Mid Atlantic Antique & Garden Festival Attracts Robust Base Of Collectors & Designers

The weather was crisp, sunny and dry, and the show was well attended.

Review by Andrea Valluzzo, Photos Courtesy Hilary Schwab Photography

POOLESVILLE, MD. — The Mid Atlantic Antique & Garden Festival took over the historic Aix La Chapelle Farm May 2-3, with more than 60 antiques and horticultural dealers. Displays were set up among several buildings and in tents on the spacious farm, with dealers taking extra care to put together attractive displays from a wide selection of appealing material. American and European furniture vied for attention, though decorative arts and garden items ranging from Americana and folk art to architectural items, fine art and smalls were also prevalent.

Having launched its inaugural event with 28 dealers in November 2022, the show has been steadily growing and is well on its way to becoming the Round Top of the East Coast, a moniker casually uttered by festival director Joy Siegel. Looking at the show’s steady growth and the response from both dealers and buyers, she is not wrong.

“We had more dealers than ever and I could tell many dealers sold a tremendous portion of their booth,” Siegel said, noting that even furniture was moving and that can be a slow market at times. “Expensive items were going and the crowd was amazing, it was a very big crowd.”

The gate was just over a respectable 3,500, on track to catch up to the fall edition’s attendance watermark of 4,000, set last year. The spring show accommodated about 70 dealers, including two tents with all first-time exhibitors who all told Siegel they did well. The weather was crisp but dry, and several roaring fire pits strategically placed around the farm grounds were popular. They invited showgoers a chance to take a break from shopping to warm up and socialize.

Mountain Moon Antiques, Lake Santeetlah, N.C.

During the show, quite a few dealers pleaded with Siegel to expand the show and also move the date so as not to compete with Texas shows. The fall edition will now be a three-day affair, running November 6-8, instead of the tentative date of the last weekend in October. Originally focused on dealers from mainly the New England area, the show now brings in vendors from up and down the East Coast and even as far west as Texas. “Our dealer reach has greatly expanded and the show now attracts collectors and designers of note,” Siegel shared, noting several high-profile figures were spied shopping the spring show.

Show veteran David Smernoff Art & Antiques (Buenos Aires, Argentina and New Haven, Conn.) reported having an excellent show, selling to old and new clients.

Another returning exhibitor was quilts specialist Jane Langol of Medina, Ohio. “The Mid Atlantic Antique Show weekend was exciting! Despite chilly weather, the attendance was huge,” she said after the show. She sold four quilts, about which she said, “Great news for me as I am grateful to sell one or two quilts at most shows! The customers were eager to ask smart questions about the antiques and linger for interesting answers. The customers were decisive and had an eye for the best offerings.”

Langol takes care to present a balanced booth and noted she also sold her best piece of Ohio art pottery in a matter of seconds from a customer who expressed interest the minute she saw it.

Jane Langol, Medina, Ohio.

“Design and material were the theme of the day! The vendors provided a wide choice of antiques and there was definitely something for everyone,” Langol added. “I believe the power of the setting — a manicured country farm — contributed to the excitement of the day. Small groupings of chairs were provided for the customers to stop, relax, discuss, share their purchases and appreciate the efforts of the promoters to create a signature event that should be remembered.”

David Evans of Bachelor Hill Antiques (Elkin, N.C.) has also been a loyal exhibitor at the event. “We have been doing this show almost since the beginning — every year we have seen it grow both in terms of customer and dealer participation,” he said. “We have been fortunate for the past half dozen shows to occupy the Brewer’s Quarters and to create a gentleman’s club. This past show was extra fun, as we featured a large assortment of American flags and leather club chairs, both of which sold briskly throughout the weekend.”

When pack out time came, he had only one flag and no leather furniture. “The strong sales we attributed to the wonderful mix of collectors and decorators. Doesn’t hurt that lots of folks come for the vendors and stay for the ambiance of the farm.”

Speaking of the farm, Siegel has not shouted from the rooftops that the farm, which her family acquired, is a registered nonprofit and the festival was created to not only support a passion for antiquing but, more importantly, to fund the rescue and care of farm animals. She is hoping to turn the farm into a federally-approved non-profit animal sanctuary. She and her family have already taken in five miniature donkeys, several sheep and goats and quite a few barn cats. “Not a week goes by without receiving an inquiry about giving an animal a forever home,” she said.

Festival director Joy Siegel (second from right) stands with her daughters (from left), Paige Siegel, Cydney Siegel Studner and Amanda Siegel.

The farm and festival are largely a volunteer-driven affair between family, friends and dedicated volunteers. Siegel’s three daughters, Paige, Amanda and Cydney, are quite active in the shows, from manning the ticket booth to shuttling dealers and customers between the show field and the parking lot.

“We really worked hard on our social media and print outreach; we feel like we are finally penetrating the collector and designer markets,” Siegel remarked. Accustomed to putting on high-end events, Siegel doesn’t skimp out on any details. Food options for purchase are plentiful and each guest at the designer breakfast received a swag bag filled with a jar of local honey, a loaf of bread from a local bakery, almond brittle, an Aunt Cathy’s cookie courtesy of the baker, who happens to be Siegel’s sister in law, as well as a miniature print from show exhibitor Nostalgia Fine Arts and coupons for lunch and an adult beverage.

