The results of the Grove Park Inn Arts & Crafts Conference, February 21-23, 2014

Posted on February 24, 2014 by Philip Chasen

Grove Park Inn

The Grove Park Inn Arts & Crafts Conference ended its 27th edition yesterday, after a three-day run from February 21-23, 2014. Personally, our show was very mediocre. We made expenses and a ham sandwich, but not much else. We did enough business for a local show with low expenses, but not for a long-distance show with higher expenses. Based on the wonderful response from the public, it should have been a great show, but it wasn’t. We haven’t exhibited at Grove Park Inn since 2010, so I think the public wasn’t prepared for us.

It wasn't as crowded on Saturday afternoon as it was on opening day, Friday

This show is different from any other we do. It’s contained within the grounds of the beautiful and historic Grove Park Inn, so the audience is captive. The attendees are self-selected, highly motivated, enthusiastic and appreciative. Most of them have registered in advance and many have flown or driven large distances. That’s a big difference, as most of the shows we do are local. We’ve received more compliments from the public than at most other shows, but as much as we appreciate them, they don’t pay the bills.

We sold this beautiful Amphora Allegory of France vase at the show

Here is another important difference. The hours of the show are wonderful — five hours on Friday, starting at 1 PM, six hours on Saturday, starting at noon, and finally five hours on Sunday, starting at 11 AM. That’s more than enough time for the public to view everything and make up their minds, plus it’s great for the dealers. Some shows have 10-hour days — good for beating a dead horse.

This great Argy-Rousseau Poppy vase is a recent purchase

We get a one month break now until our next show, the NYC Pier Antique Show, March 29-30, 2014. That’s always fun and exciting, so make your plans to come to the Big Apple. In the meantime, we’ll be out and about looking for more treasures to offer for sale.

We’ll have this wonderful Amphora portrait vase at the show

Click here to view my new website and look around. We always strive to offer the finest objects for sale on our website and at every show. There are many items for sale, sold items with prices and free lessons about glass and lamps

The results of the Palm Beach Jewelry, Art & Antique Show, February 15-18, 2014

Posted on February 19, 2014 by Philip Chasen

Preview night in front of our booth

The Palm Beach Jewelry, Art & Antique Show ended yesterday, after a four-day run from February 15-18, 2014. The preview party was held on Friday night and unfortunately we had to suffer through it. Attendance was moderate, with some interested clients, but no sales. What else is new? Apparently all the A-list Palm Beachers were at another party — the Heart Ball at The Breakers. Oops!

There were times when it was busy in our booth

Personally we had a very good show, better than our other two Florida shows, but with its own unique set of highs and lows. Set-up was very aggravating as we had no electricity for most of the time. Repeated attempts to have our electricity hooked up only resulted in increased frustration, even though we had properly placed our electrical order well in advance of the show. Then we had a client purchase a Tiffany lamp on Monday, only to call on Tuesday to cancel the sale. Ugh!! But even with these foibles, we’re very pleased. We sold fewer items than in Miami Beach, but better items, so total sales were up.

Attendance was down from last year, through no fault of the promoter. When do you see billboards on the side of the road announcing an antique show? When do you see full page ads in newspapers? The Palm Beach Show Group knows how to promote a show. Other promoters could take a few lessons from them. Lower attendance did not hurt our show, as the right people showed up. My guess is that many people were stuck up north because of the severe weather. Jeffrey Purtell, the well-known Steuben dealer, paid for a booth at the show and couldn’t make it. He got stuck in New Jersey on the way down. Sorry, Jeff, I feel bad for you. If you read my blog, you’ll remember that we almost got stuck up north four years ago during a nor’easter, but did manage to make it to the show. (Click here if you want to read about that adventure.)

This great Argy-Rousseau Poppy vase is a recent purchase

As you read this, we’re racing up to Asheville, NC for the wonderful Grove Park Inn Arts & Crafts Conference this coming weekend, February 21 – 23, 2014. We last exhibited there a few years ago and couldn’t exhibit again because of scheduling conflicts. This year there were no conflicts, so we’re happy to return.

We’ll have this wonderful Amphora portrait vase at the show

Setting up at the Palm Beach Jewelry, Art & Antique Show, February 13-14, 2014

Posted on February 14, 2014 by Philip Chasen

This is what our booth looks like during setup

My goal is to publish new posts twice a week — Mondays and Thursdays. However, 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. My next post will be on Wednesday, not Monday, to coincide with the end of the Palm Beach show.

Cohen & Cohen have a beautiful display

We’re in the process of setting up the Palm Beach Jewelry, Art & Antique Show. The show is gorgeous, with unbelievable displays, white carpeting, flowers and no overhead lights — great for a lamp dealer like me. The public will love what they see. There are important dealers here, who exhibit at very few shows each year.

Daniel’s Antiques has a wonderful, unusual display

The preview party is tonight. I’m looking forward to it. (NOT!) It’s rare that I make a sale at a preview party and it’s my belief that preview parties steal the thunder from opening day. But there’s no convincing show promoters that they don’t accomplish much, if anything, so I’ll just keep bitching on my blog. I’ll report next Wednesday on the results of the show and the preview party. Wish me luck!

A.B. Levy has a beautiful booth

It’s not too late to visit the show, as it ends next Tuesday. It’s a great show, worth a drive or a flight from anywhere. Did I mention the temperature is forecast to be 75° to 80° for the next 10 days? Please introduce yourself to me when you arrive.

