At the Show

Working at the Winter Antiques Show has been very fun, sometimes frustrating, but really rewarding. I'm having a great time. So basically, through my school, I'm an intern at the Antiques Show for the duration of the event. It began last Monday and continues this week until next Monday. So every day, depending on what I have been assigned to help with, I arrive at the Park Avenue Seventh Regiment Armory, report to the show office, and get my orders for the day. I could be assigned to do anything from greeting guests for a VIP brunch, working with one of the dealers in their booth, handing out gift bags for Veranda Magazine, helping with vetting, guiding a tour of Bank of America employees, or any number of other things. It changes from day to day. That is the exciting thing, and the annoying thing.

Part of me wishes there were more structure, but the other part finds the fluidity stimulating. At the least, whatever I'm doing, I feel important, because I have a badge that gets me entrance to every aspect of the show, whatever the event.

The first thing I was able to help with at the show, last week, was vetting. Vetting is a process that ensures the objects at the show are genuine and of high quality. In order for the show to retain its reputation as the nation's finest antiques event, the objects must be the best, and that can only be determined by experts. Thus, vettors are enlisted from every imaginable niche of antiques specialty. Experts on everything from Swedish furniture to pre-Columbian South American artifacts, from medieval illuminated manuscripts to American Shaker art, are brought to the show and let loose for a day of mass vetting. The vettors are divided into groups such as "Jewelry," "American Arts and Crafts," and "English furniture" and they go from booth to booth taking a look at each dealer's goods. Anything they find mislabeled must be corrected before the show opens. Some things are rejected and must be removed from the show. Dealers file appeals, and the items must be deliberated over. Eventually it is all sorted out and the show opens. I found vetting to be the most frustrating part of the show so far, but only because of the system by which it was performed. The vetting forms were impossible to understand, and us ignorant interns were unprepared for all the questions and confusion we would be faced with. I can think of several ways to make the process a lot smoother for next year, so I hope they listen to my feedback about that!

Opening Night was amazing. Tickets normally cost about $1500 for this part of the event, so it was fun to mix with New York's rich antique collectors and celebrities-of-a-sort. In past years Martha Stewart and Oprah have attended the Opening Night party. This year I heard a rumor that George Clooney would be there, but though I circulated around the floor all night, I never saw anyone famous. However, Mayor Bloomberg was there. I didn't see him, but he shook the hand of my friend Kathryn! The food was phenomenal, and the antiques are just amazing. I can't decide what I like best at the show, but I do love the chair above, and all of the early folk portraiture.

I had to go to my real job yesterday, so it was the one day I wasn't at the Armory, but apparently I missed Yoko Ono and Sean Lennon, who were there shopping. They were in the booth where my friend Kendra was working.

My other favorite thing about the show is that there is a room full of food for the exhibitors and staff. It is constantly stocked with bagels, donuts, soup, hot chocolate, and leftovers from all the VIP lunches and brunches. So I haven't needed to buy groceries this week--I just eat my breakfast and lunch at the show, and if there is an evening event, the catered appetizers make a delicious, if rich, dinner.

This post is really long, so I'll stop for now, but I have a lot more to say about the show. So stay tuned for posts on handsome antiques dealers, gossip from the dealers about the Sotheby's/Christie's tea tables, and other random occurences, like the guy I met today who worked for my former boss in North Carolina back in the 70's!