In February, Trish McElroy asked me to do an interview on the radio with her, tp get people out to her Concord monthly shows, and to stimulate interest in antiquing in NH. We were on a show called “Coffee Chat”a moning radio program in Concord , and we felt it went very well. It got me to thinking about the antiques business and promotion – a topic which engages the board of NHADA constantly.
We may complain about soft markets and uneventful shows, but we have to be the ones to take the initiative. We need new blood ! We have heard the mantra of an ageing audience : “I haven’t got an inch of space left.” “I’m downsizing.” “I’m refining my collections.” Truth is, it’s no time to be sitting on the sidelines. Dealers have to get on the program. Not just those of us who sit on boards and run shows and newspapers, but all of us. I’m making this appeal to our members: Are you aware of any possible venues to broaden our marketing for our shows ? The most valuable marketing is not always advertising, but editorial promotion. We know that we have a tiger by the tail; collecting stuff is a passion, and I’m sure you all know that the passion is not necessarily impacted by the finantial news. If you are smitten with pottery, you are on the trail looking for it. In my case, folk dolls have always been an unending source of magic. I’m not sure what my limits would be if someone called from Iceland about a few choice dolls for sale ! The woman who likes home and hearth more than any other place wiuld be searching for a way to get to Iceland. Let’s put our heads together and THINK. If you have access to a good local paper, a small or big radio station, tv, or anything that reaches the public, please let me know. My email box is open 24 hours a day, and I promise I will respond and work on it. Remember, this is good for you as well. We are selling a “comfort”commodity, something to warm up the ice cold environment of an electronic culture. kathyeno@sover.net
Trish’s Concord runs through April 11, 2010, at the Courtyard Marriott, Grappone Conference Center. Nan Gurley and Peter Mavris will be in Portsmouth at the Frank Jones Center on Sunday, March 28, 10AM – 3PM, and on Wednesday, April 14, for Short and Sweet, 9AM – Noon. We thank those promoters for providing us with good venues all season.
As I write the 2010 NHADA Directory is at the printer, and will be ready soon. Whew ! What a job. My deepest thanks to Lisa Freeman for her incredible talent, guidance and patience; Bev Longacre for her superb organizing skills; Linda Tate, Gail Piatt and Tommy Thompson for coordinating the membership drive ; Melissa Alden for working diligently on it (when not on the beach) and for being there for the “HELP” phone calls from the President; Dennis Berard for working on distribution before he takes off on the winter show tour (hey, Dennis! Can’t you just stay home and do distribution?) and thank you you to all our loyal members. NHADA is only as strong as its members, and each and every one of you counts. Really.
Nan Gurley and Peter Mavris are hard at work on the Canterbury Show, Sunday, September 26, 2010. Reserve your space. This year it will be glitch-free. We who were there last year loved it, and remind you that is is open to the whole membership until the spaces are sold. And that fantastic Shaker dinner will be slated for the evening of September 25. It was a real barn party, with great food and refreshment. Join us.
Just a little more winter to slog through here in the hill towns. Soon NH’s biggest secret will be revealed, as it is every year: Spring. The greening of these charmed villages, fields and mountains is beyond description. The doors and windows are thrown open, the laundry is back on the clotheslines, and our spirits are renewed. However, I want to share with you a quote sent to me from one of my favorite pals, Nancy Sevatson of Dublin”
The relation of climate to the elaborate equilibrium of activities that make up living is suggested by the late James J. Hill’s motto, to which he is said absolutely to have adhered : “You can’t interest me in any proposition, in any place where it doesn’t snow.” Or more picturesquely: “No man on whom the snow does not fall ever amounts to a tinker’s dam.” North America, J. Russell Smith ; Harcourt Brace & Co., NY; 1925; page 8.
Thanks, Nancy.
Kathy Schoemer Acworth, NH