We’ll have this wonderful Amphora portrait vase at the show

After the show, we’ll leave Palm Beach quickly and head to Asheville, NC for the wonderful Grove Park Inn Arts & Crafts Conference, February 21 – 23, 2014. We last exhibited there a few years ago and couldn’t exhibit again because of scheduling conflicts. This year there were no conflicts, so we’re happy to return.

This great Argy-Rousseau Poppy vase is a recent purchase

The Palm Beach Jewelry, Art & Antique Show begins this Saturday, February 15, 2014

Posted on February 10, 2014 by Philip Chasen

My goal is to publish new posts twice a week — Mondays and Thursdays. However, 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. My next post will be this Friday during set-up at the Palm Beach show (up by noon). The following post will be next Wednesday, not Monday, to coincide with the end of the Palm Beach show.

In front of our booth

The Palm Beach Jewelry, Art & Antique Show opens to the public this Saturday, February 15, 2014, at 11 AM, and continues until Tuesday, February 18, 2014, at 6 PM. Prior to the Saturday opening, there will be a preview party on Friday evening — boy, oh, boy! My favorite! Does the sarcasm come through in print? :>(

The aisles were jammed

This is the one show of the year that reminds me of shows from 25 years ago. Attendance is unbelievable, with packed aisles. Unfortunately for the dealers, many of the people are just there for a good time, and a good time it is! The quality of the items on display in Palm Beach is always spectacular, with the best dealers from all over the world. And it’s better than a museum, because you can touch the items and get answers from experts. It’s no wonder that so many people enjoy attending a good antique show with no intention of purchasing anything.

M.S. Rau of New Orleans will be one of the high end dealers at the show

The public needs to realize that there would be no show if everyone were just looking. An antique show is a business, the same as any other business. Those businesses that don’t turn a profit fail. It’s really amazing to me how many people don’t understand that. I’ve been asked the following question more than a few times. “Are these items for sale?” Yes, they are, and I’d love for you to purchase one of them!

You have a promise from me. If you visit the show, you will not be disappointed! It’s a great show, worth a drive or a flight from anywhere. Did I mention the temperature is forecast to be 75° to 80° for the next 10 days? Please introduce yourself to me when you arrive.

We’ll have this wonderful Amphora portrait vase at the show

This great Argy-Rousseau Poppy vase is a recent purchase

The results of the Original Miami Beach Antique Show, January 30 – February 3, 2014

Posted on February 4, 2014 by Philip Chasen

My goal is to publish new posts twice a week — Mondays and Thursdays. However, 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. There will be no Thursday post this week because this post was published on Tuesday.

There was a good crowd on line at the opening on Thursday

The Original Miami Beach Antique Show ended yesterday, after a five-day run from January 30 – February 3, 2014. Opening day attendance was up 20% over last year and overall attendance improved.

We sold this important Daum blackbird vase at the show

Personally our show was mediocre, compared to last year. We sold plenty of items, but the average selling price was down, resulting in lower gross sales. Of all of our categories, French glass sold best.

Some of the beautiful Tiffany and Pairpoint lamps for sale in our booth

In asking around, I got the following comments from dealers. “Much better than last year” from a southern dealer in general antiques; “As good or better than last year” from a dealer in Asian antiques; “I’m very pleased” from a dealer specializing in Austrian Art Nouveau and Deco; from a dealer in 19th Century decorative arts “7 on a 1-10 scale, but happy with what we did”; from a California decorative arts dealer, “Business was brisk, but off 20% from last year. It’s still twice as good as any California show.”; a perfume bottle and Art Deco dealer commented “Just OK. I’m seriously thinking of not coming back next year.”; from a dealer in painted lamps “OK. Not a bang-up show”; “Not over the top, but OK” was the comment from a dealer in minerals and Lalique glass; “I had a good show, better than last year” from a dealer in silver; and finally “Better than last year” from an Argentine decorative arts dealer.

Next year’s show will start on a Saturday and run through Wednesday. Not sure why, but that’s what’s planned as of now. The show will close at 10 PM on opening day, instead of the usual 8 PM, to give religious Jewish vendors a chance to sell on Saturday after the Sabbath ends. The new days and hours will be strange, but I don’t think they will hurt business. The following year, 2016, the show returns to the normal Thursday opening.

We’ll have this great Daum scenic blownout vase at the Palm Beach show

We’re off to the Naples area for a few days of R&R before we get to Palm Beach for the Palm Beach Jewelry, Art & Antique Show, starting on February 15. While we’re in Naples, we’ll check out the Naples Art, Antique and Jewelry Show. If we like what we see, we’ll exhibit there next year. We’ll end our southern swing with the wonderful Grove Park Inn Arts & Crafts Conference, February 21 – 23, 2014. We last exhibited there a few years ago but couldn’t exhibit again because of scheduling conflicts. This year there were no conflicts, so we’re happy to return.

Andre Gisson painting with rare balloon subject matter

Philip Chasen Antiques

The blog for chasenantiques.com

Monthly Archives: February 2014

The results of the Grove Park Inn Arts & Crafts Conference, February 21-23, 2014

The results of the Palm Beach Jewelry, Art & Antique Show, February 15-18, 2014

Setting up at the Palm Beach Jewelry, Art & Antique Show, February 13-14, 2014

The Palm Beach Jewelry, Art & Antique Show begins this Saturday, February 15, 2014

The results of the Original Miami Beach Antique Show, January 30 – February 3, 2014