Record Crowd Fills Grove Park Inn Show

The clouds parted, the snow melted and a record-breaking crowd converged on the historic Grove Park Inn in Asheville, NC for the 23rd national Arts & Crafts Conference and Show the third weekend in February.

“This conference is a reflection of the passion of the Arts & Crafts collector,” observed conference director Bruce Johnson, “and their thirst for knowledge about the items they each collect.”

Billed as an educational conference accompanied by three selling shows - the Antiques Show, the Contemporary Craftsfirms Show, and the Books, Magazines & More Show - the annual Arts & Crafts Conference draws approximately 3000 ardent enthusiasts from around the country, as well as from Canada and the United Kingdom.

Reflecting their thirst for knowledge, Johnson offered conference participants eight different seminars on topics including Stickley furniture, landscaping, artistic leather, art pottery, interior decoration, and rustic furniture, plus eight Small Group Discussions each day, in addition to educational displays, tours and demonstrations throughout the weekend.

Each afternoon the crowd stood in line (some starting at six o’clock that morning) to be among the first to have an opportunity to get into the booths of 125 exhibitors: approximately 50 antiques dealers, 50 craftsmen and craftswomen, and 25 publishers, authors and non-profit organizations. “This show has always been considered a key educational opportunity for collectors,” Johnson continued, “so we have always separated the new works from the antiques to avoid any confusion. In addition, we require that exhibitors have price tags on every item so that collectors can distinguish more common forms from the rarities.”

The big question mark going into this show was not would the people come, but would they buy?

The answer became clear before the close of Friday’s afternoon session.

The initial surge through the Contemporary Craftsfirms Show netted several significant sales, especially from exhibitors such as art potter Paul Katrich (who sold out his entire inventory in a few hours) and the Ephraim Faience Pottery, who tantilized collectors with unique and special forms reserved just for the Grove Park Inn show. Printmaker Laura Wilder also experienced strong sales, as did jewelry designers Leigh Davenport and Jennifer Wentzel.

Collectors in the Antiques Show also came ready to buy. While many seemed cautious on Friday, they came back stronger on Saturday and Sunday, capitalizing on the opportunity to compare forms, finishes and prices in fifty different booths. When the dust settled, furniture sales were stronger than expected. Gus Bostrom from California Historical Design commented that “last year was my best show ever – and I beat it by more than fifty percent this year.”

Art pottery sales were more erratic than furniture sales, assome pottery dealers had a far better weekend than they expected, while a few left disappointed. Arts & Crafts metalware was strong, as evidenced in the booth of David Surgan, the country’s leading expert in Heintz metalware.

Plans for the 24th national Arts & Crafts Conference, which will be held February 18-20, 2011 at the Grove Park Inn, are already being made. As information becomes available it will be posted at www.Arts-CraftsConference.com.

-su