: Antiques and Garden Show of Nashville was again in 2005
successful in raising funds for The Exchange Clubs Charities and
Cheekwood Botanical Garden and Museum of Art, co-sponsors of the
annual event. Now in its 15th year, the show conducted February
10-13 at the Nashville Convention Center-Downtown and chaired by
Elizabeth Papel and Nancy Deaton was host to more than 150
exhibitors; about half with antiques and half with horticultural
inventories.
In a postshow interview, Ms Papel said the event has been the
primary fundraising activity for their joint charities, with more
than $3.5 million collected in the past 15 years.
Highlights of the show included the preview party opening
Wednesday evening, with a new record for attendance for the $150
per person entry fee; guest lectures from India Hicks and David
Flint Wood, co-authors of Island Life: Inspirational
Interiors, and Jon Carloftis, author of First a
Garden. Additionally there were six unique gardens on display
designed by Lysiane Luong and Red Grooms. Mr Grooms is a
Nashville native with a long list of artistic and professional
credits and Ms Loung is an architect, painter and sculptor. Their
gardens at the show were executed to give the visitors an extra
treat in landscape artistry.
C.M. Leonard Antiques, New York City.
Antiques were available from a list of dealers, many of whom
are often seen in the most prestigious antiques shows in the
country. Ile de France is the business of Xavier Bachelier from
Washington, Conn. His French furniture and accessories were
gathered on his trip to the countryside. Offering painted and
polished furniture, Mr Bachelier said he believed the market was
returning to the shows. New Yorkers Henry and Nancy Fender have a
federal look to their collection and always have a few girandole
mirrors on the walls, at least seven for this show.
Tuesdays on the Boulevard is the business name for Pam Haskins
and Mary Meyerhoffer of Yorktown, Va. Their inventory was a mix
of early antiques, decorator accessories and garden items. David
Zabriskie and Madelein Killeen, Fayetteville, N.Y., offered a
broad range of antiques covering at least three centuries of home
and garden furnishings and décor.
Some of the dealers were exhibiting at this event as their local
show. Susan Kidd of The King House Antiques, Birmingham, Ala.,
has a shop open on a regular basis and this is her only show.
Exhibiting for the third year, she said her collection of
Continental furniture was very well received. No fewer than six
major pieces of furniture found new homes and many accessories
also were sold. She is proud to advertise that she does most of
her own buying in England, France and Belgium. Stanford Fine Art
is a Nashville shop that exhibited as much to participate in the
community as to sell, according to Sara Stessel.
Georgia and Buddy Morel were exhibiting here for the first time
and simultaneously at Music Valley Antiques Market near Opryland
USA. Their collection was a mixture of early Louisiana French and
garden antiques. Village Antiques came from Asheville, N.C.,
offering a collection that was a blend of upholstered pieces
having a French or English look and some American wooden
furniture, creating an especially attractive setting ready for
the cosmopolitan home.
Inner Pieces, Atlanta.
Wellesley House Ltd is the business of Andrew Vogel, who
makes his homes in London and Lake Forest, Ill. His collection for
the show was rather much as an English study might look, albeit one
with a lighting problem, for he was offering several dozen brass
candlesticks. Cliff Leonard of C.M. Leonard Antiques, New York
City, said he had a "fantastic show," selling a diverse collection
of antiques to a knowledgeable group of visitors. "The show becomes
an event for a few days visit to Nashville," he said, adding that
the customers spent those days studying the items that they
eventually purchased.
Ms Papel said that the visitors consider this show a destination
for shopping and decorating. There were buses from Indianapolis,
car traffic from Birmingham, Atlanta and more. "Our traffic
exceeded 12,000 people, making this one of the better attended
shows east of the Mississippi; in fact, the preview party had the
largest crowd ever," she said.
Next year, the show will be February 2-5, at the same location.
Guest speakers and lecturers have not been announced yet, but the
co-chairs are Liz Harwell and Julia Johnson, and the show's
business office can be reached at 615-352-1282.
