Howdy Folks!

Another month and back to business. Antiques are doing ok as a business this summer; not the best ever, but the customers are coming when the shows are found with good notice such as advertising and stories. Customers are buying, not to furnish a recently purchased or built home but to fill their desires for that special piece. The dealers are making very good deals for the buyers and that keeps the antiques economy rolling enough that dealers are paying their bills.

Oh sure, there are some shows which did not do too well, but in most cases it was due to some factor or factors which were easily traceable, such as the weather. In fact, the weather has been horrible for the late spring and early summer shows, with rain forecast and actually happening most weekends. Even Brimfield was hit with heavy storms early Wednesday afternoon. But let’s look at this past month’s activities.

A Good Start to Summer

We left you after Farmington which was pretty good for all; good antiques, good sales and good crowds but a terrific rain about 4:00 p.m. Saturday ran the folks away before they finished their day’s buying. [See what I mean?]

The following weekend was time in a shop in New Hampshire, one of two I participate in, with good sales for the weekend. What did they buy? You guessed it… small antiques for the special place or collection.

June 29 was Nan Gurley’s Castle in the Clouds Antiques Show and Sale for the second year, held on the last Sunday of June, just before the Fourth of July weekend. Nan gathered together about 50 dealers in two large tents and some on the perimeter in their own tents. Early that morning the rain came hard with lots of electrical; lightning was popping off the tree tops at this high elevation so we were all sent out of the tents into our cars to wait it out. Just a little early morning excitement before for the start of the day.

By the show’s opening the weather was acceptable, clear, dry and it remained that way until late afternoon with fairly good sales for most exhibitors.

Nan Gurley attracts a very good audience for the exhibitors who regularly offer their collections at her shows. This site, still being proven, is trying hard to be good for the antiques show, and all seem interested in continuing it. It raises awareness for Castle in the Clouds, sells antiques and admissions, so these are good things. Look for it again next year.

Following that was the July 4 Antiques in a Church Yard for Cord Shows, Ltd., also known as ‘How I spent my Fourth for 12 of the last 13 years.’ This show is remarkable, as it has been sold out of space since the third year. This was the 16th, and the gate has been above 3,000 people paying to enter for at least the last five years. The offerings are a very broad mix with Jacobean bible boxes mixed in with mid-century modern. And some of all of it sells!

The Brothers Pirozzoli, Rick and Tom, set their exhibits side by side, each taking a 20 by 20 space and both were selling as though it was a competition. Remarkable! Platypus Antiques, Dix Hills, New York, was selling folkie stuff, furniture, paper and ephemera, and more. Dishes, stoneware, it was there and selling well. Try not to miss it next year, let’s see, now what date is that, as Vivian says, always on July 4 except if that is a Sunday, and next year it is a Saturday.

Brimfield

Brimfield for July this summer was the following week and was it hot on Tuesday. Some reports had the temperatures reaching 100 degrees and humid. Shows opened early with good results for July that morning. We found furniture, small antiques, glass and stoneware, all the usual objects.

July Brimfield is not to be compared to May and September as these three meetings at this little Massachusetts town are all separate and distinct. Each has a character of its own. May is all the collections of the estate sales from the winter and early spring offered by mostly New Englanders to professional full-time dealers, decorators and more. July sees many who cannot make the other two shows arriving to buy and sell, exhibiting in many cases for the only time each year. Many have related businesses, such as Vickie and Glenn Freeman of Bel Air, Maryland. They have a full-time auction business in their hometown with an antiques auction on the first Saturday of every month. For the fun of it, and some publicity, they have been doing J&J for several years, bringing smalls, selling, and also doing some buying while there.

Mays had good coverage of the field, about 400 exhibitors according to Martha May early that week. Sales for a group of Connecticut dealers sharing two booths were good, approaching $10,000 total.

Tim May reported the parking lot was full each day by mid-morning with visitors, so the numbers were good in spite of heat and Wednesday’s late afternoon rain storm.

The Hamptons and Beyond

The weekend was a couple shows in the Hamptons and once again, Jean Sinenberg had the Bridgehampton Community Center filled to overflowing. Held Thursday evening through Sunday with the latest style and design for antiques, there was some Asian, some mid-century and of course traditional materials for the perusal of that Hamptons’ crowd.

