New vendors, same traditions at Antiques Show

GLEN RIDGE, NJ — The 72nd annual Glen Ridge Antiques Show will be held Friday, Feb. 2, and Saturday, Feb 3, at the Glen Ridge Congregational Church. According to Debbie Turi, the dealers’ manager for the second consecutive year, the show is the longest-running one of its kind in the state. Turi is also a dealer and will be selling at her 15th consecutive show.

There will be 34 dealers, she said, the same as last year. But eight of them are brand new. David Cowell will be the vendor with the longest time served at the Glen Ridge show — 34 years. New to the show will be Jerry Cirillo, from Tewksbury.

He will be offering early-American furniture for the 1800s. One vendor will be coming from Maine. This is Peter Murphy who sells a variety of antiques, including furniture and bric-a-brac.

“I encourage my dealers to bring fresh stuff,” Turi said. “If it didn’t sell one year, it may not the next.”
There will be no books at the show, Turi said. The vendor who sold books and brass microscopes was John Tyler who has since retired.
Last year, his place on the floor was taken by a dealer of political buttons, picture cards, patches and other ephemera.

“Everyone at this show is personally vetted by me,” Turi said. “I like to know them, who they are, if they are reputable, if they have real items and not reproductions. I don’t like reproductions. It’s a pet peeve. I would ask a deal to remove them.”
She said most of the dealers arriving she will know from other antique shows.

“I know a lot of dealers,” she said. “If I don’t know them, I’ll ask other dealers about them. This show is all invitational.”
Notification to the public was handled by a mailing service, Turi said. This is the first year that has happened. There are 3,800 names on the GR Antiques Show mailing list. Announcements have also gone out on email blasts, social media, and through Turi’s own mailing list.

“Last year, 900 people attended the show,” Turi said. “That was up 20 percent from 2016. My goal this year is 1,200 people. I like to shoot high.”
Appraisals by Richard Nieger will be available for a small fee on both Friday and Saturday, 1 to 4 p.m.

But food is always a highlight of the GR Antiques Show. Linda Woodbury, who will be handling the kitchen chores, did not have all the details cooked down yet out but said the menu will be similar in concept to previous years.

“Signaling the imminent arrival of spring we are featuring a fresh, lemony carrot/cauliflower soup It’s fabulous,” she said. “We will also have a turkey chili.”

Turi is very optimistic about this show.
“I think it’s going to be gangbusters,” she said. “Weather makes a huge difference. I’m praying for good weather.”
The show will be on Friday, Feb. 2, 10 a.m. to 9 p.m., and Saturday, Feb. 3, 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. An admission fee will be charged.

  FEATURED, MOBILE