Where have I been? What have I done?

Sorry for the failure to share any cohesive thoughts in recent memory. Been in the laboratory creating other things. Check out the results:

Tailgate-Music Valley
The Vintage Marketplacecase
The Design Showcase

These are the new sites for our show in Nashvile coming up February 2-4. So take a look, pass along the links and follow if you like. Happy holidays- I might even try to take some time off- yeah right.

New blog header needs work & Nashville video

Ok- this new blog layout is still a work in progress. Check out the YouTube video from our Show in Nashville

This is it- our new home in Nashville!

A 30 year search ends in success.



For the past 30 years, the Tailgate and Music Valley Shows have been mainstays of Antiques Week in Nashville. Both shows are a superb combination of great dealers, great customers and wonderful merchandise. Their success was and is a combination of those ingredients. Through the years and several facility changes it was always our feeling that despite great success, the shows lacked the “great home” that they deserved. Despite the many obstacles presented over the years by fire marshals, second & third floor rooms, cold & rainy tents, snowy parking lots, cease and desist orders, political manipulations and possible facility closures, the shows succeeded in spite of these challenges.

We are happy to announce that beginning with our February 2-4, 2012 show, the Tailgate/Music Valley Antique Show has a new home- the Hendersonville Expo Center. This brand new facility will give us the great home that the show deserves. The Expo Center Features:

· Room for 250 vendors in one space on one level in a drive-in facility.

· High ceilings

· Brand new concession and restroom facilities

· Located in the affluent suburb of Hendersonville

· Easy hotel, restaurant and interstate access

· 6 year contract with February dates corresponding with Heart of Country

· Shuttle bus service between show and Opryland Hotel/Heart of Country

· Superb Free Customer and Dealer Parking

· Onsite dining/recreation options

We are excited to offer you the chance to participate or attend what we are confident will be the great home that we have been looking for all these years. We offer you our strongest commitment that every conceivable effort will be made to insure that the Hendersonville Expo Center will be a great home for dealers and customers for the continued success of the show.




With Thanks,





The Jenkins Family & Staff

Not too serious

Sometimes the antique business isn't very serious. This sandwich shop sign was a hot item last weekend in Nashville. Can't stop laughing thinking about the times Marv asked patrons "do you prefer your wieners Jumbo or King Sized"?

Photos From Nashville

Photos from this mornings opening of our Nashville Shows at the Tennessee State Fairgrounds. Booths of Karen Buckingham, City Farmhouse, Marie Miller, Mark Morris and Worden Select Objects. Make plans to join us this weekend.

Because sometimes it is just really cool.

There is always a lot of discussion as to why people buy antique/art/vintage. Is the main motivation to collect, live with or be surrounded old things? That may play a part, but I think a powerful motivator maybe the fact that many times, old stuff just looks cool- for lack of a better word. Time graces many objects with a patina that just can't be reproduced exactly (nice try R. Hardware).
Here is the booth of Mark Morris from last week's Rhinebeck show. He will be in Nashville along with a lot of other dealers with really cool stuff- hope to see you there.

What we do and why-

Sometimes in the fast paced world of Antique Show promotion, we are guilty of not doing a good enough job of letting customers know what our role is. Why are you paying $3-$40 to get in a show? Many customers are happy with the experience and more than willing to pay ticket prices, but others seem to bristle at the notion.
We are essentially consolidators of goods and services and sellers of entertainment. Show promoters secure a facility, recruit dealers, handle logistics, staffing, marketing and customer recruitment. We take a risk every time we run a show of it “not working” due to tepid response, weather or other market conditions. Like many other consolidators of goods and services, we need to be compensated for the service we provide. One of my favorite customer complaints is “why do you charge me to shop, I don’t pay when I go to the mall”. Every time that a consumer purchases something in a mall, the consolidator (mall owner) gets the share of revenue required to operate the facility plus a profit. In this instance, their cut is priced in the item the consumer is buying but our industry does not operate in this manner.
Our Springfield Show features as many as 2000 vendors during the May and September shows. The show is that large because of a long standing policy that allows vendors to select the number of days they wish to participate. Approximately 50% of the vendors stay for all 4 days, while other chose to participate as they see fit. We have long debated this policy internally and with discussions with many vendors over the last 15 years and have always come to the conclusion that a change to this policy would negatively impact dealer count and customer enjoyment of the show. A mandatory 4 day commitment would dramatically decrease the number of vendors who could participate, thus diminishing the size and scope of the show.
As a discussion on our Facebook page recently demonstrated, there are strong feelings on both sides of the issue. We have recently begun the practice of discounting Sunday admission, to more accurately charge for the size of the Sunday show compared to Friday and Saturday. This issue also goes back to what I spoke of previously. If a customer comes to our show on any day and finds three or four dealers that they enjoy (out of 2000) then the service we provide should save them significant amounts of time and money by reducing the cost of seeing them. The cost of driving to see these vendors in their shops, homes or malls should be much greater than the admission fees we charge.
Show promoters are also a lot like movie producers, we all start out trying to make a great movie. There are a tremendous number of things that we cannot control. If a customer comes to a show and doesn’t find anything that they want to buy or see anything that they enjoy, they will generally not be happy with the experience. This does happen, but the show producers aren’t responsible for a single item seen, bought or sold. But at the end of the day, if the show or movie is lousy, the producer is the one who takes the fall. By the way, when was the last time anyone called a movie producer to complain about ticket prices?

