Dealers Sang Happy Tunes At Music Valley Antiques Market

NASHVILLE, TENN.

:Music Valley Antiques Market, the second of the three big Nashville shows during Heart of Country Week, was a great success, according to promoters Jon Jenkins and Kay Puchstein of Jenkins Show Management Company. Held at The Radisson Hotel on Music Valley Way, next to Gaylord's Opryland USA Resort and Conference Center February 23-25, the show had more than 150 exhibitors offering antiques that were especially American in provenance and style. It was, after all, Heart of Country Week and dealers were there at the three shows and many were there just for the buying.

Music Valley has evolved into the favorite for many dealers who want to offer their collections in upscale settings where a national audience comes to peruse and buy. This was clearly the case, according to most exhibiting dealers interviewed. Halsey Munson, formerly of Connecticut and now living in Decatur, Ill., said he "did very well. In fact, the opening day, Thursday, was probably the best single day [of sales] I have ever had anywhere!" He added that while Friday was quiet, there were more sales Saturday, giving him an excellent total for his efforts.

New Hampshire dealer Michael Malloy was in his usual space on the hotel's atrium floor with an outstanding collection of early New England furniture and paintings. His centerpiece was a New Hampshire made chest-on-chest in maple that was offered at $14,000 and found a new home. His sales also included an early table, a cupboard and several of the paintings. Similarly Scott and Penny Fithian took only one piece of furniture back to their Cartersville, Ga., home for as Scott said, "We sold all but the one piece." Among their sales was a two-piece cupboard, in pine and poplar with red paint from Virginia, priced at $2,200.

The Flo Blue Shop, Birmingham, Mich., was there with those dishes from England. Flo Blue is all this dealer offered and sales appeared to be going well by Saturday morning. The Bakers, Ohio dealers, were selling furniture and accessories in large quantity. From Gladstone, N.J., Mark Witus was there with his collection of small and interesting antique objects. Typically, Mark can set up for a show with two booth spaces filled when the largest object in his collection is a child's chair. Sharon Pesek, Pineapple Antiques of Jacksonville, Fla., had a display of even smaller furniture, sized for a large doll house.

There was a collection of silhouettes in Gregg Ellington's room. The three were dated 1837 and signed Edouart and priced from $2,800 to $3,695. This was in addition to the very special and important collection of early dishes and stoneware he brought from his Wilmington, Ohio, home.

Burleigh and Jean Wellington have been doing the show forever, according to him. They have been carrying less furniture and more small antiques, especially lighting. Burleigh has been a collector of early iron lighting and other iron goods, which he brought to the show. Trading as Zyzaar Antiques, they are from Reading, Mass., and have been exhibiting in a room near the elevator.

Laurie and Buddy Gaines have a home on an island on Florida's west coast but they also travel throughout the Midwest and New England doing shows and finding more great stuff for their collection and inventory. They are partial to early American painted furniture and accessories so a small dry sink in worn red milk paint fit right into their collection. There was also a child's chair and some early game boards.

There were several displays at the show that had the look of a primitive one-room cabin in the wilderness. Anne Bedics from Ackermanville made her display look almost Amish in the earth tone colors of her collected antiques. Trading as The Cat Lady, she also produces a show near her home in Bethlehem, Penn., for 25 dealers. Another dealer simulates a log cabin's walls in its room display with all the inventory the primitive objects made by an early pioneer family. Massachusetts dealers Susan Worth and Diane Halpern were working together for their colonial period display.

In the hotel's atrium there were about 40 dealers in room settings and store display settings. Higganum, Conn., dealer Neal Blodgett came with, as he put it, "all fresh stuff. Pat and I reorganized our merchandise so we could be here with an entirely fresh load." Van and Candice Talbert of Aberdeen & Co., Asheville, N.C., carry early hardwood furniture to the show and have been doing so for years successfully.

Mapleside Antiques, Titusville, Penn., is new to Music Valley, with last fall marking the dealer's debut there. The partners, Tom Varney and Cid Paden, have a collection of early country furniture and accessories. Cid said, "We sold a few large items, a mule chest for $1,500 and a pie safe for about the same but what really made the show for us was the variety and number of our sales. We had a great number of sales 'cause they were there to buy things at the show."

Steve and Rhonda Cirillo from Orange, Mass., said they sold all the furniture but one piece they had brought. Rhonda added they used it as an opportunity to buy some new pieces while there.

These comments echoed those of the co-promoters, Jenkins and Puchstein, as their visitor traffic was the best in the last five years and Jon said, "We had more dealers come to us with 'best show ever' than I can remember." Kay added, "The furniture and bags going out was terrific, we saw real collectors doing their thing here this week."

Jon noted, "The fall show, October 26-28, will be in one large tent in the macadam lot across the street, but closer to Fiddlers Inn. This should give the visitors an easier time to see the two shows and in the tent it is all one level. With the Heart show gone - in the fall only - we expect the buyers will be concentrating their shopping more than now so we are really excited about it. In fact, many of the Heart dealers are not going to Texas and they are on the lists for Music Valley and some for my father's show at Fiddlers."

Dates for next winter's Music Valley show will be March 1-3, which is later than Jenkins thought it would be while at this past show. He did ask for the dates to be emphasized as the hotels had caused several changes in the dates of these upcoming shows.

For more information go to www.jenkinsshows.com or call 317-598-0012.