Summer's Last Hurrah At Brimfield's Antiques Shows

BRIMFIELD, MASS.

:Last year, it was the remnants of Hurricane Frances soaking dealers and shoppers during the fall version of Brimfield Week, but this year it was gas prices well above $3 a gallon. Most of the dealers, however, were philosophical or at least stoic in regard to the situation, including Mark Dooley of Dallas, who almost cheerfully reported that he had spent $800 in fuel - one way - in order to bring his monumental architectural and garden items to his North Star Antiques space in the Meadows.

"Yeah, it costs more money to get to a show, but this is a seriously good show for the wholesale market," said Dooley.

"I've been doing Brimfield for over 20 years," exclaimed one dealer as he gazed up at the cloudless skies, "and this is the best Brimfield week I have ever seen." Everyone in attendance agreed as all of the adverse weather conditions that have filled the memories of Brimfield shoppers and dealers over the years were missing in action. There were no gusty winds, no rain, no blistering heat, just bluebird days and good shopping experiences.

The Meadows was among the first of the fields to open for the week and the start on Tuesday at 6 am was busy, and according to Marie Wilsker, daughter of promoter Betty Christo, the parking lot was full very early. "It was a good opening and a great show," said Wilsker.

John W. Norton from Bridgton, Maine, located close to the show's entrance, cleans out old textile mills, factories and laboratories to gather merchandise for his Industrial Age Antiques business. He had recently purchased some of the contents of the former Cannon Mills factory in Kannapolis, N.C., known for home textile products such as towels, sheets and blankets, which included display cabinets, spindles and work benches.

Twenty-year Brimfield veteran Bob Marshall of Hinsdale, N.H., brought his collection of antique wood planes and tools. "I always liked planes, so I started dealing in them," said Marshall, giving a laconic answer to the question of what had sparked his collecting passion. One Stop Antiques of Marietta, Ohio, was represented by a sprawling booth filled with architectural items, brass, gas and electric lighting and various other forms of vintage hardware.

At 11 am, action shifted to the far end of town to the Dealer's Choice field, where owners Tom and LoriAnn Faxon opened the gates to an enthusiastic crowd. LoriAnn Faxon said she believed the show was strong. "Dealers tell me the serious buyers have to come. The challenge is finding good merchandise. It's harder to find. But the mood is good and people seem eager to buy," she said.

John M. Donnelly of Adamstown, Penn., set up under the covered pavilion on the field was displaying some of his antique toy train collection that he has been assembling for the past 30 years. Among an assortment was a selection of Lionel trains including a No. 9 400E locomotive, circa 1930s.

More chic than chug, Lisa Scala-Cameron of Chic Peek Boutique, Georgetown, Mass., was also set up under the pavilion. Specializing in retro fashion and home accessories ranging from jewelry, hand bags, hats to pottery, art glass and barware, Scala-Cameron said she hoped the September show would be as good as the May event where "I never got the chance to sit down." She said she is a second-generation dealer in a family that has been in the business for 27 years. Bringing new life to classic items is her stated mission, and she displayed an example of her work, an original 1940s leather Kelly hand bag that she had redesigned using gemstones and antique silk.

Fine art was represented by Roy and Sheila Mennell of the Bradford Trust, Harwich Port, Mass. Among the artwork shown was an oil on artist's board painting by James K. Bonnar, who was active in the North Shore, Newton and Rockport, Mass., art associations, but also painted in Vermont.

Sally Wistman of Danbury, Conn., showed an eclectic assortment of textiles, some lamps and furniture, including a Nineteenth Century flame mahogany front empire chest with pine top and sides and generous wooden knobs. The three-over-two reconditioned piece was priced at $400.

Smalls were selling best, according to Roland Morgan, a Rhode Island dealer whose contemporary design furniture offerings included a Thayer-Coggin bent plywood server, circa 1940.

"Been good so far," was the assessment by Christopher W. Swift, St James, N.Y., as he busily waited on customers. European and French furniture and accessories were the hot commodity, he said, pointing out a French canopy chair flanked by hand painted commodes.

At 1 pm, the focus shifted across directly across the street to the Brimfield Acres North field, managed by Robert Hopfe and Colleen James. With strains of "Barney Google" playing zanily near the show entrance from a vintage Victrola at the booth of David Hoey, Spencer, Mass., the crowd massed and entered the field as James swung the gate open.

Uncle Sam Antiques partners Thomas Barron and Bruce Calbacher, Hudson, N.Y. , had a porter's chair reportedly once owned by actor George C. Scott. Down the field a bit, Dave and Bonnie Ferris, Lake Lucerne, N.Y., had a couple of monumental turn-of-the-century green arched screens from Canada, originally part of a building that had been demolished, along with framed botanical art, country furniture, folk art and garden items.

