Date: Fri 26-Jun-1998

Publication: Ant

Author: LAURAM

Quick Words:

Farmington-19th-Annual

Full Text:

Farmington Antiques Weekend

(W/21 Cuts)

LAURA MACALUSO

FARMINGTON, CONN. -- In the midst of a week-long rain storm came the 19th

annual Farmington Antiques Weekend. And came they did, in raincoats, rubber

boots, hats and umbrellas.

Revival Promotions, Inc, which ran the show, had its staff geared up for the

weather with neon green baseball caps and yellow slickers. Pulling into the

soaked parking lot at the Farmington Polo Grounds on Saturday morning, one had

to wonder how many hardy antiquers would brave the elements to have at the

goods. Turns out, in fact, many did.

Fears were lessened when Gary Stass brought out to his car a large object

covered in a black garbage bag. Stass had just purchased a circa 1850s

dollhouse with original wallpaper. As the rain came down, Stass even pulled

out of his pocket a pile of photographs to show off some of the collectibles

he and his wife, Nancy, have decorated their house with. As it happens, Stass

was not the only hardy one to show, as many buyers were there and ready for

action.

The show, which featured dealers from 26 states and several foreign countries,

focused on Americana, with tables and cupboards being the prominent furniture

forms. Other popular displays included architectural elements, gardening items

and outdoor recreational items, like wooden lounge chairs and wooden croquet

sets, which seemed to be around every corner.

Dealers all reported strong sales during the Saturday morning preview, and

sales continued throughout the day, despite steady rain and occasional

downpours. Corrette Antiques of Old Saybrook, Conn., which specializes both in

Victorian furniture and nautical wares, sold a green painted wicker Victorian

lamp stand with fabric shade during the preview as well as a few model boats.

The Correttes refinish their furniture so that the pieces are "ready to use"

and "don't need any work."

Storb Antiques displayed rows of weathervanes under plastic sheets to protect

the metal from rain, and Charles Wibel offered paintings, collectibles,

ephemera and books in his cozily decorated booth. Wibel -- who specializes in

gardening, bird and medical books -- said book collecting may be headed for a

resurgence as a new generation is narrowing its collecting focus.

In addition to the American-inspired booths, there were also a few standouts

of more unusual items, such as Wendy Harvey and Sandie Fowler's booth filled

with equal amounts of decorative tiles and Christmas ornaments. Fowler claimed

that there are less than ten dealers who specialize in tiles in the United

States, in part because tiles themselves are scarce. The tiles, arranged in

rows of beautiful colors and designs, are hard to remove from their original

settings and are often demolished with a building. Even when attempts are made

to remove them, the tiles may be damaged in the process.

Tile collectors often focus on one particular theme, such as portrait tiles or

Delft tiles. Today, people are buying tiles to reinstall in homes -- around

fireplaces and windows -- and are often finding new uses for these old

objects. Tiles prices range from $25 to $125 and the rarest ones can fetch

upwards of $2,000.

Another display featuring unusual items was Pablo and Brenda Davis' booth,

which had large tin wall panels with delicate raised flowered designs. These

panels, which may have originally been in a restaurant, could be reinstalled

into walls of homes or even used as wall hangings. In addition, the Davises

also had large architectural remnants and several brightly colored salt boxes

from Pakistan that were laid out on a painted black table.

Postcards, Adirondack furniture, wrought-iron bedstands, duck decoys, silver,

textiles, lamps, jewelry, kitchen implements, primitive art and ceramics were

just a sampling of the multitude of items offered for sale during the show.

After the success of Saturday it was hoped that the weather would at least not

worsen during the night. In fact it did, and by Sunday morning at 6 am, a

flood warning had been issued for the Farmington area. The field, already

muddy on Saturday, had lost about 90 percent of its parking by Sunday morning.

It was then that Bob, Abby, Bret and Karen McInnis of Revival Promotions, Inc,

decided that, for the first time in 19 years, they would cancel the second day

of the show.

People who were given second-day passes on Saturday were allowed back in to

pick up purchased items. Some others managed to get in while the dealers were

packing up. As a testimony to the determination some antiquers have, one

person managed to get in early Sunday morning and buy a table from Lloyd

Bergeron for $1,600. Likewise, Stuart and Debbie Jones of Village Farm

Antiques & Collectibles sold a carriage Sunday morning for $875. And Boston

Antique Cooperative No. 1 also reported selling on Sunday morning, despite the

deep mud and mist.

Everyone agreed that they were happy and a bit surprised at how well the show

went despite the truly awful weather. Some dealers even said they had done

more business this weekend than they have ever done at Farmington. Joanna

Wacht-Delphia was one of those dealers. Wacht-Delphia, who specializes in

country kitchen wares, sold three pie safes, a few matchsafes and many kitchen

implements. She said the selling was very good despite the weather because

"people knew what they wanted and they came and got it." Not bad for a show

that was almost washed away.

All are hoping that next year's 20th anniversary show will prove less eventful

in terms of weather patterns.