“A couple of years ago someone told us about this nice facility in Patterson, N.Y., a good spot for an antiques show, so we looked into it and here we are,” Vivien Cord said on Sunday, September 21, as she opened her newest show at 10 am. She went on to say that “the Patterson Recreation Center is a great place, can easily hold between 40 and 50 dealers, food is available, and it did become warm, but they said air-conditioning will be in place next year.”
Five hundred people turned out for this first annual event, the Putnam County Antiques Fair, and, as it is with every show, some of the exhibitors did well, many were pleased, and some did poorly. The furniture, limited in quantity and primarily of the Victorian era, was selling, but for the most part it was a show of “smalls.”
Tables were neatly arranged with all manner of china and glass, there was a selection of early woodworking tools, quilts and early fabrics were piled here and there, and a couple of dealers offered several shelves of early books. One booth was filled with antiques prints on many subjects, while the one dealer in Oriental rugs brought enough to overflow onto the benches opposite his booth. There was one booth that focused completely on early American furniture and accessories, and there was no shortage of jewelry.
“We were top heavy in jewelry dealers, we knew that, and it is one of the things we will correct for next year,” Vivien Cord said. The show is scheduled for September 20 in 2009, with plans to include an expanded dealer list and more variety. “We have a very good foundation to build on and we think the show has a strong future,” she said.
The next Vivien Cord show will be on December 6 and 7 in Stamford, Conn., the same weekend Antiquarius will be running in Old Greenwich and Marilyn Gould will have her show in Wilton.
