Good Weather, Good Buying Amid Brimfield’s Carnival Atmosphere

Brimfield, Mass.

:Brimfield in July may be the smallest of the thrice-a-year gatherings of several thousand antiques dealers and many thousand more shoppers, but it is also the most fun. This year, the summer markets were the week of July 14–19, with all the fields opening to good crowds, resulting in surprisingly good sales of the wonderful collections.

The carnival-like atmosphere of Brimfield in July usually includes good weather, and it happened that way this year. The only rain came during a couple of evenings, outside of show hours. Ice cream and hot dogs, popcorn and giant pretzels were the rule for shoppers strolling Brimfield's main thoroughfare, Route 20, for a mile.

Tuesday morning at dawn the buying was like a feeding frenzy in the zoo, with shoppers hitting Green Acres, The Meadows, Quaker Acres and the new field at the western end of the village, The Grand Trunk. Greg Hamilton reported that he and his friends in the Vermont tent at Green Acres were pleased with sales; furniture was moving at a rewarding pace and so, too, were small antiques.

The Grand Trunk has been getting "a big play as the new kid on the block," according to a Connecticut dealer showing there for the second time. "They come here to see who we are and what we have, and, frankly, while they are here they buy something, 'cause after all, they do come to Brim' to buy . So they start here," the dealer added.

Dealers Choice opens Tuesday at 11 am. It is often called a two-hour show, for Brimfield Acres North, across the street, opens at 1 pm and the action moves over there.

When Dealers Choice got started that morning, there was a great deal of action with numerous exhibiting dealers. One dealer was offering an unusual Art Nouveau sunroom set consisting of a settee, side chair and plant stand at $8,500. A crowd gathered with great interest, and several offers were made at less than the asking price. Finally the seller said, "The first one who holds up his hand for $7,500 gets it!" In just a few seconds, one gentleman did that, whereupon another said, "I'm buying it from you!" And, according to the Indiana-selling dealer, he did just that!

Brimfield Acres North was as full as it gets in July for the 1 pm opening of its gate, as shoppers came charging onto the field for their favorite pastime — buying antiques.

New England Motel has become a stable five-day field with exhibiting dealers selling to homeowners and decorators all the rest of the week. Some dealers have formed groups with a sort of togetherness on this field, such as the Daigles, Obergs, Susan Wirth, Sasha's Antiques and Blue Dog Antiques. The Daigles are from Seekonk, Mass., and the rest of that group hails from nearby northeast Connecticut. Their collections are similar in design style, American country, and so by exhibiting side-by-side they have a large store for the customers to shop. It seems to be working for all of them, as they were reporting good sales by midday Wednesday.

At 9 am Wednesday, Heart-O-The-Mart opened to crowds that were running to their favorites. Hertan's followed at noon, with David Lamberto ringing the bell Jean Hertan used to ring, allowing the sales to begin.

Margaret Jones, Montrose, Penn., was pleased with her sales, jumping out with her unusual, very early antiques. On the other side of the field, The Buckinghams from Burleson, Texas, were doing the same with really big things, such as cupboards and hutches. Sales were good.

Thursday morning, May's Antiques Market was opened by Laura May at 9 sharp, the same schedule it has had for more than 30 years. July participation by exhibitors was good, according to Martha May, the daughter in charge of dealer bookings, who said, "We look at July as a different show from May and September, and this July was good, with perhaps a little more than last year. We took an especially high number of bookings late, when I think the dealers saw the weather would be good." This field had great activity on Thursday, according to a South Royalton, Vt., dealer, who said, "I did as good as I hoped for" selling both furniture and smalls.

On Friday, the last opening of the week was at 8 am at J&J Promotions, the field with the history of Brimfield as the place where it all began. Jill Lukash and Judy Mathieu were pleased with the results for July: several hundred exhibitors and several thousand shoppers. The antiques were there for new and dedicated shoppers to acquire, covering all the periods popular in American décor and collectibles.

Speaking of collectors, all the signs were here at Brimfield for fun, food and, of course, antiques — all for those that came to Brimfield to find that something special for to take home.

Brimfield only happens one more time this year, September 8–13, in this sleepy little town, too far from any big city to be a suburb, but one fantastic place to find just that antique needed for the collection. There are numerous websites with information, including www.brimfieldexchange.com and www.antiquesandthearts.com .