Good News!

Despite rumors to the contrary, show scheduling always has much more to do with facilities rather than promoters intentionally scheduling on dates to compete with other venues. Just got some good news, for the first time in recent memory our October Nashville shows (October 27-29) don't conflict with the Burk's York Show and Barn Star's Fall Hartford Show (September 17-18). Now dealers and customers who would like to enjoy all three can.

Bloggers Block

One of the things I run into after a large show is a healthy dose of bloggers block. So many pre-show blog posts have left me with nothing much to say. I will say that this February's Tailgate and Music Valley were judged to be a success by most criteria that we have available. By no mean does this mean every dealer and customer were thrilled, but most seemed happy, enthused and encouraged. The scheduling with Heart of Country was one factor that led to increased gates, but we also made significant progress with attracting local customers (our biggest challenge) through the use of Groupon, Style Blueprint, Facebook, Yelp and this blog along significant local grass roots marketing. The nice thing about this is we are just scratching the surface of these methods, which bodes well for October and future shows. Back to resting and talk to you soon.

You're invited to a Party!!

We have made a decision to go "back to our roots". Next Thursday morning, the Tailgate and Music Valley shows will open with a party. The first semi-annual Music Valley & Tailgate-Tailgate Party (I know it sounds ackward) will kick off at 7:30 a.m. prior to our 8:00 a.m. opening. The party will feature:
1. Complimentary Coffee & Doughnuts
2. Music
3. A special commemorative "Early Bird Button" for the first 500 customers
4. The first 10 early birds get in free!

So plan on joining us to help kick off the shows in a festive spirit- bring friends and tell neighbors. BYO Mimosas and Bloody Marys

Interview about Nashville with the show promoters!

Listen to the Podcast interview from Urban Art & Antiques with Susan Hunkins of Heart of Country and myself conducted by Eric Miller. We talk about Nashville yesterday, today and into the future. Click Here

Yelpers help us.

In an effort to leave no stone un-turned, I have listed our Nashville shows on Yelp. Click here for the listing and say something nice.

John Melby, International Man of Mystery

I talked to John Melby the other day. He’s the owner of Saltwater Gallery in Eastport, Maine. He says he’s so far north that he can look out his window and see Canada. I don’t know anybody else who can say that. I asked if he could send me a couple of photos of some of the items he’ll be bringing to Nashville in a few weeks. But unfortunately for me, he’s all packed and ready to head for Nashville, so no photos for me to preview. See??? I’ve been telling everyone that folks are anxious for Nashville Week. You know how it is. When you can’t get any hints about what might see, you get even more curious. I’m definitely getting that kid-before-Christmas-feeling…just 21 more days to wait.

Back on the same page!

One of the things that we have heard over and over again in the last few months from customers, dealers and nearly everyone we run into is "can't wait until Nashville". In New York last week, many long time customers from California and New York commented that the level of anticipation was off the charts. Some of this may just be an anticipated break from cabin fever, but I think there is something more substantial. The last two years, our shows were separated from their traditional complement, Heart of Country. Despite rumors to the contrary, this separation was simply the by product of complicated facility issues.

This February 17-19, Tailgate and Music Valley will once again correspond with Heart of Country to form what simply has been known in the business as "Nashville". For those of you who have been, we invite you to join over 300 dealers for great antiques & fun. If you have never been, it's an opportunity to take advantage of 3 great shows, wonderful merchandise in a unique mix you won't find anywhere else and to take advantage of the fun that Nashville has to offer. There will be a shuttle service between the shows, making it easy to shop all three shows. Visit either the Tailgate or Music Valley websites by clicking the links to the right, or visit Heart of Country by clicking here for further information.

Signs of Optimism

Just flew in from Americana Week in New York and boy are my arms tired. With apologies to several generations of comedy, I arrive home more optimistic than ever that perhaps we are continuing an upward trend in the business.

Thoughts on each show:

TAAS- or the The American Antiques Show held by the American Folk Art Museum. This show features a selection of dealers focusing on high end Americana and Folk Art. As usual, it didn't disappoint. Tremendous examples of Folk, Country, Formal, Art, Jewelry, Textiles with a smattering of Silver, Arts & Crafts and a few other surprises. An informal survey of dealers indicated an uptick over last year. No shortage of amazing material, but also a little more range than in the past.

