Hundreds Swarm Mulford Farms Show

EAST HAMPTON, N.Y.

:Jean Sinenberg produced her first of three summer antiques shows on the East Hampton Historic Society's Mulford Farm site in this early American village in eastern Long Island on June 25. A tradition for now 18 years, Sinenberg, with assistance from her daughter Suzie, assembled nearly 100 dealers of antiques and decorator accessories for the visitors who numbered in the many hundreds. The show was a benefit for the historic society; the gate revenues are a major contribution to its annual income.

The show is outdoors in tents with dealers coming from Long Island and throughout the Northeast. As a tradition it attracts local homeowners, decorators and dealers to peruse and acquire antiques and some accessories for their homes and inventories. Many of the locals here are New York City people who have second homes in this very affluent community, so the show caters to that high-end marketplace.

The dealers brought a little bit of everything. Andy's Antiques is from nearby East Quogue, Long Island, and carries almost entirely a stock of dishes. It had some Spode, Staffordshire, and a great deal of transfer ware from the Nineteenth and early Twentieth Centuries. Leslie Segal lives right in town and has a specialty of early tools, especially farm implements ,which he offers as decorations for walls.

Lara Joyce said she can only do shows not too far from her Westfield, N.J., home, as she has children there and can only commit to one day. Her inventory is almost all small antiques that she also collects for herself. Many snuff boxes, some needle boxes and a great many other small vessels filled one display while on another she had trays and purses. Mary Jane McCarthy offered decorative accessories including pillows, linens and some furniture.

Pam Lerner, Brookhaven Hamlet, L.I., does many Long Island shows and some elsewhere with furniture and some accessories. Her first sale of the day was a New York made Sheraton period chest of drawers, circa 1820 in cherry and in excellent original condition. The tagged price was $1,800 and it went in the first few minutes of the show. More fine early furniture was offered by Collette Home Consignment from Southampton, L.I., including a centennial Chippendale dining table.

From further west on Long Island Chris Swift brought a collection of early upholstered pieces and some new pieces. He sells all with reupholstering in your fabrics. He learned the trade in his native Ireland and came to America to seek his fortune, as the saying goes. Ozad Akramov came to America from Uzbekistan and now trades in oriental rugs that he acquires here and also by importing them. Much of the buying for Circa take place in the owners' native France where the furniture is enhanced with the white washed look. It seemed to work well as there were several furniture sales from the booth.

Joe and Bobbie Fionda shared a large tent with Janet Whalen, filling it with furniture covering about 250 years of American history. The Fiondas live in New Ipswich, N.H., and have a good quantity of country furniture as well as some later items and even some Continental pieces. Joe retired from work with an airline and Bobbie was from Texas so their collection is diverse. Janet Whalen lives in nearby Watermill and New York City and has a similar mix of periods in her offerings.

Susan Oostdyk had a booth up front filled with her early bed linens and pillows. She makes the pillows from the vintage fabrics and she also offered some bedroom furniture, which sold during the show. Ellen and John Windecker, Cobleskill, N.Y., carry an assortment of small antiques and a large assortment of children's books. Clair and Peter Ringle carried their collection of Waterford Crystal and silver dining service.

Sinenberg repeats this show two more times this summer, August 6 and September 17 but because of the intense summer schedule of shows there is always a different mix of dealers.

Contact her for more information about this and her other shows in the area at 631-537-0333 or check the calendar in Antiques and The Arts Weekly.