Northern Illinois Antique Dealer's Association Show --A Gem of a Show

For many years, Husbola and I have attended this show as customers not dealers.  It is held in February--at the perfect time for antique lovers and decorators to start getting serious cabin fever.  Christmas is way back in the rear view mirror--any thought of serious spring is not even in focus yet--but most people are ready to be seeing fresh merchandise and start the spring summer cycle of the antique hunt.

The show is held at the Forest Hills Lodge Feb. 19-20--which is north of Rockford and on Hwy 173.  It now is very accessible as there is an exit off I-90/39.  The show is the perfect size--with 40 or so dealers--and I am happy to say that we are one of them this year.

Shows are changing and disappearing at a very rapid pace these days.  We have had to edit out a few shows in the past few years.  The customer base is changing--tastes are changing-discretionary income has changed--and it seema that shows and show management is frequently too slow in adapting.  The NIADA show is more than 50 years old.  Over the years that we have attended--there is some turn over in dealers--but there always seems to be a good balance of furniture-smalls-quirky-traditional-career dealers and fresh faces.

We have been taking time and care in planning our booth--We like to present a very fresh, new to market look.  We want to put out new finds and items we have bought especially for the show--not stale merchandise that we refer to as "old friends."  This show brings out a large crowd--"like the good old days" of shows in the 1980s and 90s--remember--I think it is the cabin fever thing and the good mix of stock.  It is not a "snobby" show--and one that is popular with the public and dealers alike.

Maybe as you feel the weekends roll around these days--you have this agitation that you just can't put your finger on.  That discomfort that a trip to a shopping mall or movie theater just won't remove.  Trust me--try a mid winter antiques show--it is a cure for many ills.