Antiques at the Armory- The Stella offering held at the armory at 26th & Lexington Avenue was home to approx. 90 dealers is much more diverse than TAAS. Think Americana, Decorative, Jewelry, European Decorative with a touch of Oriental and African Art thrown in for good measure. The Armory featured a high level of presentation value and everything from 6 figure weathervanes to jewelry under $100.
Show opened a little slow in the morning on Friday due to about 5 inches of snow in the New York Metro, but built a solid crowd as the day wore on. Dealers again seemed to echo TAAS sentiment that things seemed to be looking up. Saturday gate was strong with one dealer I spoke with reporting multiple sales and a good show overall.

The Pier- Again held by Stella Management- the most diverse show of Americana Week offers an expanse and range not matched by the other shows. The most eclectic of the events offered nearly 200 vendors, including many usual pier exhibitors, plus a book fair. Although we had to leave about mid-way through opening day, it was apparent that the pier was following suit with other events.

Winter Show- Couldn't fit in a trip to the Winter Show, but heard perhaps the most glowing reviews about the results here. Word of mouth had Americana and Folk Art being well received and some expceptional results. This reportedly included a 7 figure folk art sale. More details if I can confirm some things later.


Our results- Had a very strong response to Nashville and Harwinton from dealers and customers. Should have at least 12 new vendors to add to both shows and a lot of optimism regarding Nashville in less than a month. Many New York and Los Angeles buyers repeated the "see you in Nashville" mantra we hoped to hear.

Although these shows represent the highest end of our business, as I often am fond of saying- we are all very connected. Good news in New York means a much higher likelihood of good news in Nashville, Harwinton, Springfield and everywhere in between.

Antiques Week In Nashville Preview

Over the course of the next two months we will use the blog to preview our upcoming Antiques Week In Nashville- February 17-19, 2011. In addition to Tailgate and Music Valley at the Tennessee State Fairgrounds, we will once again correspond with Heart of Country at the Opryland Resort. In order to make the Antiques Week Experience as enjoyable and convenient as possible, we will be running a shuttle service between the Fairgrounds and Opryland. Stay tuned for details.

The blog will feature all current information about the shows, dealer lists, profiles, news & photos of what you can expect at the shows. Check back often as we will try to update daily.

A needed reminder

Leave it to Randy Farmer at Artifacts in Nashville to shine the light on a much needed reminder. I need a haircut.

Nashville Articles in Maine Digest

Articles on our February Nashville Shows for your enjoyment:

Music Valley

Tailgate

See you in Springfield this weekend. Weather forecast improving-looks like we will have good weather.

Nashville Quilt Exhibition Details

Nashville Antiques Shows to Feature Special Exhibition of Ohio Amish Quilts- February 11-13, 2010

Nashville, TN- The Tailgate Antique Show and Antiques at Music Valley are proud to announce an important exhibition of Ohio Amish Quilts from the collection of Darwin D. Bearley. The collection has been assembled over a period of thirty years, and consists of over 150 quilts exclusively made by the Amish communities of Ohio from 1880-1940 including Crib Quilts, Lounge Quilts, Doll Quilts plus full size examples. A selection of over 20 quilts from the collection will be on display at the shows. Don’t miss this opportunity to view an important contribution to the material cultural heritage of the Ohio Amish communities.

The collection has been exhibited in institutions in the United States & Europe including:
The Annual International Quilt Festival, Houston Texas, The Bodensee Quilt Festival, Radolfzell, Germany, Quilt Expo, Lyon, France, the Museum of Our National Heritage, Lexington, MA.; Akron Art Museum, Akron, Ohio; the Canton Museum of Art, Canton, Ohio; Wright State University, Dayton, Ohio; The Mansfield Art Center, Mansfield, Ohio; The National Quilt Festival, Cincinnati, Ohio.

A limited edition exhibition catalog entitled, “Antique Ohio Amish Quilts, the Darwin D. Bearley Collection”, was published by Bernina Sewing Machine Company of Zurich, Switzerland to accompany the European exhibitions. This hard cover book contains 160 pages and shows 138 Antique Ohio Amish Quilts in full color. The photography and color are unsurpassed in any quilt book and the text is printed in English, French and German. The book is not available in bookstores but a limited number of copies will be available for purchase at the show.

Exhibition admission is free to patrons of the Tailgate Antique Show & Antiques at Music Valley. Both shows will be held February 11-13, 2010 at the Tennessee State Fairgrounds. For further information, visit www.tailgateantiqueshow.com or www.musicvalleyantiquesmarket.com

Antiques & Garden Show of Nashville

Happy New Year- just want to let everyone who doesn't already know about Antiques Week In Nashville 2010. Along with our two shows, Music Valley and Tailgate, we will be joined by the Antiques & Garden Show. This important show, now celebrating it's 20th anniversary, will take place February 10-13 at the Nashville Convention Center. This is just a few minutes away from our location at the Tennessee State Fairgrounds. The combination of these 3 events in Nashville and their 350 exhibitors makes February 10-13 a can't miss destination for collectors, dealers and designers. Enjoy this picture from Lana Smith's booth and make plans to attend now.