Getman's Show: Hope for the Middle Market

Wilmington, Massachusetts

by Jeanne Schinto

The most interesting piece of news to emerge from the latest Greater Boston Antiques Festival, held January 19 and 20 at the Shriner's Auditorium in Wilmington, Massachusetts, was not that dealers made significant sales, although many did. It was that those sales were made on Sunday.

"These people don't know they're not supposed to buy on Sunday," one dealer said, happy but puzzled. "They don't know they're supposed to be just tire kickers."

The Sunday purchases were all the more remarkable because the New England Patriots were in the playoffs that afternoon. Dealers anticipated talking only to each other while would-be shoppers stayed home to warm up their television sets.

Instead, Dennis and Lynn Chrin of Partridge Hollow Antiques, Milton, Vermont, made two sizable sales of silver flatware to a couple from Somerville, Massachusetts. Arlene and David Komyathy of Glenbrook Antiques, Walden, New York, sold a circa 1820 American Classical sideboard, attributed to Meads & Alvord, Albany, New York. The asking price was $7900. Timo Parviainen of Arti Antiques, Brookfield, Connecticut, sold a mid-19th-century French oak buffet, marked $3700; a round Biedermeier table in burl walnut from the same period, tagged $1850; and a pair of French chairs from the 1930's at $750.

On Saturday Parviainen had sold exactly one item for $40.

Customers broke other so-called rules over the course of this well-established twice-yearly show that features about 160 dealers. Sandie Fowler and Wendy Harvey of Antique Articles, Dunstable, Massachusetts, said they sold vintage ceramic tiles to people they had never seen before. "Usually they have to see us three times before they buy," Fowler said.

The new customers included a local couple in their early forties. They were impressed that the January/February 2008 issue of Kitchen and Bath Ideas featured Fowler's and Harvey's wares being used to make a stunning backsplash for a Viking range in a newly redecorated kitchen. Tile specialists for 20 years, the tile ladies, as they are affectionately known, seem effortlessly to straddle the antique and designer worlds.

Stephen and Mary Daniell of Alley Antiques and Collectibles, Pelham, New Hampshire, encountered new customers on both days of the show. One bought a barrister bookcase, offered at $650. The Daniells said the bookcase buyer was, appropriately enough, a lawyer who heard about the show on one of the many radio spots placed by promoter Marvin Getman. The lawyer also saw a print ad in a local publication. He hadn't known otherwise of the show's existence. The lawyer told the Daniells that the two ads in succession—a one-two punch, so to speak—brought him in.

"That makes all of the money I spend [on advertising] worthwhile," Getman said. "New people come in, make contact with dealers they've never seen before. That's what keeps this whole thing going. I always do wonder if the ads are working. I know I have a good gate." (Indeed, he does. This time, it was approximately 4700, slightly up from January 2007.) "But I always wonder if it's because of the radio, the print, or the mailing lists and e-mail lists, which are getting very large."

Getman's new print-ad campaign stresses that antiques are the "ultimate recyclable." His new radio ads also emphasize the "green" theme. "It's something that seems to be penetrating the industry, and hopefully more promoters will use it," he said. "I really do think we're onto something with it."

Of the show's results, Getman said, "I have to say I went in with low expectations, primarily because of the tough economic news we'd had in the week leading up to it. A lot of times that translates into people holding onto their money. Well, boy! Was I pleasantly surprised—first, to see the line on Saturday morning wrapped around the building, and then, to hear the buzz, see the activity, and feel positive energy on the floor throughout the weekend."

Maybe it's because expectations have been adjusted, and any decent sale makes one's day. Whatever the reason, dealers did seem more upbeat than usual and less prone to reminiscing about the way it used to be.

"I did OK," said Matt King of Marshfield, Massachusetts. "I'm happy."

Maybe "OK" is the new "good," we ventured.

King laughed. "And 'good' is the new 'great.'"