First-time exhibitor Christopher "Corky" Bristow of New York City and Peter Borrett of London attracted a crowd with vintage wine-related antiques and collectibles. Appropriately named Corkscrew Central, Bristow's booth bristled with corkscrews of every age, size and description, including a great paring of antelope horn and metal from the early 1900s. All that was missing was a wine tasting.

At New London, N.H.-based Jef and Terri Steingrebe's, shoppers could roll away a 1920s-30s white garden bench on wheels, or nearby they could settle into a Portland, N.Y., Mission settee, rocker and chair suite offered by Jack and Brenda Belknap of County Line Auction, Fort Johnson, N.Y.

Wednesday the sky was bright and clear as the first shows of the day were coming to life with tent sides dropping and tarps being removed revealing the various assemblies of antiques and collectables.

First to open for the day was the New England Motel Antiques and Collectables Show. At six that morning Marie Doldoorian, the owner and manager of New England Motel was at the gate with her staff of 15 to usher into the show a record September crowd. The dealers were generally pleased with the results by lunch time and even more so by week's end, for this is one of the shows that stays open until Saturday.

Among the exhibiting dealers was Jerry Sanford of Vista Venture Antiques, Blue Ridge, Ga. His collection was primarily American-made mahogany, oak and walnut furniture and accessories from the late Nineteenth and early Twentieth Centuries. He did "real well. We had a consistent crowd and we made good credible sales. In fact we sold all the oak [furniture] but one piece and some of the mahogany and walnut too. Tell 'em 'I look to see 'em in May again,'" he said.

New Hampshire dealer Stan Farmer was equally pleased with the early morning crowd there to buy his dishes, most of which were Flow Blue and the earlier blue transfer ware.

John Crowley is a lawyer in Michigan for 49 weeks of the year but he has not missed Brimfield for many years. He gathers an assortment of early American furniture throughout the year just for his idea of a working vacation; selling it all at New England Motel three weeks each year. He came with a pair of matched Arts and Crafts-style chests, bird's-eye maple and walnut circa 1880 priced at $2,750 for the two.

Heart of the Mart was the next to open at 9 am with its 400 dealers readied and waiting for anxious customers. This field began when Don Moriarty found a house with one acre for sale in early 1982. He and his wife Pam bought it to move their business and also to rent some dealer spaces. The first year accommodated only six dealers but in 1983 they were able to increase their land holdings to 15 acres when they bought a small horse farm. This, together with a later small driveway purchased from Francesco's Restaurant, has brought their capacity to more than 500 spaces.

Rick Fears of Artefacts specializes in architectural remnants - old doors, windows, shutters and some of the decorations often called gingerbread that he has saved from the wrecking ball. His business was going well as the show opened with dealers at the show and more coming in the gate.

Al Tomlinson from Sarasota, Fla., was offering furniture and Peter Winjum had fine art from his home gallery in Fairfield, Conn.

Will Watty is a New York dealer with a very Continental collection. For this show he had organized a large room setting in his booth, filled to the point of overflowing, with late Nineteenth and early Twentieth Century furniture and decorative accessories.

Laura McCarthy is a specialist in hooked rugs and mats with several examples of the hobby turned craft in her exhibit. One such piece was a demilune floor mat approximately four feet wide with a mustard background and a bouquet of flowers in the field. McCarthy said it was from the first half of the Twentieth Century and the price was $795.

Variety has been the hallmark at Heart for many years and for September that remained true. Fred Balling, The Fishing Room in West Cornwall, Conn. had just that, fishing gear. Carol Newman came from New York with railroad paraphernalia; Kester Jackson brought English porcelain dishes from his Manchester, England, home and The Huestises brought all kinds of small interesting antique objects.

By 11:30 am, shoppers were rushing back toward the center of town as Hertan's field prepared to open. The show, now managed by David Lamberto, assembled about 175 exhibitors offering a wide variety of merchandise to the uncounted visitors. With no admission fee charged and no fences or barriers, the shoppers are free to wander around several acres of the tree-lined yard discussing with dealers what great things they have brought to the show. In this way they decide where they want to be when the bell tolls at noon announcing the start of setup and trading.

Dan and Karen Olson, Newburg, N.Y., were too busy to talk to anyone but the customers writing checks on Wednesday; later in the week, however, they said the show was very good for them.

Manchester, Conn., dealers Barry Sheldon and David Bland were putting major pieces of furniture back into their truck as they sold, just to clear space in the booth. Jim Biondi, Kennebunkport, Maine, was doing the same thing, and he came in with a box truck full.

