: Fashion designer and author Carolyne Roehm stated emphatically to
a large luncheon crowd that she thought Stella's Chicago Botanic
Garden Antiques & Garden Fair, conducted April 15-17, was the
best garden and antiques show in the United States, including
Philadelphia and New York. In between the formal gardens designed
by Bill Heffernan were some of the best garden antiques dealers
in the world. Each booth contained the most exquisite garden
elements, and many of the dealers were happy to report at the
show's end that they had the best show ever.
The show was presented in one 50,000-square-foot tent, reported
to be one of the largest tents ever to be erected in the Chicago
area. Dealers and customers alike were pleased with the design of
the tent, which they found to by airy and spacious, making the
fair easy to navigate. As a direct outcome of the new floor plan,
customers reached all of the dealers they wanted to see and many
of the dealers experienced increased sales as a result.
Linda and Howard Stein of Solebury, Penn., reported great sales.
They sold an important landscape painting, circa 1928, by
second-generation Twentieth Century Hudson River artist Edgar
Melville Ward Jr to a new collector with a house full of modern
furniture and fine art in Winnetka, Ill. The Nineteenth Century
French bronze seagull they brought was sold to a young collector
they met at last year's show. Among the important garden objects
the Steins had at the show were Galloway oversize planters.
Galloway, the oldest American potter, which opened in 1802 in
Philadelphia and closed in the 1930s, focused mainly on
terracotta furnishings and decorative items for the garden. The
planters were purchased by Detroit Garden Works.
The East Coast was represented at the show when a collector from
Philadelphia and Newport bought a not-easy-to-find copper ball
made from Nineteenth Century lightening rod insulators; the first
copper ball of this type the Steins have had in three years.
Linda and Howard Stein had customers from California, Washington,
Wisconsin, Kansas, Tennessee, Montana, Michigan and Florida
shopping for garden antiques in their booth at this show.
Steven Abeles, owner of Balsamo Antiques of Pine Plains,
N.Y., sold a Twentieth Century French provincial fountain to a new
client. Mr Abeles's client list grew this year, as all of the
objects he sold during the course of the fair went to completely
new clients. This is a dealer who remembers that there are
different levels of collectors - beginner, young and seasoned - and
aims to bring something for all of them. He sold several Victorian
seedling pots, circa 1880, to visitors who wanted to walk away with
just a little something.
John and Virginia Dahlfred, owners of Manchester Antiques in
Londonderry, N.H., were kind enough to loan Bill Heffernan a
sculpture that he placed in the middle of an arrangement of lush
flowers and greenery at the entrance to the fair. By Saturday,
the sculpture was sold right out of the garden display. The
Dahlfreds also reported that they sold a collection of zinc
mushrooms to a couple from Iowa.
Most of the exhibitors new to the show this year were very happy
to be a part of it and expressed their pleasure with Stella Show
Mgmt Co.'s management style and their own sales. Local dealer MJ
Spear of Wilmette, Ill., reported the best show ever. Dan and
Kathy Roe, owners of Roe House Antiques in Springfield, Ill.,
called the show "perfect." Mario Pollo of Bearsville, N.Y., said
"super crowds," and Ronnie and Guy Weil, who came from New Hope,
Penn., stated, "This was a most beautiful show and we are proud
to be a part of it."
Show sponsor, Garden Design magazine, provided a
discount subscription to the magazine with the purchase of a ticket
to the fair. An enthusiastic crowd came together to walk through
the show with and listen to Donna Dorian, style and design editor
of Garden Design. Tracey Young, owner of The Elemental
Garden in Woodbury, Conn., discussed what to look for when buying
garden antiques. Jeff Henkel, owner of H.K.H., Inc. in Pennington,
N.J., spoke to a crowd on the subject of midcentury garden objects;
and Beau Kimball of Kimball & Bean in Woodstock, Ill., spoke
about architectural salvage and the wrecking ball's place in garden
design.
Patrons of the Chicago Botanic Garden thoroughly enjoyed a
luncheon and took in everything Carolyne Roehm and Charles Stick
had to tell them about Weatherstone Garden in Connecticut.
Overall, everyone was pleased with the presentation and the
diverse amount of garden antiques available. Garden antiques
enthusiasts can look forward to next year's fair on April 21-23.
For information, 212-255-0020 or www.stellashows.com.
