Memories of Atlantique City

Sad to hear about the cancellation of the Atlantic City show. Many years ago as a teenager, I remember reading the press release about a new show at the Atlantic City Convention Center in Maine Antiques Digest. I told my dad that it sounded like it was going to be big, and he signed up for the first show. We did the show for many years and got to know the founder Norm Schaut. He truly was a great promoter in the truest since of the word. Also got to know Ted & Diane Jones, who managed the show. Have many great memories of late nights at the casinos and early mornings at the show. Caffeine was a necessity. It will be missed.

And so you're back-from outer space

With apologies to Gloria Gaynor and her 70's anthem of female empowerment (I Will Survive), I am returning with gusto to the blog. My apologies to the one or two of you who might have missed during a short blogbatical (blog+sabbatical). My absence was complicated by the loss of a family member and writing today is a brief respite from dealing with the issues that you have to deal with.
Check out this link to cnn.com where Springfield is recognized as one of the America's best flea markets-http://www.cnn.com/2009/TRAVEL/getaways/08/25/best.flea.markets/index.html?iref=newssearch

I love the smell of free press in the morning, it smells like victory.
Farmington is next weekend, hope to see some of you there.

Jon

Springfield Set up

Fun stuff found at Springfield this morning-more photos later.

Manchester-Part 1

I will break up my review into of last week's trip into several posts. I will also try to paint pictures with my words as Continental Airlines broke my camera (slowly getting over this).

The first show to open was Frank Gaglio's Manchester Pickers Market on Monday morning. Much has been made over the facility change for both of his shows, but coming from someone who recently experienced a facility change (Nashville), the new facility was tremendous. The Furniture World building was bright, well lit and spacious. The facility mandated a somewhat quirky floorplan, but the overall feel of the building and the displays put on by the dealers were top notch. Frank calls this a picker's market, but it is that in name only. Over 80 first rate dealers pulled out all the stops to put on a visually impressive display of Americana. As with most shows, the results from dealers appeared to run the gamut from "great" to "I would have liked to sold more" and everything else in between. But with current market conditions, most indicated they were pleased. I also noticed some new pricing on items that were more in line with the economy. Many dealers with pricing adjustments were rewarded with sales, and in this business, cash flow is still king. If anyone has any photos from the show, email me and I will share them on the blog.

Special Thanks to Continental Airlines!

In another post under the "up on my soapbox series", I cannot fail to thank a few people at Continental. While boarding a plane from Cleveland to Manchester, NH last week, I was told I had to check my carry on as the overhead bins were full. Now, never one to pack lightly I was faced with a dilema- our arms were full with baby gear and everything that travelling with a small child requires. I grabbed my laptop out of my bag and reluctantly surrendered my bag with assurances of extreme care. Needless to say I wasn't happy to find that my new Sony DSLR camera was ruined when I unpacked it on arrival. Now, it was in a padded camera bag inside a piece of luggage, so one would think it would be safe. When returning to the airport for the trip home politely offered the "electronics and delicate items are not covered" garbage. I will be contacting their customer service line as "sorry" doesn't cut it on a $750 camera that they insisted go into gate check luggage. Needless to say, not many pictures from the trip which means none for the blog. Please pass this story on to others so others don't make the same mistake.

Back from New Hampshire and Maine-off to Springfield

Back from 11 days on the road, including a stretch of 7 consecutive days at shows. Whew-a break would be nice, but not on the schedule as our Springfield Show is this weekend. Our August show features "A Country Gathering". Ralph and Linda Miller have assembled a great group of dealers who will display in the Youth Building as well as several hundred other indoor and outdoor dealers. Hope to see you there.

Don't be fooled by wooden watermelon!

Graham,

Althought the surface and patina on the wooden watermelon was very convincing, and promoter Frank Gaglio did a great job of finding a new facility and staging his show today- you shouldn't be fooled enough to eat it. Better luck tomorrow.

Dad