Well-known dealers at the show include Linda and Howard Stein from Solebury, Penn., and Lewis Scranton, Killingworth, Conn. They each had similar comments about the show; it works for them and it is "kinda' fun."

Thursday is always a popular day in Brimfield with the opening of May's. As usual there was a huge rush at the 9 am opening. Richard May said "the field was sold out," although a few dealers did not show up for various reasons and they were replaced "drive ups."

Tom Nagy, Hampton, Conn., has been on the main aisle, near the entry, for many years and once again he sold a good selection of furniture during the highly anticipated rush during the opening.

Bill Union's Art and Antiques Gallery, Worcester, Mass., was doing good business from the back of his truck that had its interior and exterior walls filled with paintings and fine art.

Somers, Conn., dealer Karen Alexander was there with early American-made furniture and accessories. Among the assortment was a pair of early wall sconces made from tin with many small mirrors as the reflectors, believed to be circa 1800 or before, that was priced at $2,250.

George Browning is a dealer of early stone ware who created a very large selling arena at the show. His big box truck was filled with crocks and jugs, and in a matter of minutes he had hundreds of pieces on display for the many customers who came running to his short-term store. Buying was so fast he had two people writing the sales tickets while he kept pulling out the special pieces for his regular collectors and customers.

As daybreak crept into the morning sky and the predawn light crept over the fields at J&J on Friday morning, a huge crowd awaiting the opening was revealed. At 6 am they all dashed onto the field and the show was off to yet another grand start with stellar sales reported from virtually all of the dealers we spoke with.

MC Antiques, Boulder, Colo., was on hand with an assortment of camp and lodge gear ranging from furniture to accoutrements. "We have done the show twice a year for the past 15 years," commented the dealer. They only make the trip in the spring and fall as there is too much going on regionally for them to make the summer show. The dealers specialize in Old Hickory furniture and had quite an assortment with them, ranging from a child's chair to porch rockers to tables.

Tom Phaneaf was the hit of the show with the ladies and couture buyers as he offered a stellar selection of vintage hats and purses. "It's only two hours into the show and it has been great already," commented the dealer. Among his treasures, a Jack McConnell black tool and feather spiked hat which he expressed amazement that it was still in the booth and had not sold. He also offered hats by Doir, Schiaparelli and other top name makers in the cabbage rose, marabou and feathered forms. Purses, such as the classic Lucite example by Wilardi and the poodle purse by Source, were also very popular here.

Sean Cocks, Mathew Kolbinski and Dan Selvin, North River Auction Gallery, Saugerties, N.Y., were attracting quite a crowd with a long table set up outside their booth that displayed a wide variety of colorful Fiesta Ware pieces.

"Its been a really good start for us," commented Fall River, Mass., dealer John Tracy as he glanced around his booth. The dealer, who specializes stoneware, had reportedly sold several pieces, along with an assortment of Americana.

Minneapolis dealer Frank Machlic carries "toys for boys" and while looking over his working model of an Opel chassis with complete functional drive-train, the dealer commented, "It doesn't get any better than this." The rare German teaching model had a functional clutch, transmission, rear end with posi drive, and a four-cylinder motor with all the moving parts exposed.

"Prints from the 20s to 40s are what we specialize in," commented Gert Wirth of Ingeborg Galleries, Northfield, Mass. The dealer had a fine selection on view including pieces by mainstream artists such as Benton and Benson, as well as works by Edward Landon and Charles Turzak.

"I like the different stuff," commented Quincy, Mass., dealer Carl Haraska with a gleam in his eye. "I didn't think there would be too many to many of these on the field today, so I brought this one along." The dealer was referring to a most unusual bicycle that, aside from the essential metal parts, was either covered with, constructed of, and decorated with bamboo and rattan. The bike, made during the late 1950s, featured bamboo fenders, rattan covered handlebars, seat, a bamboo covered frame that had fancy rattan decoration, and also had rattan wrapped forks, swingarm and handgrips. "It just sat here for the first two hours," stated the dealer, "no one even asked the price. Then it sold to the first person who asked and now everyone wants it."

New York City dealer Bob Meltzer was on the field with his usual fine assortment of stoneware, however, the dealer also had a grand selection of Grenfeld mats. A wide variety of pieces ranging from several hundred to several thousand dollars were available. The dealer reported good sales with many of the smaller mats finding new homes.

"All the bad news of the prior two weeks had us not knowing what to expect," commented Tim May as Brimfield Week came to an end for the 2005 season, "but we had a great week. Good sales, according to our dealers, a full show and our parking lot filled every day."

The dates for the 2006 season are May 9-14, July 11-16, and September 5-10.