Date: Fri 26-Feb-1999

Publication: Ant

Author: CAROLS

Quick Words:

Wendy

Full Text:

Wendy Show In Purchase Off To A Good Start

with 31 cuts

BY CAROL SIMS

PURCHASE, N.Y. -- It can be fortuitous when three different parties get

together with a common goal, and that is just what happened at The Twig Of

United Hospital Antiques Show February 12-14. Wendy Management, the show

promoter; "Twig," the charity; and the dealers all benefited from this new

antiques show.

It is a familiar story -- promoter puts together a new show at a new location

to benefit a local charity. In this case there were some rather uncommon

results. To begin with, the location could hardly have been more spectacular.

Reid Hall, included in the National Register of Historic Places in 1974, was

formerly the residence of Whitelaw Reid, owner of The New York Tribune. It is

an imposing castle-like structure built in 1892, and now forms the focal point

for Manhattanville College. Dealers loved the luxurious ambiance of the

vaulted ceilings, marble floors, carved wood interiors, stained glass, and

decoratively painted walls and ceilings.

Said Beverly Bernson of Altschuler/Bernson, "Everyone loves the castle. The

environment lends a lot."

This was echoed by Ruth Zager who called Reid Hall "a beautiful and unique

facility that shows the antiques at their best."

Secondly, the show preview on February 11 attracted approximately 300

well-heeled patrons intent on supporting the Twigs Organization, a local group

which has raised over one million dollars for The New York Hospital Medical

Center.

According to dealers, sales at the preview were strong. Meg Wendy attributes

the success of the preview to the strong community ties of the volunteers of

the Twig Organization representing Port Chester, Rye Brook, Harrison,

Purchase, Mamaroneck, and Larchmont. Wendy considers herself to be part of

this tight-knit community and provided a complimentary space for the

volunteer-manned display of Twig Antiques of Rye. This shop, as you can

probably guess, gives 100 percent of its profits to the hospital. They sold

$4,200 worth of antiques at the preview.

"The preview was really packed for a first year show. There were a lot of

fresh faces," said Eddie Rinehart of Rinehart Antiques in Katonah, N.Y.

"The people who came to the preview love antiques. It was very well attended.

Any doubts I might have had about participating in a new show were totally

allayed," said Mark Schedlbauer.

"The preview was spectacular," said Richard LaVigne of Knollwood in New York

City and Lovell, Me. "The committee was terrific -- perfect food, perfect

flowers, and especially all the new clients we met. This was perhaps one of

the most well-attended preview parties I've seen in a long time. It was so

well orchestrated -- everyone is in it together, the charity, the dealer and

the promoter" LaVigne said. He sold a pair of seven foot long English settees

in the French style and an unusual Sunderland dropleaf table. "The level of

sophistication was exemplary" he continued.

In all, 34 dealers participated in this new Wendy's show. Opening day saw

misty cool weather in the morning with customers lining up at the door.

Reinhart remarked that the weather was perfect for bringing people into the

show.

Zane Moss of Zane Moss Antiques Ltd of New York City thought that there was

some overlap with Wendy's White Plains show, but was encouraged by the crowd.

"It's nice to be out of the city" remarked Moss.

"Selling means you can just go shopping again," said Sally Case of Deacon's

Horse Antiques, who like many dealers, lives to buy new merchandise. She named

her store for an ancestor, who, according to family history lent his horse to

Paul Revere for the midnight ride.

Said Lacey Greer of Treasures of Imperial Russia, Westport, Conn., "The show

was worthwhile, especially for the first year. The setting was charming. The

area can certainly support a show of that quality." Greer, who specializes in

Russian icons, said that the show got off to slow start for her but she was

pleased with the end results, having sold an Eighteenth Century Russian

triptych of Saint George, Christ and Saint Dimitri.

John Wilson, of Wilson's Main Line Antiques in Strafford, Pa. said that the

Purchase show "had a very good start. It was a gorgeous show. The crowds did

come on Saturday and Sunday. We were very happy with the traffic."

David Good, Good & Hutchinson Associates Inc of Sheffield, Mass. was expecting

to do well on the weekend and he did. "This was a nice new show. We sold a

cupboard, an Eighteenth Century Chippendale bookcase, china and lamps."

Not everyone experienced wonderful sales, a normal scenario for a first-time

show. Glenbrook Antiques of Hudson, New York specializes in American classical

furniture. They had an excellent spot and a beautiful display at Reid Hall but

did not sell well. However, given "the attractive location and excellent

turnout, we would want to participate again. It takes a little while for a

show to get established" said Jason Komyathy.

Not everyone counts the receipts at the end of a show to gauge how they did,

however. For example, Metropolitan Carpet Gallery Inc rarely sells outright at

any show. Patience is the name of the game for them. They might meet a client

at a show and consummate the sale a year later, after the client's home is

finished being remodeled or built. In fact, while they have dozens of gorgeous

carpets on hand at a show, including this Wendy show, they rarely need to

unroll them. All the carpets are photographed, measured, and described in

detail on the Metropolitan Carpet computer data base. If someone needs a

carpet of a certain size, they punch up the dimensions and provide the client

with an array of options. Clients flip through carpets on screen until they

narrow down their choices. Participating in a Wendy show brings them face to

face with clients they might not otherwise meet.

So, as the number of Wendy shows grows, so does the waiting list of dealers

who wish to display their wares. All in all it was a stunning array of antique

furnishings.