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Manchester, New Hampshire

The Riverside Antiques Show: Surviving in a Crowded and Downbeat Market

by David Hewett

The exhibitors at Linda Turner's Riverside Antiques Show, held for the second year at the Best Western Executive Court Inn on the south side of Manchester, August 10-12, are for the most part a pretty seasoned bunch.

They've weathered the good and lean years. They've survived the killing heat of a malfunctioning facility at the airport several years ago. They've endured the moves necessitated by the loss of armories as show venues after the events of 9/11. Those who chose a tent location last year even adjusted to the deluge that turned opening evening into a night out at a naval facility.

And now, this year, they were trying to wear brave faces in spite of an industry-wide economic slowdown. They also had to face up to the fact that there were newcomers added to the Antiques Week in New Hampshire mix.

There were some that saw the Brunos and their Flamingo Promotions shows (one involving just a change of location, the other totally new) as events that endangered them all.

One dealer put it bluntly. "Greediness will kill this business. It didn't work in Philadelphia. It didn't work in York. Why even try it here?"

Flamingo Promotions' Start of Manchester show in Bedford that opened on Tuesday at 10 a.m. appeared to have no effect on the attendance at the 5 p.m. opening of Turner's Riverside show. The lines were long and boisterous. They overwhelmed the tent aisles and jammed up the inside exhibitors' booths.

Unfortunately, many attendees kept tight grips on their wallets. A few exhibitors recorded sales that nearly cleaned out their booths, but many more reported only one or two small sales on opening evening.

Exhibitor Susan Scott of Malone, New York, said she'd sold a couple of pieces of furniture, "but it definitely wasn't like it used to be at opening. People are being very cautious."

"Why did they even come here?" one exhibitor in the tent asked. "It was huge, they were all over us last night, but they didn't buy. Why?" Another exhibitor said she thought they were holding back from buying until they'd seen what the other shows offered.

Tom Joseph of Maine noted that business was bad all over. "This is the longest that it's been this bad," he said. "This year is a little better than 2002, but it sure isn't 1998. The economy isn't back yet."

Tent exhibitor Jane Langol of Medina, Ohio, seconded that observation. "I had only one sale on the first day, but I had five sales the second day, and that turned it into a successful show for me."

If it was quiet down in the tent, at times it was mausoleum-like up in the Best Western Inn. M.A.D. personnel tending our table with free copies, special advertising rates, and drawings for free ads reported that some people coming on the second and third days only then discovered the exhibitors tucked away in cul-de-sacs.

One tent exhibitor summed it up after the show closed. He said, "I've done this show for twelve years, and this was the worst ever." Another, Halsey Munson of Decatur, Illinois, said, "I had three or four sales on opening night, but what concerns me is that I don't even see any interest in what we're showing."

Conversely, some exhibitors did quite well. The Kaces of Manchester just about cleaned out their booth on opening evening. The Goodriches of Langhorne, Pennsylvania, had a fantastic presale and great opening sales. Dan and Karen Olson of Newburgh, New York, moved a lot of pieces also.

One dealer, Neil Greco of New Hampshire's Birchknoll Antiques, sold two major pieces of furniture on the second day and took an upbeat view, perhaps because he'd done so well. "I see some resurgence in the business," he said. "The customers were quite knowledgeable and knew exactly what they were looking at.

"A veteran dealer told me back when I was first starting that this is a feel-good business," Greco said. "Well, I don't think people are feeling too good right now."

For more information, call (207) 767-3967 or visit the Web site (www.forbesandturner.com).