A few of the Tiffany lamp offerings in my booth at the Grove Park Inn

Friday: The antiques portion of the show opened at 3 PM and lasted until 6 PM. The main ballroom is small and holds about 50 antiques dealers. The crowd was large for this small room, so it was packed and busy. Lots of folks thanked us for exhibiting at the show and raising the level of quality at the show — that’s very nice to hear! Not many sales, but the show is off to a good start.

Saturday: Hours today are 12 – 6 PM — short by most show standards. A good crowd showed up, but not the exceptional crowd that I was led to believe would be here. One dealer told me that the show used to be only Saturday and Sunday and it was his theory that Saturday was slower than normal because the show was open for 3 hours on Friday. I’ve always liked 2-day shows like the Pier Show in NYC, because of the intensity and excitement. I would like to see this show revert back to that format.

A fabulous Tiffany Studios 12 inch diam. blue Favrile floor lamp with carved butterflies, vines and florettes

Again sales were few, but good ones, so the day was a success. Interest was strong in anything Tiffany Studios. I assumed that there would be more interest in the pottery I displayed, but I was wrong. There was so much pottery at this show that my offerings were diluted by the plethora of offerings. In looking around the show, sales of Arts & Crafts furniture were quite good, with many items having sold tags on them.

Sunday: Nice short hours from 11 AM – 4 PM — can’t beat that. That’s more than enough time for people to make up their minds and short enough for dealers to get out early on Sunday and start their trips home.

I made a bet with Lia that we wouldn’t sell a thing on Sunday, and I’m happy to report that I lost. One nice sale and one small sale. So the final tally was a good show for me. Business is certainly back. Every show so far in 2010 has been a good one. In speaking to other dealers at this show, almost everyone remarked that it was a big improvement from last year. One furniture dealer told me it was his best show ever, at this show or any show!

I’d love to exhibit here next year, but I think there’s going to be a date conflict with another show, so I may have to skip it. Too bad! It’s very pleasant here — the folks, the atmosphere, the promoter, the other dealers.

I’m taking a lot of time to add new items to my website. I’ve already listed new items under Gallé glass (including a blownout vase), Daum Nancy glass and Tiffany Studios glass. Soon I’ll be adding many Tiffany Studios desk pieces. Please take a look, as every day I’m adding more. Click on this link chasenantiques.com.

Please send me your suggestions or questions about art glass, lamps, Louis Icart, shows, auctions, etc. If it’s interesting, I’ll answer your question in a future blog entry.