Give the People What They Want

Recently Husbola and I set up at the fanciest antique show we do each year--the Delafield Antique Show held at the hotel in Delafield Wisconsin. This show is without question the best show in the upper midwest. But it is undergoing changes just like every other show these days.

This show has been on our calendar for 12 years--and it was held several years before we joined it. It is held twice a year--in spring and fall--and we do it in the spring. Our quirky garden and decorative merchandise is a better fit for the spring--but we are considering adding the fall show if there is space available.

In the early years of the 1990s, the show was almost exclusively high end, museum quality American and English antiques, folk art, paintings and furniture. Over the years, the dealer mix has brought in a bit more variety-which we think adds to a well balanced show. This is not a costume jewelry or postcard show--which have a place--that is just not at the Delafield Show.

We sell well there--VERY well actually. No--we do not carry chippendale or federalist furniture--we carry quirky affordable decorative antiques and art. There are plenty of shoppers and browsers who love looking at high end pieces--but also want to buy a more affordable decorative antique to use in their home. You will find in our booth items that range from $50 to around a thousand--and the high end will usually be a painting or two. We receive compliments on our set up--which is more cluttered than spare--and after we greet people--we leave them to browse--we do not "mug" our shoppers.

There are always great stories that come out of an antique show. Why is it that dealers who have a high price tag on their items --and possibly live east of the Allegheny mountains-- feel they need to add the "snob" factor into their demeanor and selling relationships? This is the Midwest for goodness sake--lighten up! People are friendly here. Every show--no matter where you are--always has a dealer or two--who take themselves way too seriously. Husbola and I agree that the antiques business has to be "fun"--and if it ceases to be--than we will cease to be involved in it. I must say that I do get a little perverse please doing some shows--where we sell like gangbusters--our quirky items--while the higher priced items in neighbors' booths goes unsold. Right now--we are selling what many Midwestern buyers want--well priced merchandise that is unusual. No snob factor there.

Remember--the antiques business is a food chain. There is a place for the flea marketeer who places items on a blanket on the ground in a parking lot. There is a place for the upper end antiques. And there is plenty of room for us to take our bite out of the middle.