Winnetka Is a Winner
November 4th, 2016
Antiques + Modernism Winnetka Show, Winnetka, Illinois
Hot dog and yee-haw! When we overheard a visitor at the November 4-6, 2016, Antiques + Modernism Winnetka Show in Winnetka, Illinois, ask her husband, “Do you think this will fit? We could move the table,” we practically levitated.
The exchange was electric because it took us back to the good old days when North Shore matrons shopped antiques shows at the Winnetka Community House with a fierce purpose. Plus, the exchange was about furniture—and brown furniture, no less.
It has been a long while since we heard a similar conversation at an upscale antiques show. To understand why it was so seismic, a little history will help.
Covering antiques shows at the site for decades, we’ve seen a lot, including how ups and downs in the general economy affect buying at shows. Granted, as an upscale suburb, Winnetka lagged somewhat behind the worst, yet the market collapse of the late aughts brought change there, too.
As we exited the booth of Redefined Décor, Chicago, seller Mindy Baschnagel began to wrap the $650 painted iron lion head for a buyer to pick up later. A hands-on dealer, she often enhances stock. As example, the $1250 pair of 1940s-50s French side tables bought from a show patron years ago had been repainted and topped with glass. The lion head had been backed with Lucite. Framed modesty aprons from Cameroon, tagged $950 each, are on the wall.
In 2006, the 40th anniversary celebration of the spring antiques show (Modernism was a winter event), we wrote that several sellers had held the same booth space for 25 years or more, that several had been with the show for all 40 years, and that over 300 volunteer members of the Woman’s Board of the Winnetka Community House worked the event that year. Stability. Great times.
A multipurpose gathering place deeded to community members, the Winnetka Community House is in many ways the heart of Winnetka. It is also the reason for the show. All proceeds from the antiques show run by the Woman’s Board benefit the house.
In 2010 we wrote that some 43 volunteer members of the Woman’s Board made up show committees because many volunteers had gone into full-time jobs. Lean times.
The George III mahogany bureau cabinet with an architectural cornice and original brasses was $14,000 from Caledonian, Inc., Barrington, Illinois. Seller Barrie Heath opened the front of the circa 1770 piece for us to photograph. The $6400 William IV mahogany two-drawer writing table at bottom left was another Alexa Hampton pick and accordingly graced by a gold star with an inset photo of the designer.
At that point, “The Woman’s Board looked at market trends and wisely rebranded the show,” said Marty Shapiro of Finnegan Gallery, Chicago. A longtime Winnetka dealer, Shapiro is a member of the Antiques Council, a group of high-end sellers formed in 1990. Together, the council and Woman’s Board decided to switch the show format to a fresh event called Antiques + Modernism Winnetka to be held during the first weekend in November.
The council handles management while board volunteers handle show events and are there to assist sellers and visitors. Important decisions are made jointly.
Fast forward to the 2016 show. Shapiro, despite a last-minute switch to a smaller booth, “Had the best show I’ve had since I started doing Winnetka.” One sale, a pair of large 19th-century barn doors with original iron hinges tagged $4900, went to a Chicago decorator.
“In almost every aspect, this show was a huge improvement,” he continued. “Attendance was higher, and the show just had a good feel.”
The array of lighted leaded-glass lamps and glass took our breath away. Seller Philip Chasen of East Norwich, New York, was busy selling a nugget from the Tiffany Studio lamps and fine art glass that are his specialty, so Mrs. C. helped with particulars. They offered a $29,500 Pairpoint puffy apple tree lamp and sold Tiffany and French art glass vases. A Tiffany Studios Lemon Tree lamp was $27,500, and an Arrowroot shaded lamp was $9500. A Handel jungle bird lamp was $15,000, and a lamp with a nasturtium shade was “under $135,000.”
About 2300 came to the show, and tickets, available online, covered admission for all three days. Some 300 attended a Thursday evening preview party.
Kate Kligora, the 2016 show chair, reported that membership in the Woman’s Board is up, having “almost doubled within the past few years.” Members were everywhere during the show, handling tickets, managing the bar at the entrance, assisting visitors and sellers, and generally facilitating as they could.
