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Nashville: Surviving the Times

by Fran Kramer

"We survived the big E's," said Fayetteville, New York, dealer Madeleine Killeen. "The elements, the economy, and Enron."

"We did what we had to do," said Patricia Clegg of Abbottstown, Pennsylvania.

"Nashville is right where it needs to be to support the antiques business today," said Betty Berdan of Hallowell, Maine.

Despite rain, snow, sleet, ice, fog, cautious collectors, and concerned dealers, Nashville not only survived, for some exhibitors it actually flourished.

The February 7-10 three-show marathon involved over 600 dealers from across the country. The theme was, as usual, red, white, and blue, America's heartland, and country with a capital C.

One dealer said that the Kramers, who began the first Heart of Country show 21 years ago, were way ahead of their time. They knew a love of Americana ran deep in American collectors, and they beat the drums for it.

Their logos, banners, ads, and themes all focused on the American spirit, and the shows that followed—the Tailgate Antiques Show at Fiddlers Inn and Music Valley Antiques Market at the Ramada/Radisson—played a similar tune.

Yes, some formal furniture and late decorator doodads appeared from time to time, but everyone knew it was American country stuff that consistently sold.

Bring your red pantry boxes, your white bedcovers, your blue cupboards, and meet me in Nashville was the battle cry.

The Nashville shows exploded on the scene and have cracked some fireworks ever since. Dealers have come and gone, but the two major promoters, the Kramers of St. Louis, Missouri, and the Jenkinses of Fisher, Indiana, have joined forces, and it's a united front.

The Jenkinses run Tailgate, the Jenkinses and the Kramers operate Music Valley, and the Kramers run Heart of Country. Gaylord Entertainment Company, owners of Opryland Hotel, the Radisson at Opryland, and many other money-making endeavors, provides the battlegrounds, with all the bells and whistles, for two of the three shows.

There were some changes this year. First, Tailgate opened not on Tuesday morning, but on Wednesday. Why? Steve Jenkins told M.A.D. it was to better serve the buying public, who did not want to spend a whole week in Nashville, and it helped dealers, who could cut one whole day off their show time. It seemed to have been a wise move, since the preview crowd, according to Jenkins, was the best ever.

Second, enough of that huge tent subject to the vagaries of the weather. The Radisson, which a few years ago had put the kibosh on the Music Valley shows using their rooms and public areas after a major makeover, seems to have decided that enough wear and tear was already evident in the hotel rooms to let the show return.

Third, the popular textile show that was held in a small area of the Radisson last year and was scheduled to be repeated this year in an Opryland Hotel room near the Heart of Country show was canceled because of lack of dealer response. Manager Laurel Carlson McKinney, who was herself exhibiting at the Tailgate show, told M.A.D. that some of her dealers were now set up at Tailgate and some at Music Valley.

Would she try again? Maybe. She needs to rethink the concept and needs time to decide. She added that because the textile market is so directed by New York City, the fashion district, etc., it was especially hard for vintage textile dealers now.

The basic survival strategy, however, remained. Bring them down to Nashville, surround them with a variety of colorful booth presentations (especially at Heart of Country, where dealers are absolute masters at booth arrangement, even changing their booths daily), give them lots of country music (Heart of Country's preview), good food (Heart of Country's preview), and veteran dealers (all the shows), and stand back for the action.

The first show, the Tailgate Antiques Show at Fiddlers Inn, opened on a cold, blustery, snowy morning. Most of the outdoor stuff was either under tarps or still in vans, not out on the parking lot. This actually made the show look better, cleaner, and more organized.

Some dealers started out very well. Others who usually cannot take a breath at preview saw fewer sales. Were the Texans coming? Some did, and one not only bought, she decided this was the year to set up. Absent, however, were the New York City decorators and dealers who often came down.

Thistle Antiques, Barrington, Illinois, said she was having a wonderful show, but Dwan Mabrey of Raleigh, North Carolina, who almost always sells out within the first hour, said his problem in selling was that he couldn't find as much good stuff to bring down as he usually does. He said that in the last six months things have dried up and that most of the really good stuff was in collections that collectors were not ready to sell. "It's a real hunt. Some of the things I rarely see are homespuns and stoneware," he said.

The next morning, February 7 at 8 a.m., was the preview for the Music Valley Antiques Market, a show managed by Kay Puchstein and Jon Jenkins. The large meeting room of the Radisson Opryland, one of several locations used for the show, never looked better. Gone were many of the tabletop dealers, and in their place many new fine dealers. Selling was very good in this room throughout the show. Just ask Bob Brown of Hope, Indiana, who had almost nothing left to take home in his two large vans, or another dealer who ran by us yelling, "Best early bird ever, great selling. A lotta prayer and a lotta work!"

The booths in the atrium were nicely presented, as always, and the dealers in rooms on the first and second floors brandished a wide variety of items. Some rooms were very active, others moderately so.

And then we come to Heart of Country and its 6-10 p.m. preview on February 7 in the Opryland Hotel's largest convention rooms. The booth layout instituted last year (and kept this year) was easy to follow, and the extra space between aisles was appreciated. Also, the large space meant more loading ramps, and dealers who sent back their contracts the earliest and thus got the first setup times were smiling.

The enormous preview crowd, in a line that stretched down the hallway outside the show and out of sight, enjoyed champagne, music, apple pie, ham, and biscuits. There was more talking and eating at the preview than buying, but in the next three days, many dealers did unfurl a lot of red sold tags for all to see. Woody Straub of Panacea, Florida, wanted us to be sure to mention that he thought the preshow buying was the strongest ever.

Selling, whether preshow, preview, or during the overall three-day run, was uneven—but consider the times. One longtime dealer told us it was her worst show in 17 years, and another dealer told us he had sold 100 items. In a small random sampling of dealers we asked this question: Was this a very good show, a good show, a fair show, or a poor show, in terms of selling? Ten percent said poor, 25% said fair, 25% said good, and 40% said very good.

To one question, though, there was unanimous agreement. The gallery booth, by Raccoon Creek Antiques, L.L.C., Bridgeport, New Jersey, was a knockout.

The Country Homes magazine showcase booth was popular, as always, and country guru Mary Emmerling, along with editor-in-chief Carol Sheehan, was there to chat with preview patrons.

The show exhibit of American flags was both appropriate and appreciated. Dealers Jeff Bridgman of Dillsburg, Pennsylvania, and Dr. Jeffrey Kenneth Kohn of Elkins Park, Pennsylvania, offered over 100 American flags, some for show and others for sale. It made us want to stand up and salute.

Everyone asked if the exhibit was planned before or after September 11. Libby Kramer told M.A.D. that it was planned last June, on a theme of Presidents' Day. She thinks of the show exhibits as learning tools as well as visual treats.

Another attraction was a book fair, organized by Ada, Michigan, dealers Mad Anthony Books. Several current authors of books on subjects related to collecting gave short talks throughout the show. Another small but choice show exhibit was on carved folk art birds, curated by Jefferson City, Missouri, exhibitor Mike Michelson.

To those who may have forgotten that the first Nashville show opened in the midst of a recession, Libby Kramer noted that then, as now, the antiques market is not so "upset" or subject to wild swings as other parts of the economy, and that antiques dealers seem to take things more in stride.

Maybe that's why all the Nashville shows march on, to slightly different drummers, perhaps, but still playing those familiar tunes, surviving the times.

The dates for the fall Nashville shows will be October 16-20. Next year's dates are March 12-16 for all shows. For more information, call the Jenkinses at (317) 598-0012 about Tailgate and Music Valley and the Kramers at (800) 862-1990 about Heart of Country.