The results of the Palm Beach Jewelry, Art & Antique Show, February 13-17, 2015

Posted on February 18, 2015 by Philip Chasen

The blog schedule will be modified for a while because the Florida shows started and ended on unusual days. The next post will be this coming Friday, February 20th, from the floor of the Grove Park Inn Arts & Crafts Conference in Asheville.

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 was a decent opening crowd on Saturday morning

The Palm Beach Jewelry, Art & Antique Show ended yesterday after a 5-day run from February 13-17, 2015. Attendance was decent, but below the levels of some previous years, when it was difficult to walk down the crowded aisles. Sunday was the busiest day, but business was not in line with the number of inquiries. It was amazing how many times we heard “We’ll think about it.” or “We’ll see you later. (or tomorrow)”. We gave out so many business cards that we ran out. I’m sure there is a relationship between the business cards distributed and the show results. More cards = worse show. The real purpose of a business card should be to get in contact with a dealer. Too many people use them as a “polite” way of excusing themselves from making a decision. I would much rather deal with a no decision on the spot.

We sold this lovely Daum blownout scenic vase at the show

Personally our show was quite mediocre. French glass sold well again while English furniture (not mine) fared poorly. We answered so many questions from knowledgeable, bona fide clients that it could easily have gone better, but it wasn’t our turn this year. We did much better last year. Next year the show is getting longer and the booth rent is going up, so we’re on the fence as to whether we’ll return. We won’t make that decision yet.

I like to get comments from dealers I know, but amazingly I didn’t personally know many of the dealers at this show. Consequently I solicited only a few comments. Lloyd Macklowe, Macklowe Gallery, New York City, a dealer in Art Nouveau decorative arts and jewelry, told me “We had an excellent show. Well attended. We were very happy.” David Lowenherz, Lion Heart Autographs, New York City, a dealer in autographs, was pleased as well. “I did very well. Very good turnout. Very interested and curious customers in a super elegant setting.” Michael and Ewa Cohen, Cohen & Cohen, London, England, dealers in Chinese export porcelain and works of art, were not pleased. “It wasn’t a disaster, but it wasn’t great. We were disappointed. Last year we had the best show ever and this year we didn’t see those same clients. We’ll be back. It’s still a show with great potential.” Bill Rau, Rau Antiques, New Orleans, LA, dealer in high-end quality items, told me “We sold a couple of very nice paintings and a lot of objects and nice jewelry. Traffic was very good. There was a lot of strong competition. I was 6.5/10 pleased.” Two dealers refused comment.

This week we’ll be in Asheville, NC, for the National Arts & Crafts Conference. 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.

Click here to check my website for the latest items and to look around. I always strive to offer the finest objects for sale on my website and at every show. 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 Palm Beach Jewelry, Art & Antique Show opens today, February 14, 2015

Posted on February 14, 2015 by Philip Chasen

The blog schedule will be modified for a while because the Florida shows are starting and ending on unusual days. The next post will be this coming Wednesday, February 18th, with the results of the Palm Beach Jewelry, Art & Antique Show.

6:10 PM Friday, looking down my aisle. That’s my booth on the right.

It’s Friday afternoon, February 13th, as I write this post. We’ve had to be open to “special” guests for the last four hours. It was a bad idea. There were very few people walking around, with even fewer questions and certainly no sales. The show is long enough. Why extend it unnecessarily? It’s bad enough we’ll have to suffer through another preview party this evening. It’s my opinion that today’s activities will suck some of the oxygen out of the actual show. When the crowd is big and active, it creates excitement and electricity. Sales turn thinkers into buyers. Save the oxygen for the show.

8 PM, Friday night, in front of my booth

9:30 PM UPDATE: There was a nice crowd for the preview party, which included decent interest from prospective buyers. We even made one small sale, which hasn’t been paid for yet, but I’m optimistic will be shortly. I still prefer shows with no preview party, but I haven’t been able to convince any promoters yet.

If you read this post on Saturday, the show will open to the public today at 11 AM. It will run until Tuesday, February 17th, at 6 PM. If you want to see a classy show, with really great exhibitors, make it your business to come. It will be well worth the trip. You’ve got my word.

Next week we’ll be in Asheville, NC, for the National Arts & Crafts Conference. 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.

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

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

Philip Chasen Antiques

The blog for chasenantiques.com

Tag Archives: palm

The results of the Palm Beach Jewelry, Art & Antique Show, February 13-17, 2015

The Palm Beach Jewelry, Art & Antique Show opens today, February 14, 2015

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