The Lebanon Antiques Show

Lebanon, Ohio

by Don Johnson

The comment came an hour before the opening of the Lebanon Antiques, Arts & Artisans Show, held October 3 and 4, 2009, in Lebanon, Ohio. An antiques dealer at the show seemed to be under stress, based in large part on the pre-show buying. The trouble was cash flow, as the dealer was buying well on the floor but without the money in the bank to pay for it. "I'm writing checks that are absolutely no good," the dealer said. "I put all my faith in this show."

All the way around, there was faith put into the fall edition of the Lebanon show—from the promoters, Gerry and Janet Nagel of Nagel Productions; from the show's longstanding sponsor, the Warren County Historical Society; and from the event's latest partner, Early American Life magazine. To all of that, add a new location at the Warren County Fairgrounds.

The idea was to provide solid footing for what had become a rather lackluster autumn show. That's where Early American Life entered the picture. The magazine was instrumental in bringing in 40 juried artisans specializing in traditional crafts. Set up in an open-sided pavilion on a picture-perfect day, the artisans complemented the show's 57 antiques dealers, located in an adjacent building.

With all the changes, the fall edition of the Lebanon show could be considered a revival of sorts. At the very least there was the retooling of the show through the new venue and the inclusion of the artisans, headlined by two local merchants with a national following, the Workshops of David T. Smith and American redware potters Greg Shooner and Mary Spellmire-Shooner.

Prior to the decision to add artisans to generate more interest in the show, promoter Gerry Nagel had considered sacrificing the event in order to keep the January show fresh. "I'm not trying to put the fall show on its deathbed, but the fall show was kind of tapering in interest. This was six, seven years ago. It wasn't anything new," he said. "The fall show became more difficult to get dealers. I told the committee, 'You have to ditch the fall show because it's hurting your winter show.'"

Nagel's concern was that buyers who found a lackluster fall show might not be willing to return for the heartier event after the first of the year. The addition of Early American Life created another option by giving potential buyers another reason to attend.

The historical society was willing to give it a go. "This format started up on the East Coast and was very popular, so we thought we'd try that," said Victoria Tappy, executive director of the Warren County Historical Society. "We wanted to make it more of an event, a country fair kind of thing. We thought people seem to like to buy new, to go along with their antiques."

The concept has proven popular elsewhere. Country Living magazine has promoted its Country Living Fair the past four years in Ohio, which typically draws large crowds, resulting in strong sales. According to Nagel, five artisans scheduled to set up at Lebanon pulled out because they didn't have enough merchandise to sell following the Country Living Fair in late September.

The addition of artisans wouldn't have been possible without the new venue. Although the winter antiques show will return to the previous location at Bowman Primary School, Nagel said the show will be back at the fairgrounds next fall. Eventually the event may relocate to the fairgrounds year-round.

Antiques remain the heart and soul of the Lebanon show, although the crowd had a slightly different makeup. "The antique dealers predominantly were satisfied with it," said Nagel. "Their comments were, 'There were a lot of new faces, but I don't know where the old customers were.'"

Reports from the dealers remain mixed, but there were several encouraging comments. "It's been a banner year for me. This has been my best year ever," said Jerry Tebbano of Dutch Hollow Antiques, Aurora, Ohio, who specializes in American stoneware. "I'm working harder, working smarter. The better-quality items continue to sell."

What's been selling was as varied as the merchandise represented. For Neil Zuehlke Antiques, Hartland, Wisconsin, patriotic antiques were doing well, while Claude and Sharon Baker of Hamilton, Ohio, reported that furniture and folk art earned strong interest from buyers.

Americana and country antiques are still the primary focus of the show, and Victoriana, glassware, silver, and jewelry continue to give shoppers diversity. Even within those categories, however, sales were up and down.

"It's been extremely good," said Dan L. Marquette of Dogwood Antiques, Marietta, Ohio, who specializes in art glass. "Good quality is moving."

But for Jerry Laitinen of Jerry's Antiques, Davenport, Iowa, glassware wasn't doing so well. "I'm seeing a lot of people who don't know what they're looking at," he said.

While not everyone expressed it, several dealers said there has been renewed enthusiasm at recent shows. "You could feel an excitement," said Jan Wilks of Keystone Antiques, Chagrin Falls, Ohio, in discussing the recent Zoar Antiques Show. "If something is priced correctly, people will buy. I see a slight loosening of purse strings."

The winter edition of the Lebanon show is slated for January 16 and 17. For more information, phone Nagel Productions at (260) 925-4689 or visit (www.nagelproductions.com), or the Warren County Historical Society at (www.wchsmuseum.org).

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