Chicago Arts & Crafts Show Tested By Early Heat Wave

Not even an early summer heat wave could keep collectors away from a good Arts & Crafts show.

Brian Smith and Cam Quintal, organizers of the fifth annual Arts & Crafts Chicago Show and Sale held last weekend in River Forest, Illinois, knew that they were taking a chance when they scheduled their show on Memorial Day weekend, but no one anticipated a record-breaking heat wave in May.

“The administration and staff at Concordia University are great to work with,” Brian Smith explained, “but they have graduation and other events already set, so we always have to work with their schedule.” Given a choice between pushing their show back into April or taking a chance on Memorial Day weekend was a tough call to make – and one which they will continue to analyze prior to their 2011 event.

“It was the first time in five years we had to deal with a heat wave at this show,” Smith observed, “but the dealers were very understanding. We opened doors and brought in about a dozen fans, and that really helped.”

Gus Bostrom (www.acstickley.com), who drove a truckload of furniture out to Chicago from California, had this to say, “The people in Chicago are amazing! They endure harsh winters and hot, humid summers. Even under hot conditions, we had a very good show. I was amazed at the number of attendees that stayed for two and three hours and purchased quite a few pieces. In California, many people would not have lasted five minutes under these conditions. By Sunday the staff had set up a series of fans throughout the building, so, even with it about five degrees warmer outside, the building was much cooler. I noticed that quite a bit of furniture was selling. Our sales were up about 25% over last year.”

For Gene and Jody Zweifel (www.webteek.com/jandgantiques), who operate out of Rock Island, Illinois, the show had a different tone. “For us and many other vendors it was a ‘smalls’ show. We sold more pottery, metalware, leather and textiles than usual. We did manage to sell a big ticket item in an early L. & J.G. Stickley bookcase, which made our show for us. In Chicago we are usually a table and chairs supplier, but this year we only sold one table. Other collectors were looking for items we did not bring, so perhaps sales after the fact will be a positive. I felt the show looked great. There was a variety of quality items available for collectors of any level.” (Table pictured is from J and G Antiques.)

“We all sweated through the weekend,” blockprint artist Laura Wilder (www.laurawilder.com) added, “hoping our customers weren’t melting so much that they couldn’t make shopping decisions! Saturday the crowds were good; Sunday was slower, but in the end, in spite of everything, my exhibitor friends said they did well. I did better than last year, which had been good. Encouraged, I signed up for the Minneapolis show.” (Block print pictured is by Laura.)

Brian Smith and Cam Quintal are also the organizers of the 11th Annual Twin Cities Arts and Crafts Show and Sale to be held September 25-26 in St. Paul, MN. This event is billed as the largest event in the Midwest dedicated to the furniture and accessories of the American Arts & Crafts Movement.

For more information on both of these shows, please go to www.eastwoodgallery.com.

-b.johnson