Jan and John Maggs Antiques
Conway, Massachusetts
Newsletter -- July 19, 2007
Since last month's newsletter . . . .
Our hottest (!) story is Brimfield. On Tuesday, opening day, the temperature nearly hit 100 degrees, with the humidity not far behind. Consequently, attendance reached near-record lows, even for the July show. Many of the fields appeared to be at least 50% empty, and the number of buyers was the lowest we've seen since the anniversary of September 11. Between our two shows we sold six items, all but one before the gates opened. Our motto for the week was, "We were doing pretty well until they let the buyers in!" Idle and with several hours to think, we allowed ourselves the luxury of asking "Just why is it that we do this?"
When we began selling at Brimfield twenty years ago, we regarded it as a market for merchandise that had been in our inventory for a while. We brought fresh stock, of course, but much of what we sold were "old friends". We marked them at or below our cost and fed a market of dealer-buyers from far away. For them and for their customers our old friends were fresh finds. In those days it was not uncommon to write single receipts for a dozen or more items.
This was the old Brimfield, enticing buyers from across the country with hundreds of dealers offering tens of thousands of interesting items for sale at reasonable prices. We sold, then took our new dollars and bought new stock from the cornucopia at our fingertips. We walked for hours, but the rewards were many. At the end of a typical day, we might have bought thirty or more items, feeding the Brimfield economy by thousands of dollars.
Now, for many reasons - the cost of fuel, the downturn in the trade, the Internet, inflated prices, and the decline in the quality of what sellers bring - many of these buyers no longer come, and many of the better sellers have decided to stay away. In their place comes a swarm of more casual visitors who've heard about Brimfield in the newspapers, magazines, and television. These shoppers might find something to buy, but they have neither the need nor the desire to buy more than a trinket or a piece of furniture for a particular corner of their living room or kitchen. Brimfield's golden era is a thing of the past.
For example, last May, at Heart of the Mart, a shopper spotted an expensive box in our booth. After checking the price - several hundred dollars - she told her companion that she had wanted one for years, and ours was the first one that she liked that she could also afford. She then stunned us by telling us that, as she had left her house for Brimfield that morning, her husband suggested that she take a(!) check with her. Her reply to him? "No, thanks. I'm not planning to buy anything."
Fortunately for all, her friend came to the rescue, and she left with the box. But this story exemplifies the new Brimfield. Dealers still come, of course, but those with deep pockets are looking for rare finds at any cost, while the rest of us are looking for good things at true wholesale prices. Dealers in both categories are having decreasing success. This month we shopped for three days, spent less than $1000, and bought only four items, two of which are in need of restoration!
We've decided that, as a sales venue, Brimfield is no longer viable for us. Not only is it unprofitable but, in order to generate enough revenue to break even, we bring merchandise that would best be saved for our shop or a better show. Consequently, we've made the decision to eliminate Brimfield from our show schedule. In the future, we will participate only as buyers.
This decision reduces our show calendar to twelve shows. Five years ago, we were doing more than 40 shows - an outrageous and impractical number. As we've reduced the number, our success rate has improved. We expect (pray?) that this decision will have the same effect.
On a more positive note, last Saturday's Dorset show was a great success. And after a week at Brimfield, it was a special pleasure to chat with knowledgeable buyers and see fine antiques offered for sale. We wish that there were more one-day shows like Dorset, offering antiques of quality.
WEEKEND SHOP HOURS
Click here for our calendar for the next few weeks.
UPCOMING SHOWS
Click on the highlighted text for more information.
July 28, 2007
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August 3 & 4, 2007
Click here for our complete show schedule for 2007.
This Month's Featured Inventory
A Selection of Recent Finds
Click on the pictures for more information and prices.
American Furniture
Queen Anne flat-top high chest
Pennsylvania step-back cupboard in old paint
To visit our American
Furniture gallery
click
here.
Smalls
Exceptional 19th century painted wire fern stand
Pair of carved wooden corbels
Three diamond-paned leaded glass windows
T. Crafts, Whately ovoid stoneware jug
Large ovoid stoneware jug
To visit our Smalls galleries click here.
Paintings of Dennis Sheehan (1950 - )
The Clearing
Painting dimensions: 16" X 20"
Afterglow
Painting dimensions: 12" X 16"
Gathering Storm
Painting dimensions: 19" X 26"
Valley in Mid-Winter
Painting dimensions: 21" X 25"
To visit our Paintings galleries click here.
Rugs
Baluchi tree of life mat
To visit our Carpet gallery click here.
Tales of the Trade
We've written before in this newsletter about our adventures as importers of European antiques. Recently, an oil painting shipped to us from the Netherlands by a dealer friend, made it from Amsterdam to New York in two days, then languished in U.S. Customs for nearly two weeks. The package arrived unopened, but two weeks late. What could they have been thinking?
This month's Tale of the Trade is a transcript of a phone conversation with a FedEx customs agent a few years ago. We hope you find it more amusing than we did when it occurred. Read The Tale of Mr. Jones.
The Back Page
Visitors from beneath the earth
We recently celebrated the first anniversary of our young snow leopard and us. For pictures of him then and now, click on this link to -
Click to visit the Jan and John Maggs Antiques website.
Links
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Thanks for taking the time to read our little monthly. As always, we encourage you to e-mail any comments that might make the newsletter more useful to you. Just click the mailbox, or write to jmaggs@jmaggs.com.
And we thank you for being a customer.
John and Jan