Jane Meterparel, who sells jewelry, artworks, and other smalls as Auntie Macassar, Rockport, Massachusetts, said she has shifted her expectations to match the state of the current market. So she was happy with her results, which in fact were "a little better" than last January's in Wilmington.

In the end, we had no trouble collecting a notebook full of hopeful middle-market news. In addition to the barrister bookcase, Alley Antiques sold a pie safe, priced at $775; a 1920-40 bureau, marked $225; two pairs of theater seats, tagged $375 each; and a collapsible railroad bench, whose sticker read $375.

Miller-Robinson Antiques, Ashfield, Massachusetts, sold a Victorian oval marble-top table for $300 and a mahogany dining table with three leaves and a custom pad for $550. Robin Jenkins Antiques and Epilogues, both of Bristol, Rhode Island, sold a period bowfront chest for $1350; a 1940's rosewood coffee table for $450; and a metal washstand for $350. George and Barbara Peckham of South Dennis, Massachusetts, sold a late 19th-century cupboard in red wash, marked $795.

We also found that Daryl J. Dwan of Towne Antiques @ the Farm, Parsonsfield, Maine, and Richard Brown of Quality Furniture, Rockland, Massachusetts, sold an early 20th-century custom-made mahogany breakfront reproduction of an English design, from a Beacon Hill collection. Its asking price was $3900.

"This is the first show we've ever done," said Dwan. "We're very happy with the results." Previously, he and Brown owned shops in Boston and Brookline, Massachusetts. Their shop experience was evident in their engaging retail manner that not every dealer on the show circuit has bothered to master.

"I don't get up from my chair on Sunday unless [a booth visitor] asks a question," a veteran show dealer said. Given this show's results, that attitude should probably be corrected.

Kenneth Woodbury of Nipper's Choice, Keene, New Hampshire, is another dealer who has seen a shift. "Certain shows have been fine," including this one, he said. "But more often now, people see me at shows, then come to the house to buy afterwards."

It took a while, but I did find a few dealers who reported excellent sales. David Weidner and Jared Cilley of Dark Flowers Antiques were among them. So were the Chrins. In fact, Dennis Chrin said that it was the best show he and Lynn have ever had at Wilmington. Agreeing to break up a 66-piece sterling silver flatware set, they sold 22 pieces for $2200. "I try to sell full sets, but I do dismantle them sometimes," said Chrin. The consolation is that the rest of the pieces went into the dealers' case, to be sold separately for a sum greater than the full set's asking price.

The Chrins' top single-item sale was a Tiffany compote, which went at $1000. Their least expensive piece was a silver souvenir spoon that sold at $8, bargained down from $10 by a 90-year-old in a wheelchair, who took a half an hour to pick it out for her collection.

We'll close with the experiences of Bob Frishman of Bell-Time Clocks, Andover, Massachusetts (in the interest of full disclosure, this reporter's husband). To give his regular customers a different look, he rented a larger booth than he usually takes at Wilmington. He shared it with another Andover dealer, Lance Fromme of Fromme Antiques. It was a good symbiosis. Fromme sold seven pieces of furniture, half of what he brought. They included an early Windsor chair; a Federal one-drawer, drop-leaf work stand in flame birch; a marble-top Victorian chest of drawers; an early 19th-century miniature walnut-paneled armoire; and a large ogee mirror with a hunting scene in its top panel.

"I met a lot of folks who were very knowledgeable about antiques," said Fromme, "as well as homeowners who came prepared with lists of items they wanted and dimensions of spaces they needed to fill. I found that sales were very good for higher quality and distinctive or unique pieces, and I think the relative sophistication of the crowd was a big factor in that."

As for Frishman, he sold nine clocks, including, late on Sunday, a $950 French marble example from the 19th century with ormolu and cast brass accents that came with a matching pair of urns. Its purchaser was a new customer, a local physician, who also bought paintings, a rug, and smaller items from other dealers. (This reporter was the one who helped him carry all of it out to his Mercedes station wagon.)

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

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