pieces, including farmhouse dressers, cupboards, tables, coffers and sets of ladder-back chairs while Mark Seabrook Antiques returns with rare metalwork, early armchairs and corner cupboards. Freshfords offer period furniture and Jeroen Markies specialises in Art Deco furniture, lamps, and decorative items. Scandinavian by Design join the fair with mid-20th century furniture and lighting.v Arts & Crafts, Art Deco and Art Nouveau furniture, statuary, figurines, mirrors, lighting, clocks, silver, ceramics, glass and other pieces featuring on a number of specialists stands, notably Hickmet Fine Arts, Marion David Decorative Arts specialising in silver and bronzes, Titus Omega with silver, Deco Dave with lighting and James Strang with Scottish furniture and paintings.

Buyers looking for period clocks and barometers will find Edward Burd Clocks and Kembery Antique Clocks with a variety of English and French examples, and Alan Walker with barometers.

Fine silver features from a number of the country’s major specialists, notably Mary Cooke Antiques, Jack Shaw & Co; Cotswold Collectables and Highland Antiques. Jewellery is especially popular and there are numerous specialist dealers including Shapiro & Co, Plaza, Henry Nicholls & Sons Antiques, T. Robert, Anderson Jones, S.& A.Thompson and Trivette, among many others.

The fair is also very popular with pottery, porcelain and glass collectors who can buy from no fewer than fifty respected dealers. Early English pottery features on the stand of Bottlebrook Antiques and Roger de Ville; while David & Sally March Antiques, Jupiter Antiques, Drove House Antiques, Catherine Hunt Oriental and Julian Eade all specialise in fine 18th and 19th century porcelain. Andrew Muir shows a superb range of Clarice Cliff and 20th century pieces and Wayne Hopton specialises in Moorcroft. Brian Watson Antique Glass, Jeanette Hayhurst Fine Glass and M. & D. Moir show glass, ancient and modern

Art is strongly represented by galleries with everything from 18th century portraits to contemporary illustrators. These include Benton Fine Art and Ashleigh House Fine Art with Victorian and Continental paintings; Art World Gallery, specialising in contemporary works; Graham Bentley Watercolours with 19th and 20th century works on paper and The Blackbrook Gallery with farming and agricultural subjects. Carnes Fine Art will be joining the fair for the first time. Among the many other specialists will be Hazlehurst Sculpture & Antiques, specialising in French bronze sculpture; Wigs on the Green with miniature portraits and silhouettes; Red Kite Tribal Rugs and Paul Eisler Antique Maps.