April 9, 2003
Antique hunters bag treasures
60 vendors display everything from trivets, trinkets, trains and tools
By Carol South
Herald contributing writer
Trivets, trinkets and trains - the 33rd Annual Antique Show and Sale had a little bit of something for everyone.
Nearly 60 vendors displayed everything from toys, furniture and linens to jewelry, dishes and tools in this annual sale hosted by the Traverse Area Antique Club. Attendance was slightly more than 2,100 people, a disappointing turnout of at least 1,000 fewer patrons that organizers blamed on the weather.
By Sunday afternoon, the sun shown and the Grand Traverse County Civic Center hummed with activity. Antique lovers on both sides of the cash box roamed the booths as the big band sounds of the Glenn Miller Orchestra on the sound system kept everyone "In the Mood."
"It's live scavenger hunting, you keep your eyes and ears open," said Bruce Beebe, celebrating this weekend his 20th year in the antique business. "The neatest part of the business is the people you meet."
Beebe, owner of Grubby Paws Antiques and Collectibles in Traverse City, specializes in antique tools. Rainy days on vacations turn into antique hunting excursions where Beebe always finds a few more special items to bring home and sell.
A retired school teacher, he grew into the business slowly and now relishes the lifelong learning that goes with antiques.
"You get educated from other dealers but mostly you learn from your customers," Beebe said. "Just yesterday, a customer told me that something was not a mortise chisel but a boat caulking iron. I relabeled it, raised the price and just sold it today."
The Stiles family of Elk Rapids was browsing with intent Sunday afternoon, checking out photographs and clothing. Mike and Kelly Stiles are antique dealers who specialize in antique clothing and enjoy looking at clothing styles in photographs from bygone eras.
Mike Stiles has been into antiques since he was 12, drawn by a fascination with the Civil War. He said cultural subtleties often hide in the clothing.
"We have a lot of Victorian clothing and the Victorians had lots of patterns and colors," he said. "It just doesn't translate in the black and white photographs."
Other items displayed by vendors at the Antique Show and Sale included coins, clocks and chess sets plus buttons, bottles and bikes. Furniture ranged from mirrors and a fainting couch to a forest of table and chairs to lamps and dressers.
Eschewing the big stuff, Janet Wood of Traverse City buried herself among the linens. Expecting her second child next fall, Wood was patiently sorting through antique handkerchiefs looking for just the right ones.
"I want to make a baby quilt for my baby from about 12 antique handkerchiefs," she said. "I read about the idea in the Martha Stewart magazine."
The annual show is a fundraising event for the Traverse Area Antiques Club. Every year, the organization donates the proceeds of the gate to area charities. In March, the club distributed $12,000 to area charities including the Cherryland Humane Society, TART Trails, the City Opera House, the Animal Welfare League of Benzie County, the Benzie Historical Museum and Love, Inc. This year's estimated proceeds of $9,000 will be distributed just before the 2004 antiques show.
"It is a wonderful feeling to help local charities with our show," noted club president Nancy Cobb, owner of Nancy's Collectibles.
Cobb has been involved in antiques for eight years, calling herself the new kid on the block. She said monthly meetings of the club are a great way to learn about all aspects of antiques and collectibles. But her greatest fun is finding undiscovered treasure, whether at a garage sale, an estate sale or another antique store.
"To me, the intriguing part is the hunt, I love the hunt," Cobb said. "More than the selling part of it is the finding, where you go, 'Oh my gosh, look what I've found.'"