Results from the Palm Beach Jewelry, Art & Antiques Show

A few of the lamps in my booth

A few of the lamps in my booth

It’s Tuesday, 5 PM, and the show is winding down. It’s hard work sitting for so many hours, talking to hundreds of people, but it’s gratifying when the show goes well, and this one went well. I personally talked to about a dozen exhibitors and most were very pleased with the results. One painting dealer (there were many painting dealers at this show) told me he did poorly. One general dealer told me he would have made a profit, had his expenses not been so high. Another dealer in English furniture and objects told me he had a good show. A Steuben dealer had a very good final day for a very good show overall. For the most part, most dealers did well.

Attendance was truly outstanding throughout the show, especially on the weekend. Today, Tuesday, was the lowest attendance, but even that was pretty good. The problem was that all the real buyers already were here, so today’s crowd was out for a good time only. If the show had ended yesterday, it would basically have been the same.

The show promoter did an excellent job. There were banners everywhere around town announcing the show, including a beautiful full-size outdoor billboard. If you lived anywhere in this area, it would have been impossible not to know about the show. Too bad most other show promoters do not put the same effort and resources into promotion.

Original Louis Icart oil painting 'Aux Trianons'

Original Louis Icart oil painting 'Aux Trianons'

Interest was strong in everything Tiffany, including lamps, desk sets and glass. Sales in Icart etchings and oil paintings were strong, a welcome change from the recent tepid interest. Surprisingly, interest in French glass was good, but sales were not.

It appears after several strong shows in Florida that the market has come back in a meaningful way. Besides personal experience, I’ve seen lots of anecdotal evidence. It appears that the economy is recovering nicely and that the statistics will soon reflect the increased optimism I see.

I’m taking a lot of time to add new items to my website. I’ve already listed new items under Gallé glass (including a blownout vase), Daum Nancy glass and Tiffany Studios glass. Soon I’ll be adding many Tiffany Studios desk pieces. Please take a look, as every day I’m adding more. Click on this link chasenantiques.com.

Please send me your suggestions or questions about art glass, lamps, Louis Icart, shows, auctions, etc. If it’s interesting, I’ll answer your question in a future blog entry.

Call or write and let me know what you would like to buy, sell, or trade. philchasen@gmail.com or
516-922-2090. And please visit my website. chasenantiques.com

News from the Palm Beach Jewelry, Art & Antique Show

My booth at the show

My booth at the show

I’m writing this blog from the show at 6:45 PM on Saturday. The show formally opened to the public today at 11 AM, with a preview party yesterday evening.

Preview party: Very well attended with most people in a very good mood, but I have a major gripe with all preview parties. I wish they didn’t exist. They may be great fun for the attendees, but they’re torture for the exhibitors. Most people go to have a good time, to see and be seen. I’m there to do business and that seems to be in conflict with the goals of the guests. Result: one sale to another dealer who I know, none to the general public.

Palm Beach Jewelry, Art & Antiques Show, Saturday, 2/12/10

Palm Beach Jewelry, Art & Antiques Show, Saturday, 2/12/10

Saturday: Attendance was unbelievable today. I haven’t seen so many people attend an antique show in 20 years. The problem is that most of the people were here because they had free tickets to attend. The show promoter is very generous in distributing tickets, so why not attend? The problem from the dealer standpoint is that most of the people were here for a good time and again that’s in direct conflict with my interests. Based on the number of inquiries, I should have sold half my booth, but sales lagged far behind interest. Many people took business cards and many people said they’ll return, so we’ll see. Result: a few sales to the general public.

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Sunday 4:35 PM: Gotta hand it to the promoter. Attendance again was outstanding — lots of questions and interest. I usually prefer it when there aren’t so many free tickets because paying an admission price separates the lookers from the buyers. On the other hand, you can’t make a sale to someone who isn’t there, so good attendance is important. Result: sales much better. This continues a trend that I noticed at the Miami Beach Antiques Show — sales got better on the second day of the show — very curious. Historically sales have been best on opening day, but I don’t look a gift horse in the mouth. If the second day is better, so be it.

I’ll post a blog on Wednesday morning with the final results. The show continues until 6 PM on Tuesday.

I’m taking a lot of time to add new items to my website. I’ve already listed new items under Gallé glass (including a blownout vase), Daum Nancy glass and Tiffany Studios glass. Soon I’ll be adding many Tiffany Studios desk pieces. Please take a look, as every day I’m adding more. Click on this link chasenantiques.com.

Please send me your suggestions or questions about art glass, lamps, Louis Icart, shows, auctions, etc. If it’s interesting, I’ll answer your question in a future blog entry.

Call or write and let me know what you would like to buy, sell, or trade. philchasen@gmail.com or
516-922-2090. And please visit my website. chasenantiques.com

More follow-up to the Original Miami Beach Antiques Show

Gilded Tiffany Studios 7-light lily table lamp

Gilded Tiffany Studios 7-light lily table lamp

I wrote my last blog entry this past Sunday morning about the preliminary results of the Original Miami Beach Antiques Show. Now that the show is over, I can report the final results. The show was close to a barnburner. Business continued strong on Sunday and Monday, with overall results in the top one-third of all the Miami Beach shows for the last 30 years. I also talked to many more dealers about their results and almost everyone agreed that business was very good. One dealer reported that he had a record show. Fortunately, very few dealers told me they did poorly, but there were a few.

What was even more encouraging was that business was spread out over many clients, including several new ones. That’s always important and gratifying. I feel lucky when I’ve done a lot of business with a few clients, but not with many clients. It’s a sign that business is good and getting better. No one category was especially strong, with interest spread out over many. That too is encouraging. I did notice moderately strong interest in Tiffany lily lamps.

The Palm Beach Jewelry, Art & Antique Show, February 13-16, 2010

The Palm Beach Jewelry, Art & Antique Show, February 13-16, 2010

I held off deciding on whether to exhibit at the Palm Beach Jewelry, Art & Antique Show until I could better gauge sentiment. After the Miami Beach show, I think it’s worth another try, so I’ll be there in a couple of weeks. I’ve always liked to exhibit there, but expenses are high, so it’s not a gamble I’m willing to take if business is weak. This time I’m optimistic. You’ll read my report in a couple of weeks and see if my optimism was warranted. In case you haven’t ever visited the show, it’s a good one. The exhibitors are high-end, with several of them exhibiting at very few shows. The overall quality is several notches higher than the Miami Beach show, with all of the objects vetted by experts. I’ll be bringing quite a few new items that I didn’t take to the Miami Beach show, so come and see me. You’ll surely enjoy the show.

I’m taking a lot of time to add new items to my website. I’ve already listed new items under Gallé glass (including a blownout vase), Daum Nancy glass and Tiffany Studios glass. Soon I’ll be adding many Tiffany Studios desk pieces. Please take a look, as every day I’m adding more. Click on this link chasenantiques.com.

Please send me your suggestions or questions about art glass, lamps, Louis Icart, shows, auctions, etc. If it’s interesting, I’ll answer your question in a future blog entry.

Call or write and let me know what you would like to buy, sell, or trade. philchasen@gmail.com or
516-922-2090. And please visit my website. chasenantiques.com