With cherished memories of past Stella Show Management's two-weekend, Triple Pier Antiques Show, I arrived at Pier 94 Sunday sure that the one weekend, one pier show spelled the end of the antiques trade. I was wrong. The March 15–16 Pier Antiques Show was as good as, if not better than, previous shows.
Packed with 500 dealers, the aisles were still crowded but not as narrow, and the squat, inverted T-shaped space was less exhausting to wander around. Turns out the downsizing is due to limited availability–more ships are using the space and the city won't give long-term permits–but the goods seemed nicer (maybe the longer, bigger show made everything seem too familiar). The venue was organized into Classic & Formal, Modern, Americana & Decorative Arts and Fashion Alley. The groupings made it easy to browse and herd with your own breed of collector.
Stella Shows had announced The Big Pink Tag Sale, where "thousands" of antiques and collectibles under $300 would be identified with pink tags, but as hard as I looked, I didn't see even one. Maybe everything had been snatched up. Maybe the dealers were unwilling to sell that low, or maybe they simply didn't embrace the idea.
Pier 94 is a more expensive rental space, so some of the second-tier dealers were shut out. For the next show, November 15–16, Stella Shows will be offering as venues both Pier 94 and the lower-priced Pier 92. The later will appeal to vintage and collectibles dealers; Vintage Fashions will be assigned the center aisle of Pier 92 and will host a red carpet with modeled clothes. Back on Pier 94, a section will be added called "Art & Others" for unconventional and outsider art.
Since the availability of the space is not always certain expect the Pier Shows to keep changing and innovating. But as one person from San Francisco told me, he'd been waiting to come to this show for years. Because it's so varied, it appeals to many different populations of the collecting community. The March show's new condensed space only sharpened its appeal.
Comments