Skaneateles: Early birds get the deals at annual antiques show

The ice rink at the Austin Park Pavilion is currently void of the chilly substance, but on Friday and Saturday the rink still saw plenty of action.
Dealers and those looking for a deal came from miles around to check out the Skaneateles United Methodist Church 50th Anniversary Antique Show and Sale beginning with the early birds from 8:30 to 10 a.m.
With more than 70 antiques dealers’ items to browse through, it felt like a scene out of PBS’ Antiques Roadshow. Customers were able to feast their eyes on such pieces as refinished trunks, furniture from the 18th and early 19th century, quilts, silver and even a bit of Chinese export porcelain.
Lake’s Trunks owners Ardyce and Bob Lake, or Howlett Hill Road in Syracuse, said they got their start in the trade only a few years ago when the man who had refurbished some trunks for them decided it was time to give up the business. So, the couple decided it was a trade they would like to learn, learned how to do the job and has since refinished more than 200 antique trunks.
“We’re kind of a niche business,” Ardyce said.
In their business, occasionally they find something interesting in the items they’re refurbishing. Ardyce said they found a piece of newspaper from the 1800s in one trunk — and from the trunk beside her she pulled out a portion of aged paper that showed just enough of a newspaper masthead with the date still visible on it.
The couple works out of their home near Onondaga Hill, but also has items on consignment in Fayetteville and North Syracuse.
For the last two years, the Lakes have attended the Skaneateles show and Bob said he thinks the show is a great community event.
“Everyone’s willing to jump in and help each other,” he said as a large chest of drawers went rolling by on a dolly.
Between shows, the couple tries to get as many pieces finished as possible in preparation. Right now they are busy refinishing trunks for other people, rather than to sell. According to Ardyce, it’s a sign that family furnishings are starting to become more important and passed down through generations as they once were.
“It’s coming back to family being important,” she said.
Just down the row from the Lake’s booth was a fine display of furnishings all dated prior to 1840. James William Lowery Fine Antiques and Arts owner James Lowery of Baldwinsville said he took an interest in antiques when he and his wife were newlyweds and bought their first set of furniture, which were secondhand furnishings.
After college, the couple traveled, lived in Europe for a year, visited the Louvre in Paris and there found a new appreciation for the arts.
Now with the antiques business, Lowery specializes in pieces that were made before machines came into play.
“We’re such a specialized shop we deal in antiques just prior to 1840,” he said. “After that, they started using machines. All prior to that it was all handmade.”
Along with the handcrafted wood pieces, Lowery also deals a bit in textiles. He said most of the textiles he handles are not as early as the furnishings, but do date back to the 1840s and into the 1900s.
With a bit of different taste, on the east side of the rink was John and Dannette Darrow’s display. Darrow Antiques specializes in 18th and 19th century Chinese export porcelain and other decorative arts of the China trade.
“We’ve been doing this show probably the better part of 18 years,” John said. “It’s my favorite show ever. ... We keep coming back because we do well at the show.”
The couple participates in more than 40 shows each year and last weekend while Dannette stayed in Skaneateles, John packed up and headed to another show on Saturday.
The Darrows, who drive up from Binghamton, offer an array of Oriental antiques that were exported on clipper ships, which John described as the last sail ships before steam engines took over the waterways.
Some of their pieces include foot covers that were used in foot binding, a now outdated Chinese custom in which a girl’s toes are broken and feet are painfully bound to deform the feet and make them smaller. Other antiquities Darrow Antiques carry include large Chinese vases, a square ebonized rosewood chair with an intricately carved back dated to the 1880s, an ivory hairbrush set and several pieces of jewelry.
Robert Bass of Canandaigua, also an antiques dealer, stopped by the Darrow’s booth to see if John and Dannette had anything new that he might be interested in.
Dealing primarily in estate jewelry, Bass said, “I always do well here.”
The annual show brought out dealers from near and far, including Marcellus, Cazenovia, Camillus, Ogdensburg, Monroe, Fayetteville, Bouckville and many other locations within New York. The show also welcomed dealers from as far away as New Jersey, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island and Vermont.
In addition to the antiques, artisans set up shop on the lawn and had an array of items for sale.
Mark your calendars for next year! The 51st annual show is scheduled for July 9 and 10, 2010.

CATEGORY: General Society
TAGS: antiques, show, methodist church
EDITION: Skaneateles Press

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