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 were several hundred people lined up in Halls C & D for the opening on Thursday
The Original Miami Beach Antique Show ended yesterday, February 1, 2016, after a five-day run. The show went well for many dealers, but more than a few did poorly. The results seemed hit or miss.
Part of our selection of Gallé glass at the show
Opening day for us was decent. We made several sales, but the total was slightly disappointing. That wasn’t unusual for opening day. We usually did better the next day, Friday, but not this time. Lots of tire kickers and only a little business. The rest of the show wasn’t substantially better for us. A few sales, but an overall disappointing result. I did make sales by doing my homework. I emailed photos of good items I found at the show to my best clients and they bought. You know who you are. Thank you!
Part of our selection of Tiffany Favrile glass
In asking around to some of my friends, I got mostly positive reactions to the question “How was your show?” Curiously some dealers with negative comments refused to publicly comment. Michel Aboudara, The French Glasshouse, French glass dealer, London, UK, told me “There was much more interest from private customers this year. Our results were very similar to last year.” Robert & Rick Kaplan, early 20th Century decorative arts dealers, Palm Springs, CA, were pleased. “Business was fairly close to last year’s figures. We’re happy.” Kelly Schultz, general line dealer, Clarence, NY, was also pleased. “The show was great, as always. Lots of business, lots of people. We were very happy.” Adele & Alan Grodsky, lamps & glass dealers, Davie, FL, were more reserved. “It was OK. We sold lamps but very little glass.” Mike Hammes, Classic American, eclectic dealer, Coralville, IA, told me “I scratched and clawed my way out. I did about the same as last year. I’m pleased.” Dave Crockett, Artifacts Antiques, eclectic dealers, Palm City, FL, were a bit disappointed. “I did OK. Less than last year, but last year was great.” Steve Morrow, art glass dealer, Hedrick, IA, said “I had a good show, as I do every year.” Robin Greenwald, Greenwald Antiques, decorative arts dealers, Cleveland, Ohio, were satisfied. “The show was good — off from last year, but strong. We are excited about the show next year at the fairgrounds.” Jack Ophir, Ophir Antiques, Tiffany & Art Nouveau dealer, Englewood, NJ, were content. “We had a good show, a little bit better than last year. The main interest was Tiffany and Camille Fauré French enamel.” Jack Pap, lamp & decorative arts dealer, W. Simsbury, CT, was happy. “The show was better than I expected. The crowd on opening day came early and stayed late. The rest of the show was lightly attended and sales were sparse.” Jeff Myers, Myers-Huffman Antiques, 20th Century decorative arts dealers, Chickaloon, AK, said “It was actually very good. Every day was good, except for the last day, Monday.” Richard Bell, Richard W. Bell Antiques, fine quality smalls & jewelry dealers, CA, said “My show was surprisingly good, considering the construction and the weather.” And finally David Kozloff, Kozloff & Meaders, general line dealers, Pittsburgh, PA, was ecstatic. “It was our best show ever, anywhere, anytime.”
The construction has begun on the convention center
Now for some of the scuttlebutt on next year’s show. The construction at the Miami Beach Convention Center is underway and will take at least until mid-2018. That means the Original Miami Beach Antique Show will surely not return to the Convention Center in 2017 and 2018. After that it gets interesting. There’s no guarantee US Antique Shows will be invited back. The City of Miami Beach only wants shows they deem important to the local economy. If they don’t think the Original Miami Beach Antique Show brings in enough revenue to the city, they will not be invited back. If I were a betting man, I would bet against the invitation. If I’m correct, this was the last antique show at the Convention Center, ever. Ugh!
It looks like many dealers will be jumping ship and not exhibiting at the new location for the show, the Miami-Dade Fair Expo Center. I’ve heard that many of these dealers will instead exhibit at Dolphin Fair’s new Miami Airport Show, the week before. If you remember, that show used to be huge, with exhibitors filling two floors. Now it looks like that show is growing again and could eventually eclipse the Original Miami Beach Antique Show. What a turn of events that would be! But that story is still to be written. Tune in for updates.
There will not be a new blog this Thursday. We’re leaving for the Caribbean for a week on a well-deserved vacation. We’ll see you the following week at the Palm Beach Jewelry, Art & Antique Show.
Click on this image for two free tickets to the show
I’ve been quite busy buying and selling recently, partly because I’ve listed many new items on my website. I need to buy more, so if you have something great, please offer it to me. I am paying the highest prices of any dealer. My decisions are quick and my payments just as quick. Just snap a photo and email me a jpeg.
I always strive to offer the finest objects for sale on my website and at every show. I will continue to list more as often as possible. Please click here to take a look.There are many items for sale, sold items with prices and free lessons about glass and lamps. And remember to keep reading my blog.
The National Arts & Crafts Conference will run from February 19-21. It’s a beautiful show in an amazing 1910 historic hotel. The focus is Arts & Crafts, both antique and new. It’s a very pleasant show that we enjoy doing. Attendees fly in from all over the US.
This week the highly anticipated Original Miami Beach Antique Show will open to the public on Thursday at noon, as usual at the Miami Beach Convention Center. You should attend not only because it’s a great show, but also for the memories. The show will move to the Miami-Dade County Fair & Exposition in 2017, but hopefully will return to the Convention Center in 2018, after the completion of construction.