A few miles further in East Hampton, Ferguson and D’Arruda were managing the Mulford Farm Antiques Show and Sale in two very large tents with some additions. Here too, sales were good in valuable materials from designers of the 1950s, all the way back to Chippendale and Duncan Phyfe.

Both of these shows have some history and we expect to see them again next year. Sinenberg has several more over the summer with a calendar on her website, www.hamptonsantiques.com, for details. Her next two are East Hampton’s Mulford Farms on August 2 and back in Bridgehampton for the 42nd Annual Hamptons’ Summer Antiques Festival and Sale on August 21-24. Her phone is (631) 537-0333.

Following these we were off to some auctions [more in a moment], and two shows in Maine. DeSimone’s Goosefare Promotions was offering one of their summer hits, Camden Rockport Historical Society Antiques Show and Sale, Saturday and Sunday, July 19-20 at the local high school. About 60 dealers were in room settings offering early furniture and furnishings, art, dishes and dining table services. There was even some jewelry for this 28th edition of their show.

Sunday, July 20 Paul Davis was producing for the first time his Rockland Antiques Show, a small outdoor affair with over 20 dealers. Paul was pleased with the dealer support for a first-time event, about half in a big top tent and half spread out just beyond on the grass. The show was attracting a casual attendance of many who were in the area for their summer vacations and some local folks as well.

The site is a lawn area in front of the town dock, next to the police station, so it was very visible. Davis expects to do it again next year, same time, same station. In the meantime, he will be getting ready for his Maine Antiques Festival, August 8-10, in Union. Great fun for that!

Under the Hammer

End of shows for this report, but how about the auctions? We have been to several in this reporting period, including Chuck Eaton’s in West Fairlee, Vermont on July 16. This has been among my personal favorites for many years, as his place and my former Vermont home are not far apart. It is a source for the first time out antiques, especially good for small early New England-made items. At this particular sale, Chuck was selling a collection from a seamstress, including about a hundred lots of catalogued buttons, sewing paraphernalia and more. Several very small sewing baskets went for very good prices. Watch for his future ads.

Fontaine’s Heritage Auctions in Canaan, New York on Friday night, July 18, was another great find. There was very good early American and English furniture from several local collections including one Ralph Fontaine was calling the “Collection from Lee” [Massachusetts]. Stoneware was selling for comparatively low prices, based upon what sales have been in the recent past. There were several mule chests, a.k.a. blanket chests in various finishes, selling from $358 to $600; a Shaker rocker, believed to be a number 6, selling at $192; a sampler, American 1829 with about a dozen birds and two Georgian houses in excellent condition, although some fading of the red color, selling to a phone bidder at $935.

At both of these auction galleries your faithful reporter found some fine antiques for the collector or dealer at prices that are very affordable. At each sale some antiques were acquired which will be in the next shows, but I think I’ll let you discover them for yourselves.

Up and Coming

Renaissance Promotions, Richmond, Virginia, has confirmed their show dates for the coming season, November 22-23, 2008, January 3-4, 2009 and February 7-8, 2009. There had been some confusion about these dates, but these are confirmed by Louise Jesse, co-promoter of the events.

In the June issue of Northeast we had the following quote from Lydia Sullivan, dmg’s manager of the Charlotte [North Carolina] Antiques Show at Metrolina: “…in an email response about the possibility of moving ‘both dmg and [I] are 100 percent committed to the show in Charlotte. There have been rumors from the first day we bought the show that the former owners would be taking it back. We intend to honor our lease with the Metrolina Expo and will continue to strive to give the best show we can for our exhibitors’.” Now the true story is out, I guess we were on to something but dmg wasn’t quite ready for Sullivan to tell us that, in fact, as of April 2009 their show will be just off I-85 in Cabaras Arena, very near the Lowe’s Motor Speedway. Sullivan added that the landowners of their current site will have their own show there in the future.

In other news, the former editor of Northeast, Noah Fleisher, is moving to his boyhood hometown of Dallas, Texas to be the writer for Heritage Auctions. This should be a good move for him, and everyone at Northeast, and its sister publication, New England Antiques Journal, wishes him well.

Over the next few weeks we hope to see you at a show, sale or somewhere. We will be at Manchester, Union, Maine and Madison Bouckville to name a few, and I hope you enjoy the summer. I am having a good time, buying, selling and visiting with you.



Happy Trails,

T.O’H.