Monthly Archives: September 2011

The results of the AVENUE Antiques at the Armory show, September 22-25, 2011

Posted on by
Reply

The view from my booth on Sunday, 2:20 PM

I have less time to write about the interesting things happening in the antiques world since the fall shows started, so I am posting new blog entries once or twice a week — Mondays and Thursdays. If you don’t see a new post on Thursday, it’s because I was too busy, so please look for a new one the following Monday.

After an early sale on Friday, Tony had time for a nap.

It’s 2:45 PM on Sunday and as of this moment, the show has not gone well. Gross sales have barely exceeded expenses. If I had elected not to do the show and instead stayed home and intentionally smashed a vase or two, I would have been ahead of the game. I would have saved six days of work, which included setting up the show for a day and a half, and 31½ hours of exhibiting over four days. That doesn’t count employees, gas, parking, tolls and various other expenses.

Just purchased -- a rare and fine Daum blackbird 3¾" vase

It’s a shame, because it’s a very nice show. Show management has been very friendly, helpful and professional. The show looks great. My booth location is perfect. Everything was in place to have a good show, but it didn’t happen. If expenses had been low, the results would have been acceptable, but they weren’t. I needed to sell twice as much to break even and more than that to earn anything. The purpose of exhibiting at a high-end show is to find clients who I couldn’t find otherwise and that didn’t happen either. Most of the few sales that I made were to existing clients.

Wayne Newton

A few famous people came through the show. Barbara Streisand attended the preview party. Wayne Newton was in and liked a Pairpoint puffy. His wife quickly put a stop to that. Jaclyn Smith was in and said hello.

In asking around, most of the dealers I spoke to were disappointed with their results. Two dealers I spoke to were very pleased. One glass and lamp dealer told me he had a very good day on Sunday when he sold a couple of lamps and had a wonderful show. One of the best dealers in the show said he sold an expensive painting on Sunday, so he ended up with a good show.

In October, we’ll be traveling to Chicago for the Arlington Racetrack Antiques Show and the Winnetka Antiques + Modernism show. We have wonderful clients in the greater Chicago area, so we’re looking forward to being there.

The best Daum scenic blownout vase

In the meantime, check the listings on my website, which I will update often. I’ll be photographing all my new Gallé and Daum purchases and listing them on my website. Recently I listed quite a few Tiffany, Handel and Pairpoint lamps and some very rare Louis Icart etchings including Melody Hour and Mardi Gras. There are also several fine Daum vases; a Daum lamp; several Galle vases; and several more Tiffany Favrile vases. Coming soon will be several wonderful European ceramic items by Clement Massier, Zsolnay and Amphora. Here’s the link. chasenantiques.com

The AVENUE Antiques at the Armory preview party, September 21, 2011

Posted on by
Reply

Setup on Tuesday

I’m writing this blog post while sitting in my booth at the AVENUE Antiques at the Armory preview party. I haven’t had much time recently to write a Thursday blog, but I do now.

24 hours later

It’s interesting to compare the preview parties of different antique shows in different cities. The biggest similarity is that most of the attendees are not interested in purchasing antiques. They are there for the event — to see and be seen. It’s a nice social event where you get free food and liquor. Many times they benefit a charity. The part I haven’t figured out is how they benefit the exhibitors. Occasionally I will make a sale at a preview party, but it’s the exception, not the rule.

Barbra Streisand in my booth

Attendance at this party was outstanding. I haven’t seen so many well-to-do, well-dressed people in one place at the same time, in a long time. I didn’t recognize most of the people, but you could tell that many were wealthy and/or powerful. Barbra Streisand was here, but she didn’t purchase anything. I wish the attendees were more of a buying crowd, but unfortunately total sales for the party were $325.

Part of the tremendous crowd

For exhibitors, this is a very expensive show. I will have to sell quite a bit just to cover my costs. I have no idea how it will go, but I have my fingers crossed. If I do well, I’ll try it again. If not, goodbye to the AVENUE show. I’ll let you know the results on Monday.

The best Daum scenic blownout vase

Check my website daily this week. I’ll be photographing all my new Gallé and Daum purchases and listing them on my website. Recently I listed quite a few Tiffany, Handel and Pairpoint lamps and some very rare Louis Icart etchings including Melody Hour and Mardi Gras. There are also several fine Daum vases; a Daum lamp; several Galle vases; and several more Tiffany Favrile vases. Coming soon will be several wonderful European ceramic items by Clement Massier, Zsolnay and Amphora. Here’s the link. chasenantiques.com

The AVENUE Antiques at the Armory show opens this Thursday, September 22, 2011 and runs until Sunday

Posted on by
Reply

I have less time to write about the interesting things happening in the antiques world since the fall shows started, so I am posting new blog entries once or twice a week — Mondays and Thursdays. If you don’t see a new post on Thursday, it’s because I was too busy, so please look for a new one the following Monday.

The AVENUE show will be open September 22-25, 2011

The AVENUE Antiques at the Armory show is one of New York City’s finest antique shows. This will be my first time there. I visited the show last spring and it looked great. Check back on Monday and I’ll let you know how I did. In the meantime, I’ve got my fingers crossed.