Even the bathrooms are a far cry from the porta-potties one might expect to find at an outdoor show. Instead, they are fully-outfitted indoor bathrooms complete with Italianesque tile floors, sleek black sink fixtures and gilt mirrors. One buyer was so impressed with the show and facilities that she wrote to Siegel to say how much she enjoyed herself at the event and that these were the nicest bathrooms she had ever seen on a farm.

Timeless Treats and Relics, Vernon, Conn.

Timeless Treats and Relics had a decent trek to the show from Vernon, Conn., but noted they had record sales and will definitely be returning for the fall edition. “We brought traditional American and Continental items, including a recently acquired portrait of George Villiers, Duke of Buckingham (1592-1628), likely done in his lifetime,” said dealer Luke Villani. “Other items of note included a Victorian cast iron four chair and table set, a rare Eighteenth Century New England hutch table and a pair of Rostand bronze lighthouse andirons.”

Peter Bazar of Saratoga (N.Y.) Fine Art had nothing but praise for Siegel and her husband, Jon, for their efforts with building this show. “I had another great show with Joy and Jon! It was a busy weekend — I actually sold two pieces before we even opened to collectors who couldn’t make it and sold another three during the show,” he commented. “We saw interest in everything from Old Master-inspired works to contemporary pieces. A huge thank you to Joy and Jon for their incredible work; their social media efforts really paid off. I truly couldn’t have done it without them.”

Jewelry specialist Margaret Alderman Ford said clients were interested in large Old European-cut diamonds, most set in 18K yellow gold solitaire pendants, and larger multiple diamonds set in white gold or platinum rings. “No solitaire diamonds were sold in rings. It was a joyful show with knowledgeable clients and dealers,” she said. “We’ll be back for the fall show.

Deborah Gore Dean of Gore Dean Forge (Cockeysville, Md.) said the standout part of the show was how friendly and upbeat everyone was “from the food trucks to the farm-to-table dinner…truly unique dealers — it was fun to be there!” She constructed a garden booth and sales included a bronze finish table in the style of Maison Jansen and another table by Niermann Weeks, plus a few works of art. “Mostly, it’s great to set up with old friends and see customers from our Georgetown days,” she said.

Beauchamp Arts & Antiques, New Bern, N.C.

Jewett-Berdan Antiques has been a loyal exhibitor at this show for good reason. “Butch [Berdan] and I have exhibited at this antique and garden show from the beginning and Joy and John are hardworking promoters who have built a great venue,” said dealer Tom Jewett. “We sold across the board from garden statues to decorative. We sold the best pair of alabaster urns we have ever seen, a folk art weathervane and whirligig of a paint decorated rooster. We also sold a decorative cast iron and marble console table, a set of six Chinese Chippendale chairs and a country painted white bench with a dramatic dropped apron. The show has grown from social media bursts and just gets better each show.”

David Beauchamp echoed these sentiments, commenting, “First and foremost the effort to promote a show is unrivaled by Joy Siegel and the setting is truly beautiful — a must see antique show — so if missed, see us in the fall show.” Praising the show’s diversity, he said it featured something for everyone, with garden, antique furniture, paintings and more. “All in all, most dealers reported good sales, myself included. The show had over 20 to 30 new dealers due to two well placed show tents. The dealer list is growing and it’s getting harder to become a vendor there.”

Marking their third time as an exhibitor at this show were antique clock dealers Robert Lipsky and Ann Marini of Yestertime. Both were impressed with the show’s aesthetics and gate. “All the booths in the Dairy Barn looked fantastic! Traffic was lively both days of the festival, and we received many queries about the antique clocks we had for sale in addition to requests for repairs of their family clocks,” Lipsky said. “We sold a few items over two days. The most significant sale for us was a rare Lewis-Burwell double dial perpetual calendar clock in a rosewood case, circa 1868. We got our asking price.”

Yestertime, Kensington, Md.

Among new exhibitors that went home happy were vintage poster and prints specialists George and Andrea Timmons (Woodbine, Ga.). “We enjoyed a tremendous amount of interest in our original French posters as well as our antique prints. Notably, we sold Eighteenth Century engravings of bird prints by François Martinet and Saverio Manetti as well as Eighteenth Century engravings of seashells from G.W. Knorr,” noted Andrea Timmons. “Our posters brought shoppers into our booth in part due to the 14-foot walls the show built for our space in the Barrel Barn. We flipped (showed) posters actively for three hours both days.”

She added, “Sales were intermittent but with posters people do not always have their wall measurements handy, so we hope they will shop our website once they make a decision. Late Sunday, we sold a large framed poster to an interior designer looking to finish a kitchen project as well as a trio of rare framed and unframed posters to an enthusiastic couple who are avid collectors. We will be back for the fall show as Joy and Jon are making it a three-day show, which is great. And speaking of the Siegels, we have never worked with such dedicated and enthusiastic promoters. They are generous in time and spirit and assisted in helping us grow our social media exposure.”

The show will return to the Aix La Chapelle Farm November 6-8. For information, www.midatlanticantiquesfestival.com or 301-907-8800.