: 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 Bakers, Hamilton, Ohio
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.
Neal and Pat Blodgett, Higganum, Conn.
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.
