At the Antiques Market: Selling and Collecting
07.04.08 By Val Ubell
Once again, we set up to sell at the fabulous Elkhorn Antiques Fair at the Walworth County Fair Grounds in Wisconsin. This Fair is run by N.L. Promotions, in their 27th year and it still remains the best in the area. It has kept its integrity and has not allowed the “tube socks and Tupperware” dealers to peddle their wares! We always find super bargains here as well!
The weather was ‘iffy’ at best but hubby and I set up on Saturday afternoon. Friends always say “boy, that sounds like a lot of fun!” and “you guys must really make a lot of money doing that.” But when it comes time to setting up, they are at a picnic or relaxing in a lawn chair. It is doubtful that they realize how much work goes into it. In addition to hunting for items to sell, I usually spend 24-30 hours during the week doing research on identifying what we have to sell, then pricing, wrapping, and finally, another 2-3 hours are filled in loading up. It’s over an hour drive from our home and we head out early Saturday afternoon.
This time we barely got several of the tables set up, and filled when the skies darkened. We re-wrapped the pieces that could be hurt by moisture, tarped the rest and sat in the van, waiting. And boy, did it rain. Big, heavy drops pelted the windows and the winds came up too. I wish I had brought a bunch of umbrellas from my collection!
About 30 minutes later, the sky was blue and we ventured out again. Hubby took a squeegy to the tables, we dumped out bowls, wiped everything down and cautiously put out our wares. A few buyers came over, we had a some ‘early-sales’ and we continued to work until 7-ish. Then once again, we put away the pieces that could be 
damaged by the rain, covered the rest and headed home for a quick snooze.
The next morning we arose at 4:00 A.M., cleaned up, grabbed some coffee and headed back to the Fairgrounds. It was a beautiful morning, cool and clear and we were so relieved since rain was predicted. The weathermen who love to cover their butts now do the percentage thing. They’ll say “50% chance of rain”, which means they are right either way. Not too many jobs where you can give that type of projection and still stay employed. “Hey, Steve – what are the chances these car seats are safe?” “Oh, I’d say about 50%.” “Great job Steve-o!”
In any case, the weather was wonderful and the crowd gathered early; gates open at 7 but we all know that dealers buy from dealers so we had several sales before then.
Hubby is always optimistic and cheerful, calling out “what a gorgeous day” to all who entered our booth. You hear all sorts of responses from “Yep, sure is” to “it’s really too cool” to “Yes, but the sun is too bright” or “Sure wish it was not so darn breezy” to the one we hate most or all “You are right but it is GOING TO RAIN!” We always shoo those folks away, no matter how much they would buy.
But they were right; not just 50% moist but 100%. Before you could say “Why now black cloud?” the skies opened up. We raced around with tarps, covering what we could, putting items into the back of our vans. Then we sat, dripping wet in the van, trying to remain positive. chatted and made comments such as “It was moving pretty quickly so it will end soon”, or “Just an isolated shower” and the like. It ended after about 15 minutes and once again, vibrant blue skies and puffy white clouds appeared. We came out again and cleaned tables, wiped everything down, bringing out the wood and paper items. The crowds became quite heavy and we had some decent sales. I would yell out “come on in – everything was just freshly cleaned!” We do have our fun. Years ago, hubby had a rubber mallet, bright green and very ‘limp.’ He’d act like a barker and pound it on the table. It brought on a lot of smiles. He is the type who can always do a 15 minute show anywhere! Much too young for vaudeville, but that’s where he could have really done his ’schtick.’
Well, you guessed it, our reverie was short-lasted and the black clouds re-appeared. We usually stay set up until 4 or 5, then slowly begin taking the tables down. But it was about 2:30 when we started to close ‘er up. And it was a good thing, because as we put the last box in the van and slammed the door, it rained again.
Well, now you are thinking – are these people, nuts? All that work for what??? It may surprise those of you who have never done it, but it was actually fun. You meet a lot of nice people, many from out of the area. They share stories on their collections and what they are hoping to find. You learn more about the trends and what people are seeking and you often re-affirm that what you have been offering is what collectors want to find so you can continue your passion of the hunt. It is an ‘instant gratification’ thing, albeit some of the items have been around a while. We enjoy our day together and even the dripping wet part makes us laugh. If that stops being fun, then perhaps we’ll stop too. But for now, it’s our hobby and we love it!
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Article Tags: Collectors Antique Sellers, Elkhorn Antique Flea Market, flea market, NL Promotions================
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July 6th, 2008 at 4:13 am
We just call this dedication… Athletes sweat, pregnant moms labor; we all must suffer for our pursuits