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Nashville, Tennessee

Twenty Years and Heart of Country Is Still a Happening

by Fran Kramer

What were you doing in the antiques world 20 years ago? A beginning collector? A veteran dealer? Twenty years ago in St. Louis, Missouri, a husband and wife team, who had been exhibiting for about eight years at some of the top country and folk art shows, began to think about becoming promoters themselves and creating a new show.

Deciding where was the big question. Where is the center of the antiques population in the United States? What about finding it, and then putting on a North American show, one where Canadian dealers and Mexican dealers could join U.S. dealers from every state in the Union?

The couple checked out several possibilities. The Nashville (Tennessee) Chamber of Commerce made a pitch hard to refuse. They said that 73% of the U.S. population lived within 500 miles of Nashville, a well-known city with good access. Yet, Nashville is the South. Would it work? They took a chance. The results took the antiques world by surprise.

"You've got to go. You've got to see it. They grab things out of your hands and line up to buy. It's fantastic," is the gist of what some upstate New York dealers said to me 20 years ago, again 19 years ago, and again 18 years ago. Finally, after hearing about Nashville for three years, we went down to see what all the fuss was about.

That year the show moved from the Tennessee State Fairgrounds to the grand Opryland Hotel—a decision no one would regret.

Richard and Libby Kramer, the Missouri dealers with good promotional sense, were on their way to a string of successful shows, all in Nashville. They subsequently tried other venues for what could be called Nashville clones in places such as Texas, Philadelphia, and Indianapolis, but it was not to be. Nashville was the star, and they poured all their efforts into it.

Over the past 20 years there have been lots of changes.

Other shows have come to Nashville at the same time. A biannual schedule has evolved, fall and winter. Dates for the winter show vary, and they have ranged from as early as the first week in January to the first week in March.

A bigger Heart of Country has been created. In 1984 there were 116 exhibitors; from 1985-90, a range of 102-132; from 1990-95, a range of 136-152; and from 1996-99, a range of 174-185. In 2000 there were 208, and in 2001, 220.

Over the 20 years, the turnover has been substantial, though in recent years the repeaters have been more stable with about a third from 1997, for example, exhibiting this year. Of the 116 dealers in 1984, only 12 were listed in the 2001 program; of the 132 in 1988, only 30 remained in 2001. In those very early years of the show, some very prominent names appeared, including Ron Bourgeault, Don Walters, Pat Guthman, Milly McGehee, and Deanne Levison. For various reasons, none of them still do Nashville.

Despite all of the changes, the public has continued its support, and the turnout keeps growing and growing and growing.

Selling has changed too. The merchandise that sells reflects the tastes of the newer collectors, collectors from the Midwest, the South, and the West. Not every exhibitor does well. Sellers have to learn what these tastes are, and that's not an easy task. As one big California buyer was heard to say, "Don't ever bring anything just for me. I never know what I'll be looking for next, what the next trend will be."

One exhibitor from the Midwest told M.A.D., "These are different buyers. They are not like they are in the East. They do not make fast decisions. They do not always have the level of sophisticated knowledge."

Disputing that conviction was longtime exhibitor Eileen Evans of Chappell Hill, Texas. She thinks Nashville buyers are very knowledgeable and wanted to go on record saying so.

On March 1-4 this year, in addition to the largest number of exhibitors (220), the Kramers rearranged the floor plan by 90 degrees. There were shorter aisles and more booths off the center and closer to the middle in the vast Opryland Hotel's ballroom and meeting rooms.

By one in the afternoon, patrons were lining up. They were from Biloxi, Mississippi; Chicago, Illinois; Wilmington, Delaware; and Davenport, Iowa. By the preview's opening at six, the line went beyond what the eye could see. The band began to play. (Actually, one of the faithful exhibitors, Mike Michelson of Jefferson City, Missouri, a pianist in real life, brought some musical friends, and the rest is history.) The waiters lined up the champagne glasses. The dealers brushed away the last crumbs from the floor. And the 20th Heart of Country show opened.

A mad rush down the aisle didn't materialize; it was more of a brisk walk with time for some of the food from the enormous buffet. A contagion of red sold tickets didn't break out, but a decent number appeared. The preview party is a good value. For $60 (booked in advance) or $65 (at the door), you get re-admission through the run of the show, champagne, and all you can eat from 6 to 10 p.m.

Sales varied widely by the end of the show. One dealer who sold eight pieces of furniture, all under $1000, was delighted. On the other hand, he said he personally knew some exhibitors, offering mainly high-end things, who did not write a single sales slip. One problem may have been the late dates of the show. One exhibitor commented that she usually sells to a lot of dealers from the Northeast. They were missing this year.

Also, the quality of the merchandise was stretched greatly among the number of dealers. One exhibitor actually described the inventory in the storage area, ready to come out when other things sold, as "very, very ordinary."

In many booths it looked as though everything but the proverbial kitchen sink was displayed in so crowded a space that things were piled atop one another or squeezed together on shelves like a country store inventory. Trying to be eclectic, some dealers overdid it. Booth presentation has always been the strong card at Heart, and while the majority played it, some did not.

Despite the changes and the complaints, however, the show is a fixture. It's among the best large antiques events in the South. The inclusion of special events, such as antiques symposiums, is an outstanding effort to educate the buying public. The promoters are very organized and experienced; the mood is always upbeat; and the location, a vast convention center area in a gigantic hotel complex of 2880 bedrooms in the Opryland Hotel with nine acres of indoor gardens, is "drop dead."

The next Heart of Country show will be October 12, 13, and 14 with the preview on the evening of October 11. For more information, call (800) 862-1090.