The overall mood was cheerful and positive. We cannot think of another show with as many upbeat, attractive volunteers. One approached us immediately on entry to offer us and other viewers arriving during the first few hours of the show a complimentary mimosa or Bloody Mary.
Diane Elliott told us the $6800 large bronze lion in her booth was “almost sold.” “I’d love to have it down south for our garden,” she said of the beast. The gold star above the lion’s head indicates that he is a show pick by designer Alexa Hampton, who presented at a sold-out catered breakfast on Friday. That’s a photo of Hampton on the star. The bronze flame ornament above a cylinder topping a hairy paw foot is one of a $1785 pair, circa 1920, from Savannah, Georgia.
Shapiro credits Kligora and her crew for the bonhomie. Kligora, on the other hand, thinks the good vibes are about anticipation and relationships.
This is a show heavily supported by the community. Clusters gathered at the ticket desk and in hallways to catch up on family and social news as arrivals found acquaintances. Dealers reported that many buyers are North Shore patrons, along with longtime regulars from Chicago and the area.
Even the three blockbuster presenters had community ties. Kligora told us that designer Alexa Hampton (who presented “Decorating in Detail”) has family in Winnetka. Designer India Hicks, who spoke on “Island Life and Beyond,” was suggested by a board member who reps for her, and Sunday’s featured designer Michael Del Piero (“Traveled + Textural: Unusual Art and Objects For Modern Spaces”) grew up in a North Shore suburb.
Elliott-Elliott, Harbor Springs, Michigan, (summer) and St. Helena Island, South Carolina, (winter) offered a gilded tin on board piano trade sign from Philadelphia, circa 1900, for $1450. A carousel horse head attributed to Charles Carmel, Brooklyn, New York, was $850. The metal banner with a cutout star at bottom right belongs to a $1350 late 19th-century Connecticut weathervane.
Breakfast tickets for an event with Hampton and lunch tickets for an event with Hicks at $60 a pop sold out in October (talk about anticipation!), so those events were moved to a gym in the building where balcony tickets including a mini meal were sold for $25 each.
An official kickoff in May at a local gallery started momentum as the board partnered with the gallery for a cocktail event where celebrity speakers for the 2016 show were announced. A local children’s theater group also performed.
According to Kligora, “The show surpassed my hopes; so many people remarked on the energy.”
Demonstrating that good design works anywhere, Jayne Thompson Antiques, Harrodsburg, Kentucky, brought an iron eel spear stamped “C.C. Taber” (see center tine). Labeled 19th-century American, it was $950, a price that may surprise traditional decoy/fishing collectors.
The $8500 Japanese lacquer chest, $4800 calligraphy ink on paper by Yi Z, and a $3800 Edo period wooden dragon head were from Lotus Gallery, Austin, Texas.
We’re thinking that the energy—and we felt it too—was not incidental. Early on Kligora focused the troops on message and marketing.
The message included telling volunteers that “We want you to come and buy. We are not here to be eye candy. We are to be on the floor, buying. Buyers bring a crowd and create buzz.”
Having featured speakers select booth items as standouts, then posting a large gold star centered with the designer’s face adjacent to the object, was also smart. We heard that all the starred items sold.
Whitehall Antiques, Chapel Hill, North Carolina, identified the circa 1800 country French large piece tagged $12,000 as a “vaisselier enfilade.” That sent us to a French/English dictionary, where we learned that it is a variety of dresser. Identified as from Bresse, France, the piece with burl panels is made with walnut, cherry, and pine woods. Eighteenth-century delft bowls ranged from $475 to $875 for a charger. French majolica dishes were priced at $85 to $95.
Marketing involved building anti-cipation with advance posters in local shops, heavy use of Facebook and Instagram, plus coverage in North Shore magazines, Chicago newspapers, and area digital media postings. Higher visibility led to more sponsors and, according to Kligora, a 50% increase in contributions from sponsors.
Need we add that the 2016 chair is a powerhouse? Her final message to us was, “Please tell your dealer-readers that we appreciate them and we value having them with us. We take care of them.”
For more information, check the website (www.thewinnetkashow.com).
Originally published in the February 2017 issue of Maine Antique Digest. © 2017 Maine Antique Digest
