Louise Interiors, Summit, N.J.
Review and Photos by W.A. Demers
KATONAH, N.Y. – Debbie Turi breathed new life into a once-popular staple of the spring and summer outdoor antiques show season when she hosted the Antiques & Artisan Fair on June 3 at Lasdon Park & Arboretum. Veteran collectors will recall the shows put on there by Vivien Cord years ago, and to the Roseland, N.J., dealer and show promoter, it seemed like a good idea to bring it back for a Sunday of antiques shopping al fresco. A rain or shine event, the daylong fair presented about 40 dealers and artisans, who set up canopy tents fronting the grassy entrance to the park.
It was only five years ago in September that dealer friends gathered at the Lasdon Park and Arboretum to toast Cord and her partner Ed McClure and wish them well as they prepared to embark on a well-earned retirement.
Turi said that Cord had emailed her, saying that the park was interested in reviving the show. Combining Cord’s dealer list with her own and adding about a dozen artisans to the mix, Turi assembled a critical mass of antiques, fine art, prints, garden material and more. At 10 am when the show opened under a fitfully gray sky that would later brighten, most of the exhibitors were in their places, and a food truck, supplied by the park, got folks energized with coffee and snacks.
Cord stopped by around midday, according to Turi, bought some items from Vergennes, Vt., dealer Greg Hamilton and complimented Turi on the look of the show. “We had a decent gate,” said Turi afterwards, “about 500, not bad for a ‘new’ one-day show. Oddly, most of the buying seemed to happen in the afternoon.”
On this page is a sampling of what was on offer.
Turi’s next show is set for July 29, the Summer Antiques Expo at the William G. Mennen Sports Arena, 161 East Hanover Avenue, Morris Township, N.J. She expects to return to Lasdon in 2019, again the first weekend in June.
For information, 973-464-9793 or www.dturiantiqueshows.com.
