Boston's New Weekly Venue

Boston, Massachusetts

by Jeanne Schinto

If geography is destiny, Marvin Getman's latest venture is well placed for good fortune. SoWa Antiques Market, designed as a weekly stripped-down affair, opened on the weekend of May 16 and 17 in a historic former trolley barn in Boston's stylish South End. The area known as SoWa (short for "South of Washington Street") is particularly chockablock with art galleries, studios, shops, restaurants, bars, and high-end housing. It is, in short, a "scene." But Getman didn't stake out entirely new territory. He had a better idea.

Wisely, in these difficult times, he has added his dealers to an already existing, albeit non-antiques, venue. Called SoWa Open Market, it has been touted in press reports as "Boston's original outdoor weekly artisan market" and a "Manhattan-style shopping experience." A Boston reporter countered that she preferred to think of it as "Boston-style, uniquely ours."

Whatever the reality, it is a success. Founded six years ago by Chris Masci, it features purveyors of arts, crafts, and farmers-market produce and other foods and draws substantial crowds from the surrounding neighborhood and beyond. A few antiques and collectibles dealers, including Boston-based Alvin Lindo and Chris and Robin Berg of Swampscott, Massachusetts, used to be part of SoWa Open Market, set up under tents like everyone else. But they did not reach any sort of critical mass, and Lindo said they felt outnumbered by the artisans and their customers. Nor was there any possibility of a real roof over their heads, until now.

The trolley barn that Getman has rented provides protection from the elements-partially. There is no glass in its windows, and Saturday was chilly. For the first show, alongside the table spaces each dealer also got a parking spot that he or she could drive right into, as long as the vehicle fit. (If not, there is free parking a block or so away.) The combination, along with rents lower than for Getman's regular shows, has proven attractive, and at least for the opening the venue was sold out with about 50 dealers deciding to give it a go. (The parking policy has since been changed. See sidebar.)

The smooth-as-silk setup began at 6 a.m. for the 10 a.m. opening. Premium spaces near the entrances were given to dealers who had signed on for multiple weeks. Others chose theirs on a first-come, first-served basis. It was hard for them to decide what corner of the cavernous building to stake out as their own. Near one of the huge open windows, which let a lot of light in but also the cold air? In the middle of the place? Near any available entrance space not already staked out, and if so, which one?

Lindo, who does some of Getman's other shows, was among those who encouraged the promoter to start SoWa Antiques Market. His feeling was that bringing in more dealers like himself would give more collectors an incentive to attend. Lindo's business philosophy is easy to state: "What sells are things people can use: usable vintage, antique kitchenware, pottery, glass, decorative items." Even his vintage fashion accessories are included in that category. "Someone who bought a pair of cotton gloves from me recently said she actually needed them to attend a tea party," he said.

Asked his price point, Lindo didn't hesitate: "Under a hundred dollars." Asked later how his show results were, Lindo said, "Fabulous. I have my clients, and they bought."

Not far away from Lindo's tables was a dealer with an entirely different approach. New to the antiques business, Tyler Doran of Providence, Rhode Island, had brought items with high graphic interest and very little practical use, priced in the mid-four figures. There was, for example, a pair of 1940's anatomical posters, 81" x 31", front and rear views of a human male, from the Deutsches Hygiene-Museum in Dresden. One came from a dealer in Belgium, the other from a dealer in London, said Doran, who described them, accurately we think, as "pretty intense." They were being offered as a set, beautifully framed, for $5200.

Getman reported that Doran sold a $4300 item on Sunday, but an e-mail asking Doran to confirm the sale did not get a response.

The Bergs of Swampscott, whose business card reads "Good Vintage Collectibles," typify yet another business model. They brought pottery by Saturday Evening Girls, Marblehead, Rookwood, Hampshire, Roseville, Dedham, and others, priced up to $1400. They also brought a selection of less expensive items by Dorchester Pottery Works of Dorchester, Massachusetts, a neighborhood that abuts Boston. "It's decorative, sturdy, historic, and affordable," said Robin Berg, who frequently encounters people who tell her, "I worked there" or "I went with my Brownie troop there." By Saturday afternoon, pieces of the Dorchester had sold.

Berg characterized SoWa Antiques Market as "a wonderful thing for us [antiques dealers] and for Boston too." She also said she considers it "a work in progress."

Other dealers reported selling only bits and pieces of their lowest-priced items. One complained that the younger crowd didn't know enough even to ask questions. It made him miss the regulars who seem to enjoy harassing him ("How do you know this is nineteenth century?" "What makes you think this comes from Spain?" Et cetera). Another dealer didn't realize that she would have to pack up completely at the end of Saturday and set up all over again on Sunday. (She hadn't read Getman's directions carefully enough.) She hadn't sold much anyway; she didn't return.

