Jan and John Maggs Antiques

Conway, Massachusetts

Newsletter -- October 28, 2008

En route to England, with the coast of Nova Scotia under clouds to our north.

Our Fall post-England gala will be held in our shop on the weekend of November 8 and 9. Come and see what we found during our recent buying trip. For details, click here.

Since last month's newsletter . . . .

Antiques in a Cow Pasture

We commented last month about the disappointing turnout for Antiques in a Cow Pasture, Barn Star’s revival of Russell Carrel’s original flea market. Less than a week after our September Newsletter was published, we read in “Antiques and the Arts Weekly” of Frank Gaglio’s decision to drop the show from Barn Star’s calendar. When we saw Frank at Rhinebeck he told us that, since this show has not been as successful as his others, dealers at the middle to high end have not been doing well there. Consequently, Frank feels unable to maintain its quality and has decided to place his resources and energy elsewhere. Barn Star has announced a major show in Hartford, replacing the Hartford Show recently cancelled by Linda Turner.

Golden Ball Tavern Antiques Show

The Golden Ball Tavern Show and Hurricane Kyle happened on the same weekend. It’s easy to assume that Kyle won; only 33 of the 91 dealers who had signed up, showed up. At 6:00 a.m., when we drove up to the gate of the show and rolled down our window, Tom D’Arruda, one of the show’s promoters, looked at us and asked, “What are YOU doing here?” But in fact, many us who braved the weather had a profitable day. Although attendance seemed to be off as much as the dealer count, those shoppers who came to the show came with the intent to buy; and buy they did. We often estimate the success of a show by looking at the ratio of sales to booth rent; by this measure, we had a “fabulous” day, selling a large oil painting, as well as furniture, jewelry, and smalls. Another friend, who has done this show for many years, told us that it was her best show ever at this venue, with a $10,000 sale to an early buyer.

Antiques in Vermont

After an absence of nearly 10 years, we were able to return to Antiques in Vermont, the final antiques event of Vermont Foliage Weekend. The weather and the Fall colors were exceptional, and leaf peepers came from near and far. We heard many success stories from all of the week’s shows, and our own gross was well beyond our expectations, despite the economic concerns we all share.

Rhinebeck

The financial losses in the world during the week between the Vermont show and Rhinebeck created an atmosphere of grave concern. We’re told that Thursday, the first day of setup that is always a bustle of pre-show buying, was eerily quiet, as the energy that has always characterized setup was replaced by fear and reserve. Saturday’s buying crowd appeared smaller than usual, but it was the lack of enthusiasm, not numbers, that was most noteworthy. Although we sold five objects on Saturday, our gross for the day was under $800. (Our show expenses for Rhinebeck are around $2000). Fortunately, Sunday was very much better, and we finished the weekend with a tiny profit. Under the circumstances, we were very pleased.

England

Our buying trip to England held a few surprises. Although the dollar is relatively strong against the pound, the uncertain economy and the rocky condition of the world’s banks suggested that we consider cancelling our trip. In the end, we decided that maintaining our relations with dealers in England and with our customers at home was more important than the security of knowing that we’d be able to buy over there and sell here. So far, we can say with certainty that buying was no problem; many dealers were quick to reduce their prices when we told them, quite honestly, that we couldn’t afford something. A friend in London responded to our “We have money to spend,” with “Then you’ve come to the right place.” All that remains for us now is to find out if our customers are as interested in our discoveries as they have been in the past.

We hope that, if you're close enough, you'll be able to join us in our shop on November 8th and 9th for our annual FALL GALA, when our new finds and several pieces we've set aside for the event will be displayed for the first time.

SHOP HOURS

Our shop is open on weekends for most of the year between the hours of 10:00 a.m. and 4:00 p.m. Because we exhibit at a number of antiques shows, we are sometimes away. This calendar contains our upcoming schedule. At other times, we're happy to open our doors, but a call ahead is advised.

UPCOMING SHOWS

November 8 & 9, 2008

Gala Fall Opening

at our shop in Conway

+ + + +

November 21 & 22, 2008

Wethersfield Antiques Show

+ + + +

November 28 - 30, 2008

Colonial Williamsburg Antiques Show

Click here for our complete show schedule for 2008.

This Month's Featured Inventory

Winter is on its way. Click on the images below for details and prices of these selections from our inventory of antiques for the hearth.

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Browse additional stock by clicking on any of these thumbnails.

       

Tales of the Trade

Paul Newman at Staples and Wilton

Since Paul Newman’s recent passing, we’ve read several eloquent eulogies written by journalists, his colleagues in the theater, and friends. All praise his enormous talent, and his well-known and remarkable philanthropic work. Those writers who knew Paul and Joanne Woodward, his wife, also speak eloquently and touchingly about their modesty and their shared desire to “ordinary” residents of Westport, Connecticut. For Paul, particularly, this was sometimes a problem. For a personal memoir that illustrates this facet of Paul Newman’s private persona, click here.

Banking Troubles in England

Sometimes the most thorough preparation is not enough to avert corporate negligence. Our recent trip to England was almost ruined by the coincidence of two debilitating events. If you're into nightmares, click here.

The Back Page

Our friend Andrew Hill clipped this advertisement from The Daily Nation, a Kenyan newspaper. Plastic court cupboard, anyone?

Pippin's Page

Click to visit the Jan and John Maggs Antiques website.

Links

Click for directions to our shop.

Click for links to all past issues of this Newsletter.

For additional links to businesses and places of interest, visit our Links Page.

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