Another harbinger of spring – a blossoming apple tree in an oil on canvas by Arthur E. Ward (1863-1928) – was offered by Garvey Rita Art & Antiques, Orleans, Mass. Kevin Rita priced the 5½-by-7 1/2 -inch oil on canvas $500. “Well organized… easy platform to use,” he said of the online show.
Review by W.A. Demers, Senior Editor Photos Courtesy Participating Dealers
ONLINE — Debbie McArdle, manager of the Chicago Suburban Antiques Dealers Association’s (CSADA) Fox Valley Antiques Show Online, didn’t lose much sleep as most of the United States switched over to Daylight Saving Time the weekend of March 9-10. That’s because, introduced in 2020 during the pandemic, these shows have run like clockwork. “The Chicago Suburban Antiques Dealers Association has never hesitated to host a show over a ‘Spring Forward’ weekend, losing an hour of sales,” said McArdle. “Our online shows are open continuously from Saturday morning at 10 am central until Sunday evening at 6 pm central. We feel that extra hour lost overnight has no impact on the show’s attendance. Before Covid our spring in-person show took place on the same weekend for 61 years. We chose to carry on that tradition when we switched to online shows only for 2020-2021.”
The show’s online presence is compelling. Shoppers have no admission or parking to pay, no worries about the fickle March weather. They can shop first thing in the morning or in the middle of the night. That makes finding antiques easier, especially since the exhibitors have been vetted before being invited to participate. A wide range of categories, from country to formal, folk art to fine art, Seventeenth Century to Modernism, garden to holiday, textiles, jewelry, toys and more were represented.
This was the group’s eighth online show, hosted on an easy-to-use online platform developed by show promoter Marvin Getman. Booths are virtual, stocked with the dealers’ merchandise. Customers can navigate through booths, one by one, as they would at an in-person show, or they can search by category, keyword search or specific dealer. Business is conducted directly with each exhibitor. Getman’s email reminders go out like clockwork as well. One reminds shoppers that the show is open, another that there are new items posted and another reminder on Sunday lets folks know that it’s the last day for shopping.
Weller Pottery from Zanesville, Ohio, issued a line of pottery called “Persian” in 1915. This example offered by Jane Langol, Medina, Ohio, was a small jardiniere in great colors. Measuring 5 inches in height, this pattern is sometimes referred to as creamware. Langol sold a Navajo rug and a pierced quilt early in the show.
“An interesting term was coined by one of our participants, Pat Martin of Home Farm Antiques,” said McArdle. “She wrote in part, ‘A well-run show is a good networking venue.’ That is so true and is one of the benefits of exposure in our online shows. We have heard from so many dealers that at each show they make valuable connections with customers who will visit their online and/or brick-and-mortar stores all year long.”
There were 35 dealers in this edition who listed a total of 802 items. The number of items sold totaled 144 with 121 sold on Saturday and 24 sold on Sunday. “We’ve heard of a number of additional items that have sold,” said McArdle after the show. “Either the dealers could not get back to their booths in time to mark them, or they sold after the show’s closing.” Sales ranged from under $100 to $8,900 and the sell-through rate was 18 percent, in line with previous shows. Total attendance was 4,372 (Saturday, 2,565; Sunday, 1,807) with total booth visits of 49,709.
Average visits per dealer were 1,420 and total item clicks were 16,838 for an average 21 clicks per item.
The top five countries represented were the United States, Canada, United Kingdom, Netherlands and Finland. There were visitors from 23 states, and the top 10 US states were Illinois, New York, Massachusetts, Wisconsin, Virginia, California, Michigan, Texas, Pennsylvania and Ohio.
The simple lines of a Frank Finney bird carving are evident in this circa Twentieth Century brightly painted folk art carving of a bird, signed with a carved “F” under the base. Priced $700, it was on offer by Canadian dealers Steven and Sonja, Blevins & Morawetz (business name in Canada is Blemora Heritage Antiques, Bracebridge, Ontario.
“We had a very nice spring Fox Valley Antiques Show,” said David Thompson of David and Jane Thompson Antiques, South Dennis, Mass., in an email. “We met new buyers and reconnected with old friends we hadn’t heard from in years. We think of the platform as a blank canvas — it is not the platform, but the people who make the blank canvas come alive, who work so hard to present their offerings, and the customers who have such interesting collecting interests.”
