Thursday, 7 PM. If I have enough time, I write my blog directly from the floor of the show. It’s usually a bad sign, because I should be busy with clients. But the preview party is happening now and I’m in my usual preview-party-bad-mood. I don’t want to be here.
The crowd is 90% young women who seem to have no interest whatsoever in antiques. So why are we they here? I guess because it’s a nice social event. But why are we here? The $64,000 question. Certainly not to sell antiques.
Opening Day, Friday, 1 PM. The show has been open for two hours. Attendance is light, but there have been several serious inquiries. No sales as of this moment, but I’m cautiously optimistic.
Friday, 7 PM. The first day is over and I’m disappointed. We made a few small sales, but are nowhere near making our expenses, let alone a profit. There’s lots of show left, so hopefully the weekend will be good.
Saturday, 1:45 PM. Attendance is light to moderate. There have been only a few inquiries. Some may be serious, but it’s hard to tell. One client is back from yesterday, so there might be a sale there.
Saturday, 3:45 PM. Attendance is still light to moderate. The “be-back” from yesterday was full of hot air. We made one nice sale to one of our established clients. Still not out of the woods with respect to making our expenses. One of our best clients is due to arrive in a little while. We’ll see what happens.
Saturday, 7:00 PM. The day is over and it was a moderate success. Our late afternoon client made purchases that put us over the top, into the black. If we do some business on Sunday, it will be a good show.
Sunday, 1 PM. Attendance is again light to moderate. No sales yet, but we had some serious inquiries that I hope will turn into sales.
Sunday, 5 PM. The show is over and we’re satisfied. We only made one sale on Sunday, but it was a lovely Tiffany 10-light lily lamp. Overall, business was down about 15% from last year, but it was still a moderately successful show. Had some of our best clients attended, we probably would have had an even more successful show, but unfortunately they were indisposed.