It should be stressed that this venue is usually open on Sundays only. This all-weekend inaugural event was designed to coincide with the annual two-day SoWa Art Walk-i.e., open studios hosted by the dozens of artists who work in a reconfigured former mill space nearby. In weeks to come, through October 25, SoWa Antiques Market will be open, like the SoWa Open Market, on Sundays only (except when closed for Labor Day holiday weekend).

Getman had a case of laryngitis over the show weekend; it had not subsided by the end of the following week. Unstoppable as ever, he was setting up his next show, Topsfield Antiques Market in Topsfield, Massachusetts, when we submitted a few questions via e-mail and suggested he save his voice and respond in writing.

M.A.D.: As I recall from earlier conversations, you envisioned the show as a lower-end venue. But a number of dealers brought significant items, and after the show, you mentioned, among others, sales of two watches at around $5000 and a vintage clothing dealer's $2000 sale to a single customer. Will you encourage higher-end people to do the show? Do you think the venue can accommodate all types of dealers?

M.G.: As with all of my shows, I envisioned SoWa as a market with a wide spectrum of merchandise. I never saw this as a lower-end market. Given the affluent area where we are located, surrounded by multimillion-dollar residences, I always saw the potential for dealers to sell higher-end items. So I was not surprised to hear about a number of substantial sales. One jewelry dealer, who called this his best show ever, said customers were educated, knowledgeable, knew what they wanted, and "did not seem to be affected by the economy." What more could any show promoter want?

M.A.D.: How many jewelry people were there, and how did they do?

M.G.: I would say 20% to 25% were either exclusively jewelry or had some jewelry. At some point I may limit the number of jewelry dealers, but right now I am looking at this market in a more practical way. If you can get affluent women to attend a show because they know there is an abundance of jewelry, I believe they will return and look at other items that interest them, and all dealers will benefit.

M.A.D.: Plans for any changes in format? Comments you heard from dealers about format, setup, pack-out, etc.?

M.G.: While planning the market, I knew that ease of load-in and load-out would be of utmost importance. Every dealer I spoke with mentioned how they loved driving right into the building and leaving their vehicle in their space [see sidebar for update]. As I've laid out the floor plan, a dealer can set up five tables with plenty of room for customers. Some dealers decided to move their vehicles into the free parking lot. That way they had an extra-large selling area, measuring 17' wide x 20' deep. Not a bad deal for $100.

M.A.D.: Since admission is free, you can't say exactly how many attended. Does Chris Masci have an idea of the count?

M.G.: Without a paid gate, one can only guess at the numbers. My estimate would be 5000 to 6000 people over the two days. We got off to a slow start on Sunday with the cold and rain, but about noon the floodgates opened. It was gratifying to see so many people, but even more so to hear about the sales activity.

M.A.D.: How easily do you think the audience for the artisans will morph into an audience for the antiques and collectibles? It's not just the price points, it's the merchandise-a brightly painted contemporary dog bowl, say, versus a pair of Staffordshire dogs.

M.G.: It's a misconception to think that the antiques market must depend on the people who come for the crafts in order to be successful. My intention has always been to create a market for antiques dealers using this great venue in this great neighborhood. The fact that the SoWa Open Market has built a successful crafts market helps us to the extent that people know where we are. But I am advertising heavily to my antiques-show customers, and they are the ones who will make the SoWa Antiques Market a success. The nice thing about having the young crafts customers walk into our market is that we have a chance to educate them. I am certain that a good percentage who entered the building on opening weekend had never even thought about going to an antiques show, but I could see the pleasure on their faces as they saw items that they had never before encountered.

M.A.D.: Your overall assessment of the inaugural weekend?

M.G.: It was only last May [2008] that I met with the owner of the property to discuss my concept. It has been so much fun laying its foundation, and the opening weekend more than met my expectations. I was a little surprised at how long it took to fill the 50 spaces. But with this first success, I have been hearing from many dealers who now want to get in, before all the spaces are rented. They are surprised to learn they can set up for one day only without making a long-term commitment. When I stop to think that this market was new for everyone-both dealers and customers-I can believe, in terms of potential, that the sky is the limit as the word spreads.

For information, call (781) 862-4039 or visit the Web site (www.sowaantiques.com).

SoWa Update

About two weeks after the May 16 and 17 SoWa Antiques Market debut, Marvin Getman received an unexpected e-mail from the owner of the trolley barn. It said that dealers' vehicles would no longer be allowed to remain in the building once the market is open to the public. After load-in, dealers will be allowed to park vehicles alongside the building rather than in the lot half a block away.

The owner's reason for instituting the change, Getman said, is that he has "a certain image of how he wants the market to look, and vehicles in the building do not meet that image."

Getman, for his part, said, "Frankly, I agree that a market without vehicles will look classier than a market with [them]. My only reason for planning the market with vehicles was to make it easier for dealers. But I am not in a position to fight his request."

On June 7, this M.A.D. reporter visited SoWa again. The show does look better without vehicles in the mix, although at least one dealer complained about the loss of the convenience of having his vehicle in the booth space with him.

We'll visit the show again in the fall and file another report.

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