A killer Daum fall scenic boudoir table lamp

If you follow my blog, you know that we’ve been working hard to bring you the finest selection of antiques we’ve ever brought to a show. Some of the new items that we’ve just acquired are a great selection of Tiffany lamps, including a Dragonfly, a Tulip, a Pansy and a 10-light lily.

A rare and very fine Daum swan tumbler

In French glass, we’ll be bringing the best Daum boudoir lamp ever; a Daum scenic blownout vase; a gorgeous Gallé blue floral vase and several wonderful miniature Daum vases, including a rare rain scenic.

A Gallé floral vase with extraordinary color

The show opens on Wednesday evening, with a preview party (always my favorite, UGH!). The one at the LA Antiques Show was good, so maybe I shouldn’t be such a skeptic. There will be plenty of competition at the show, so hopefully there will be enough motivated buyers to go around. Wish me luck!

The best Daum scenic blownout vase

Check my website daily this week. I’ll be photographing all my new Gallé and Daum purchases and listing them on my website. Recently I listed quite a few Tiffany, Handel and Pairpoint lamps and some very rare Louis Icart etchings including Melody Hour and Mardi Gras. There are also several fine Daum vases; a Daum lamp; several Galle vases; and several more Tiffany Favrile vases. Coming soon will be several wonderful European ceramic items by Clement Massier, Zsolnay and Amphora. Here’s the link. chasenantiques.com

On a buying trip in France, September 1-9, 2011, part II

Posted on by
Reply

The fall season begins soon with the AVENUE show at the Park Avenue Armory in New York City on Thursday, September 22nd. Since I have less time to write about the interesting things happening in the antiques world, I am posting new blog entries once or twice a week — Mondays and Thursdays. If you don’t see a new post on Thursday, it’s because I was too busy, so please look for a new one the following Monday.

TGV. Photo courtesy of Reuters

I’m writing this blog post again from the TGV (Train à Grand Vitesse), but this time we’re traveling north at 150 mph. By the time you read this, we’ll already be back in New York.

A very fine Daum vase. More to be posted shortly on my website

We’ve just about finished our trip, with all the good and the bad that goes with it. The good part is that we were successful buying. What we didn’t expect was for so many things to go wrong. This has been our toughest trip to France. Everything that could go wrong, did go wrong.

One of the many unusual items at the fair -- an 8 foot artist's easel

We gave ourselves plenty of time on Sunday for it to be a relaxing travel day. We took a taxi from our hotel to Gare de Lyon. There were few available luggage carts to carry our trunk and suitcases, so we allowed an unofficial porter to use his luggage cart to help us first to a restaurant and then to the train. When I tipped him, he informed us that we should give him double. I refused, and that was the start of a bad day.

An automaton that looks like it could have come from the 1964 World's Fair

Three-quarters of the way to Montpellier, the TGV broke down. What were the odds? We had to back up to a station and transfer our baggage to another car, where the train decoupled from the broken car. We continued on our way after a 2½ hour delay. When we arrived in Montpellier, we were let out on the second floor platform, where it became an adventure to find the bathroom as the signs were no help. (It was 2 levels down and a u-turn onto one of the platforms). 50¢. What if I didn’t have any cash?

Absolutely the best Daum lamp I've ever owned

Finding the location of the car rental agency was the next adventure. It was approximately ¼ mile away, with insufficient signage along the route. This time there were no luggage carts of any kind, so we had to carry the trunk and carry-ons, as well as roll our suitcases. Can I impress upon you how difficult that was? When we got to the car rental building at 7:45PM, all of the rental agencies were closed, including Hertz and Avis. Only ours, SIXT, was open for 15 more minutes. Whew!! We arranged for our car, which was at the farthest end (of course) of a large parking lot. I got in and could not start the car for 5 minutes, until I figured out the trick (depress the clutch, step on the brake, press the key case in its slot). Then I couldn’t get the car to move because the parking brake was locked. Grr!! I had to walk back to the agency from the end of the parking lot, where luckily I caught the agent just as he was leaving. He had to walk back with me (to the end of the parking lot) to show me how to release the brake (it was a button on the center console).

I have no idea what we would have done if SIXT had been closed. We would have missed our room and missed the fair — a complete disaster. Thank goodness a few things went as planned.

A great early bicycle

OK, now we were off to our B&B on the outskirts of the city. I programmed my portable GPS as best I could, but it took us down a dead-end road and told us to go straight. We could not find the B&B. Lia suggested we try the built-in GPS in the Audi, in French. It’s not an intuitive device, but we were finally able to program it. The first GPS had taken us several miles away from the correct destination. The Audi GPS got us close, but could not locate the exact place, so we drove around aimlessly, looking for a human. At 9:30 PM on Sunday night, in the small town of Lavérune, there are no people on the streets. I mean none. Finally we found a person getting into a car. He knew the location of the B&B and finally we arrived.

I was concerned that no one would be there on our arrival because we were hours late, but Helène greeted us and let us into our room. The lock on the sliding glass door to the outside did not lock, so it was jury-rigged with a pin. The curtains were too small, so they could not be closed for privacy. I won’t bore you with the details of the other things wrong in the room.

