VerzamelaarsJaarbeurs 5th & 6th April 2008

During this fair there are a lot of things to see and do connected with contemporary forms of collecting.

Exhibition collection ladies hats

One hat with artificial flowers, that is how it all started twenty-five years ago. A few days later Tiny Meihuizen found another one and her collection was born. Meanwhile she managed to gather 2500 ladies hats, from the 1880s until now, that now form the collection of the Dutch Hat Museum in Utrecht. A good example of a private collection turning into a museum collection. For the spring fair the Hat Museum put together an exhibition of a hundred hats with flowers, al in perfect condition. Many once covered the heads of British and American ladies, some are by renowned designers and couturiers like Dior, Schiaparelli, Frank Govers and Edgar Vos. The exhibition is on view in hall 7. See: nederlandshoedenmuseum.nl for more info.

Exhibition ‘From head tot toe’

Since a few years vintage clothes and accessories are totally hip again. Real trendsetters mix their designer pieces with vintage, preferably from the seventies. To show that fashion is also collected, Alice Duinkerken put together the exhibition ‘From head to toe’ displaying 25 festive, remarkable dresses and accessories. From stylish gala wear to smart cocktail dresses, all with period handbags, furs, jewellery and sunglasses from the thirties till today. Her collection started with the dresses left to her by her grandmother and grew with the creations she found all over Europe. The exhibition is completed with Wiepie Terpstra’s shoe collection, showing her most beautiful pairs from the past forty years, with matching handbags and scarfs. Also in hall 7.

Classic cars

Some people collect many small things, and others a few very big things: classic cars for instance. This spring the Collector’s Fair pays special attention again to this unusual form of collecting. In two places at the fair around twenty classic cars are brought together by private collectors and motor car clubs.

At the special fifties terrace in hall 11 the American classic cars with lots of chrome, big bumpers and tail-fins are parked, such as a pink Cadillac, a 1958 Oldsmobile and a Chevrolet Bel Air. The cars are provided by the American car club the Cruise Brothers in cooperation with Jubop, the club of lovers of fifties and sixties articles. See also: www.jubop.nl and www.cruisebrothers.nl

In hall 7 near the terrace and the Museum Plaza more cars be admired and one classic motor cycle: an exceptional Red Indian model. The Dutch Fiat Club brings along a red, purple and yellow Fiat 126, the succeeder of the Fiat 500, also present. Other cars include two Volkswagen fire engines (1961), two Corvettes (1957), a Mercedes 280 SE W108 (1969), a Jaguar XK (1965) and a gigantic American Peterbilt truck, the real king of the road! See also www.brandweerevenementen.nl en fiatclub.nl.

Printing demonstrations

At the fair two printing techniques are demonstrated: book printing and screen printing. ‘Younger people from the digital era have no idea that it used to be so complicated to print something. But that is part of our industrial heritage’, says Fons Dijkstra, the founder of the Mobile Graphic Museum. Since he became a fully qualified book printer in 1968, his love for the craft has never died. With this travelling museum he gives demonstrations on location with expert explanation, bringing along all the necessary machines and equipment of the trade from his own collection. The American press from 1906, in its time used for small print work like business cards and envelopes, here prints beer mats with a text of your own design.

Graphic designer Ed Visser comes tot the fair with his Blackbox1: a fully equipped mobile print shop in two black boxes, that contain the complete screen print process – from designing to lighting and printing. Compared to the book press this method is much simpler, cheaper and more creative, because the designer is not limited to existing typographics or lay outs. Hence the technique was used by many artists and activists. While printing Ed explains and for those really interested he will make produce an exclusively by him designed fair work of art. He also exhibits his own collection of graphics in screen print by Dutch artists. The printers corner can be found in hall 10. See also:
mobielmuseum.nl en blackbox1.nl.

Exhibition photographs Collected Work

Already seen in several magazines and of course on our website: the portraits of happy collectors with their acquisitions found at the Collector’s Fair, made by our house photographer Eddy Bosland. Since the December fair of 2006 this photographer from Amsterdam asks visitors of the fair to pose with their trophies, as part of a project to document the fair. Under the title ‘Collected Work’ enlargements of these pictures are on view in hall 10.

Vinyl bend machine

Completely new at the fair is the vinyl bend machine by Dutch industrial designer Marc van de Sande, also inventor of the roll clock, the bread sofa and the laptop chair. His machine quickly bends old vinyl records into useful fruit or party dishes. It is the solution for every household struggling with too many Mantovani, James Last or Shirley Bassey records. Before being bend into their final shape, Marc will play them one last time between hall 11 and 12. See also: marc-s.nl.