Elm Bank Show Chugs Along

Wellesley, Massachusetts

by Jeanne Schinto

"You could tell that the people who came to the show could have spent money," Marvin Getman said after his fourth annual Antiques at Elm Bank in Wellesley, Massachusetts, on the weekend of July 25 and 26. "My encouragement comes from that. I just realize I've got to hang on to this great-looking show until the market turns around."

We came away from our visit on Sunday with a similar impression. The former Gilded Age estate, once the home of William H. Baltzell and his wife, Alice Cheney Baltzell, is still one of the most beautiful show venues in the country, complete with formal gardens. Some of the dealers occupy tents; others are in buildings. In years past, one of those buildings was the aging beauty Manor House, former home of the Baltzells, built in 1908. But this year the Commonwealth of Massachusetts, Elm Bank's current owner (which leases a portion of it to the Massachusetts Horticultural Society, which in turn rents to Getman), saw fit to close Manor House. It's in bad condition and needs a major renovation that does not appear to be forthcoming in the current economic climate.

Instead, the society gave Getman access to its Horticultural Educational Center, essentially a group of classrooms and a library. The dealer setups in there could not compare to those possible in Manor House, but the advantages were air conditioning and no dust, mold spores, or plaster chips raining down from the ceilings. The other indoor air-conditioned venue was, as always, the Hunnewell Building, the estate's former carriage house.

In years past, too, the total dealer count was higher. When Elm Bank began in 2006, exhibitors numbered 150. This year, with dealers still facing increased expenses and dwindling sales, the count was 90. "It's disappointing to me because it's such a great show," Getman said.

And yet we ran into more than a few satisfied exhibitors. David Weidner, who with partner Jared Cilley does business as Dark Flowers Antiques, said, "Everybody was so happy that the sun was shining. We did well. There were people who came from New York City to see us. They came up just for the day and bought." Weidner and Cilley said they did well with Limoges pitchers, Consolidated Lamp and Glass Company items, and Amphora.

The McCullochs of Antiques of Hingham, Hingham, Massachusetts, sold three pieces of furniture, including an Eldred Wheeler four-poster bed and a Victorian mahogany lockside chest.

Mary Dacquino of SeasonS at Calmore, Dunstable, Massachusetts, was restocking the shelves when we entered her booth Sunday morning. On Saturday, she had sold "a couple of pieces of furniture" as well as smaller decorative items. "It was a good day, not a fabulous day, but a good one." During a post-show phone call to check a price, however, she was happy to report having sold four of the seven pieces she had restocked with, and she said a Wellesley woman had driven out to the shop and bought.

Jack Winner of Newfane, Vermont, and Macreay Landy of Fitzwilliam, New Hampshire, sharing a booth as Winner-Landy, also reported a "good show," having made sales of a tiger maple blanket box and a "lovely" set of Windsor grain-painted chairs, as well as pressed glass. Like Getman, they also liked the quality of the customers, both actual and potential. "They were interesting people," Winner said. "They were asking questions. Really delightful. The people were energetic and engaged."

Irene Sheckler of Alternatives Decorating Studio, Baldwinsville, New York, said she sold "a big mix," including lamps, tables, and chairs.

Dennis Easter of Made in Russia, Palm Beach, Florida, had made "five sales at the lower end" by Sunday morning. "The show has been all right, but some of my customers are on the field this morning. I am anticipating better sales today."

David Genereux of Wayside Antiques & Collectibles, West Boylston, Massachusetts, said, "We're not a big seller here, but we get a year's worth of business out of this show. We usually see them at the shop, which is nearby. The show generates a ton of foot traffic for us."

David and Jane Steele of Middletown, Rhode Island, said they had a good show.

Linda and Howard Roberts of White Orchid Antiques, Media, Pennsylvania, said on Sunday, "Yesterday was a good day. We sold a little bit of everything."

The "tile ladies"-Sandie Fowler and Wendy Harvey of Antique Articles, Dunstable, Massachusetts-were still hoping for better results when we spoke to them. They said the show had been "OK," with "a couple of good potentials."

Janice Vrana of b.b. blackbird, New York City, had just made a sale when we saw her, but she said of customers in general, "It's hard to get them [to buy] above a certain price level."

Carole Kaplan of Two by Two, who travels between Vero Beach, Florida, and Centerville, Massachusetts, told a similar story. "We were selling smalls one after the other for the first couple of hours, then-dead. Everybody loves everything, but they want a bargain."

Smalls. Smalls. Smalls. We heard that term repeatedly. They're keeping a lot of dealers' heads above water.

For the past few years Jo McDonough, a dealer in prints, maps, and rare books from Atlanta, Georgia, has been doing East Coast shows, including Elm Bank. If any one of them is successful, she can justify doing them all, she said. Last year at Elm Bank, she showed a "great 1844 view of New York City" to a man who considered it, but declined. He later had a change of heart and drove to get it at her next show, in Chatham, on Cape Cod. "That one sale made the whole trip here worthwhile."

Interestingly, McDonough said, "If you're at a show and you have good interest and get questions [but no sales] on the larger pieces, it's almost better than selling somebody four or six little prints. That same person is not going to come back the next year and buy four or six more." She prefers the potential of big sales to the reality of the small ones.

Since the beginning, dealers have questioned the timing of this show. Wellesley residents are away in the summer, they insist. Couldn't Getman do the show when they're more likely to be at home and to venture over to Elm Bank?

Getman has resisted a date change in the past. He believes in the crowd that he has consistently attracted here. Recently, though, he said, "I'm sending out a survey to question dealers to see what they think about a possible change to the spring. I am seriously considering it and working with the organization around their calendar to see what's available." A date change, whether or not it attracts new people, could give the show a boost, we ventured. "It needs a boost right now," Getman admitted. "And I'm going to give it my best, so we'll see."

For more information, contact New England Antique Shows at (781) 862-4039 or visit (www.neantiqueshows.com).

Login or Register to post a Comment