Cathy Consentino of Timber River Farm, Little Shemogue, New Brunswick, Canada, shared, “I could not be a stronger supporter of the Fox Valley virtual show. I so admire the commitment of the organization to have created and to maintain a quality venue for both vendors and customers. This time I had customers from eastern Canada and New England to southern California and Washington as well the traditional strong Midwest base. I try to offer interesting, colorful pieces to go along with my aim of selling function, form and color. Twice I had multiple buyers on the same item and I also sold multiple items to the same buyers. The consensus from them all was how much they liked the virtual Fox. ‘Easy to navigate’ was second only to ‘quality affordable items’ as reasons for shopping the show. Marvin Getman has created a brilliant format for a virtual show, best I have seen. I have known him a long time and always respected his commitment to the business. With Marvin, if you have a problem, it becomes rectified in short order in a fair and equitable manner.”
Quilts, quilts and more quilts. Everything from this cheerful Turkey Tracks quilt, circa 1900, with bold, indigo print sashing to a Bucks County, Penn., Bride’s quilt, a pure white, whole cloth textile popular in the 1840s and again in the 1920s, were on offer by Sharon Waddell of Kay’s Attic Finds, Newburgh, N.Y. Marked ‘Reserved’ on the last day of the show was a rare framed Andrew Jackson commemorative fabric, circa 1830, an historic fabric printed in France.
Consentino added that she looks forward to each show “as I buy good stock for inventory as well as sell. I sold in a range of $80-$800, and am pleased with that and the nice people buying my things.”
Ten minutes after the show opened on Saturday, Akron, Ohio, dealer Chuck Auerbach had sold a great fish decoy. “The Fox Valley show was good for me,” he recounted in an email. “Sold about half the things I put on. The process itself is pretty painless. I’m told it would be even easier if I did it on a larger tool than my iPhone, so I’ll give that some thought. Between measuring, assessing condition, photographing and listing, it probably takes me 10-15 minutes per object. Packing and shipping takes a bit more time, depending on the fragility of the object. Cost wise, the more you sell, the less it costs per item. This time it cost me $26 per. Add in no travel cost, (hotel, gas, food, tolls, porters, wear and tear on the vehicle — and on me — it makes sense. However, I have to admit I miss much of the socializing with customers and visiting with old dealer friends.”
Another Ohio dealer, Jane Langol of Medina, said, “The Fox Valley online show was moderately successful for me. I sold a quilt and a toy — and perhaps wished I had sold more. The platform is super easy to use, and I am not a techy person — so if I am able to navigate the dashboard successfully, that is a tribute to the ease of use. Overall, I felt the items submitted from all the dealers were of higher quality than in the past. I look forward to October to join in this venture again!”
Authored by a renowned architectural firm established by brothers George and Charles Palliser, in Bridgeport, Conn., in 1873, and which later moved to New York City, this Victorian architecture book, Palliser’s Model Homes, 1878, priced $375 at Sandra L. Hoekstra Bookseller, Thomaston, Maine, was popular source for residential architectural plans nationwide.
Pat Martin of Home Farm Antiques, directed praise to McArdle. “You are champs at running a smooth, well-organized and fun show. I appreciated all the personal help and advice you so kindly and patiently gave me with all this tech stuff, etc. I thought your advertising was thorough and made a difference, as well.
“Just as importantly as all the above, I’ve found that your show draws a well-mannered, knowledgeable group of customers who are a pleasure to work with. For this, I am grateful.
“I’ve had a couple of sales after the show closed and I found a customer who was interested in other pieces I have that were not in the show. A well-run show is a good networking venue.
“Something I wanted to mention to you; a good number of the customers I’ve met through Fox Valley have told me how much they love this online show. A recurring theme: how the organizers have chosen dealers who are cordial, knowledgeable and nice to work with, and how easy to navigate the show is and how attractive. So it’s good to get positive feedback! Congratulations on another good show!”
The Chicago Suburban Antiques Dealers Association online and in-person shows provide important funding for local historic preservation and education endeavors.
In total, CSADA now produces three antiques shows per year; two online and one in-person.
Jewelry, a staple category of online shows, was available from several dealers, including Lori Mesa Antiques & Fine Jewelry, Wheaton, Ill. Erin Mesa offered this intricate lover’s knot ring, circa 1900, a true masterpiece of jewelry design, pricing it $1,500. Featured was a small round cabochon sapphire at its center, measuring approximately 4.3mm in diameter, cut and polished to exhibit its natural beauty, encircled by ten small round diamonds set in a carefully crafted knot design.
“The online shows are such a success,” said McArdle. “We’ve continued to produce them beyond the pandemic. In addition, answering the call for our well-established in-person shows to return, the Chicago Suburban Antiques Dealers Association resumed production of in-person shows in 2022, introducing a June event with a new name: Fox Valley at the Fairgrounds Antiques Show. In 2024, that show takes place Saturday, June 8, at the DuPage County Fairgrounds in Wheaton, Ill.
The next online show, the 50th Annual Fall Fox Valley Antiques Show Online, will take place October 19-20. For information, www.csada.com.