I'm busy looking for a treasure

Now we had to find a restaurant open late on Sunday. We drove around and found an Italian restaurant, but there was no entrance in the front, only the side. We drove round and round trying to find the side entrance, but could not. If you couldn’t find the secret entrance, you couldn’t eat there and we couldn’t. Finally we found an American-style country music restaurant, where we were greeted by a life-size plastic John Wayne. This restaurant would have been a good joke in the USA, but I wasn’t sure if the French were laughing. The food was pretty bad, but we were beggars and beggars don’t choose.

Finally back to the B&B for a few hours sleep and the end of a bad day. We had exceeded our limits. We got up at 4 AM to get to the fair on time and hopefully the start of a better day.

A few days later we had a horrific time catching the TGV northbound. I just can’t get into the details. They’re too fresh and painful as I write this. There were innumerable additional problems on the trip, mainly with driving on poorly marked streets and medieval narrow streets. Oh, did I mention the speeding ticket on the way to the TGV station? My kids claim I’m the slowest driver they know, but I got two speeding tickets in France – one by a road camera and one by the gendarmerie.

Hopefully my stories will give you a greater appreciation of the work that goes into setting up a top quality booth at my shows. Believe me, the merchandise does not fall into our laps.

Fantastic Burgun & Schverer internally decorated vase

Check my website daily this week. I’ll be photographing all my new Gallé and Daum purchases and listing them on my website. Recently I listed quite a few Tiffany, Handel and Pairpoint lamps and some very rare Louis Icart etchings including Melody Hour and Mardi Gras. There are also several fine Daum vases; a Daum lamp; several Galle vases; and several more Tiffany Favrile vases. Coming soon will be several wonderful European ceramic items by Clement Massier, Zsolnay and Amphora. Here’s the link. chasenantiques.com

On a buying trip in France, September 1-9, 2011

Posted on by
2

The Baltimore Summer Antiques Fair ended the summer show season. The fall season will begin with the AVENUE show at the Park Avenue Armory on Thursday, September 22nd. Since I have less time to write about the interesting things happening in the antiques world, I am posting new blog entries once or twice a week — Mondays and Thursdays. If you don’t see a new post on Thursday, it’s because I was too busy, so please look for a new one the following Monday.

The high speed TGV (Train à Grande Vitesse)

I’m writing this blog post from the TGV, a high-speed train, traveling south from Paris at 150 mph. We’re in France on a buying trip that has been somewhat successful thus far.

A Daum fall scenic vase, similar to the lamp I just purchased

Last minute tickets from New York to Paris were extremely expensive. Many flights from JFK were canceled because of Hurricane Irene, so passengers had to be rebooked, leaving very few seats available. We had to first fly to Helsinki, Finland, to get an expensive, but not ridiculous fare. The flight was full, so some people were upgraded to business class. Miraculously we were two of them. What a difference that made. Among other amenities, the seats reclined flat for sleeping.

Marché Dauphine on Rue des Rosiers

Saturday, we visited the flea markets, where you can get lucky or not. We were lucky. Considering that many of the shops were closed (I guess because some of the dealers were at the fairs in the south and others weren’t back from vacation), we were able to buy some truly outstanding objects, including an extremely rare and beautiful Daum acid-etched and enameled fall scenic lamp. I’ve had quite a few fall scenic vases over the years, but this is the first lamp. I don’t have a photo at this time, but I’ll post one on my website or blog as soon as I’m able.

A Daum swan miniature vase with the same decoration as the larger tumbler I just purchased

We were also able to purchase a super Daum tumbler with swan decoration, a Daum rain miniature pillow vase, a fabulous Daum scenic blownout vase (haven’t had one in many years), a beautiful Daum footed vase with bright yellow flowers, a rare Galle box with two dragonflies on the lid, a gorgeous triangular Galle vase with blue flowers on yellow (windowpane technique), an R. Lalique Monnaie du Pape vase and finally an R. Lalique half-moon shaped clock with birds and rare enameled glass ATO face. I’ll try to post photos on my website, but failing that, they will all be for sale at the upcoming AVENUE show starting September 22.

Now we’re off to the fairs, which are a bigger crapshoot. We could wind up buying some fabulous items or nothing. Plus there’s lots of competition. I’ll let you know the results in my next blog post. The whole trip is really a crapshoot. The expenses are high and the chances of success are variable. Not to mention, pounding the pavement for days on end. There’s lots of hard work involved. The objects don’t magically appear in my booth at the shows. But at least the hard work is in France. Not a bad place to spend time working, especially with my honey!

Fantastic Burgun & Schverer internally decorated vase

Check out my new acquisitions. I recently listed quite a few Tiffany, Handel and Pairpoint lamps. I also listed some very rare Louis Icart etchings including Melody Hour and Mardi Gras; several fine Daum vases; a Daum lamp; several Galle vases; and several more Tiffany Favrile vases. Also coming soon will be several wonderful European ceramic items by Clement Massier, Zsolnay and Amphora. Here’s the link. chasenantiques.com