Friday, March 27, 2009

On The Road- Almost

Although I won't make any Kerouac references (have to chalk it up to a generational thing) we are slowy getting ready to make the trip down to Texas for the Round Top Shows to recruit dealers for upcoming shows. For those of you who have never been, I will be blogging towards the middle of the the week and will be sure to take my camera.

Monday, March 23, 2009

Springfield News-

May Extravaganza Patrons-

Just a quick reminder to secure your hotel reservations asap- the May Show (15th-17th) is the same weekend as a college graduation in the area. Go to the www.springfieldantiqueshow.com/lodging for complete hotel info. We really like the Courtyard by Marriott which offers an $84 rate which includes breakfast for two.

The picture is from the booth of Oakland Art & Antiques at our Nashville show and features a great snake stand.

Springfield Stories #3

2 years ago I went to the show and since I didn't really need anything big I drove my little Honda. We are 3 1/2 hours away so I figured I'd save gas money driving it instead of the truck. Of course I found a large step-back cupboard that was too wonderful to pass up and I bought it. The dealer was from Ada, Ohio and he said he would haul it to his house if I couldn't find a way to get it home. I happended to run into some friends at the show that lived in my town and I talked them into seeing if the cupboard would fit in the back of their mini van. Oh my gosh....we spent an hour trying to get the top of the cupboard in the back of the van....and finally without an inch to spare we got the door shut. Then we spent about another hour shoving the bottom of the cupboard into the back of my little Honda. Of course we couldn't shut the back hatch so I used some bunge straps to keep it shut. So we drove home 3 1/2 hours with the back half way open. Needless to say it was a loud trip home with all the traffic and semis on the interstate. The things we do for antiques!

Debbie Martin

Saturday, March 21, 2009

Springfield Stories #2

From Deb:


I have attended the Extravaganza's buying and selling for several years (probably 10). Two years ago I was out shopping and spotted a beautiful cream and green enalmelware stove, you know one of those really heavy one's that takes alot of Wheaties to move. It was Friday morning and it was priced at $150, after thinking about it, I decided that I really did not need another heavy thing to haul home, so I passed on it. Later in the day, probably 4 hours later, I walked back by again and noticed it had been marked down to $100, evidently he wanted to be sure he did not have to haul it home too. Yes, I bought it, paid for it and left my business card with him and told I would drive by with trailer that night to get it.

I ventured on my merry way thinking where in the shop I would put it and how I would decorate around it to make it more interesting. I was not gone from his booth 20 minutes and my cell phone rang. It was a dealer who was in from out of town shopping and said they were at the booth where I had purchased the stove. They really wanted it and wanted to know if I would sell it to them for $300. Of course I jumped on that, evidently the dealer I bought it from had not told them what I paid, and they wanted this stove bad, she said she had the perfect spot in her shop for it. I quickly made my way back to that booth, sold the stove to them and gave the dealer I bought it from a nice reward. We all left happy.

Thursday, March 19, 2009

Springfield Stories Part One

I sent out a newsletter earlier this week asking for stories this week about your favorite memories of the Springfield Antique Show & Flea Market. It can be a memory of family, friends, something you found or a funny story. Email your stories to info@springfieldantiqueshow.com - if I use your story, you will recieve a 2009 season pass. I'll kick it off with one of my favorites.


About 8 or 9 years ago, I was riding in a golf cart down one of the aisles heading back to the show office. It was very crowded, so I was not able to go very fast, and I was looking at booths as I waited for traffic to clear. I suddenly stopped as realized that I just driven past what appeared to be an 18th Century tiger maple bonnet top highboy. For those of you familiar with those, you typically don't expect to see them in this setting. I got out an started staring in dis-belief, feeling drawer bottoms and legs, looking at the back and the bonnet. Sure enough- it did turn out to be original. Although I didn't buy it, it quickly sold and sold again. I'm sure it found a good home and money was made by all. The funniest thing about the highboy, it was located next to a booth with gourmet mustard. Never can tell what you are going to find at the show.


Please share your stories and check back again.


Jon

Friday, March 13, 2009

You can't spell Springfield without "Spring"

Back after a blogging siesta. Getting ready for the March Springfield Show next weekend. Warmer temperatures. Our first outside dealers of the year normally kick off with the March Show- weather permitting. All those looking to cure a case of cabin fever set your GPS for the Clark County Ohio Fairgrounds next weekend. More details this week. For those of you looking for the definitive show report on Nashville, visit www.antiquesandthearts.com to view their write-up of the show.

Monday, March 2, 2009

Our new Flickr Account

In looking for a way to share the vast number of photos- we have set up a Flickr account. For those of you unfamiliar with Flickr- it is a site that allows for photo sharing in a more convenient format than blogger. Simply click on http://www.flickr.com/photos/-musicvalleyantiques/ to view our photos. More to come soon. Thanks to Michael Worden for the photos and the help.