Yes friends, We've been back in Michigan since the middle of April and its just been one of those strings of bad luck that occasionally happen to everyone, but fall particularly hard when you are in a traveling biz, exposed to weather and the elements, and generally at the mercy of the wide world and all its quirks.
First Michigan show was Ann Arbor back in April, and as we were driving there and the radio was announcing forecasts of high winds, heavy rain, etc. we thought we might call ahead and get switched to an indoor booth. No one answered the phone at the Fairgrounds, and when we got there, it was to discover that the big circus-style tent that the promoter puts up each show had collapsed in high wind, and Everyone had been re-routed indoors except us and one other gentleman (he had his own small tent and didn't want to move indoors.)
We immediately requested that we be moved in and were told there were no more spaces. After establishing that we could not erect a tent in the present wind (60 MPH gusts) and getting permission to access the grounds at 5:am, we went to our hotel. In the dark and rain of the early morn, with winds that ad lessened but wwere still in excess of 25 MPH we somehow set up a ragtag booth. No lightweight glass or statues, no windows, no paintings or prints, no fabrics, just all the pieces of furniture, iron, and statuary leaning into each other for support, and no possible rhyme or reason to the display. Well any of you who know me know how difficult "no display, no decor" was for me. At 7am the buildings were opened to the vendors, and it was then that I discovered more than a dozen empty spaces indoors. needless to say i was not a happy camper, and the show simply apologized and said it was an oversight, their fault. We spent the day outside in 27 degree weather, while the whole show buzzed nearby, ALL INDOORS. At 4pm one of the promoters came and asked us if we wanted to move indoors for the next day. (Didn't offer to help ujs move in, mind you, just told us we could.) Having already lost our share of the beaucoup bucks being spent indoors that day, and knowing the 2nd day of a show is less well-traveled and has shorter hours, and figuring we would have had to spend an additional 3 hours shlepping everything indoors and setting up again, we declined.
On Sunday, we started to have a few customers in the afternoon, as the day was warmer and the wind had died down. Just as we got some selling momentum going (about 3pm) the inside dealers started jockeying for spaces to put their trucks-right in front of the buildings and effectively blocking us off visually. At that point I had had more than enough. I sought out the promoter and asked her if the show ended at 3 or 4? she said 4, so I said "why are the trucks coming in an hour early?" She came outside to survey the situation and by then at least 40 trucks had completely blocked us off and signalled to any public at the fronts of those buildings that the show must be over.
It was at that point that I demanded my money back for a show that had been completely mis-managed, from start to finish. They did accomodate me, though they cashed my check first, in error, and had to send me a new one later in the week. In fact the whole thing was a comedy of error, but what wasn't funny, and what can never be replaced is the money I lost by not making sales all day Saturday, while $ hundreds of thousands $ were changing hands indoors.
Next time, when I DO go back, and I believe that will be in July, the summer and Fall markets are all now under a different promoter, and so a different name. It will be the Saline Antiques and Vintage Market from now on, except in April, May, and October when theywill continue to use the Ann Arbor Antiques Market name..
Continued cold, rain, and a major van problem took their toll on the rest of the spring shows, especially the ones farthest north, where the people did not come out at all. Finally at the end of May, beginning of June, the weather warmed somewhat, and the big Midland Antiques Festival was its usual huge and unruly self, with many old friends and clients stopping by and making purchases. That weekend was a miracle for sure, as the forecast was for 3 days of ongoing rain, and we never got a drop.
In two weeks we will be headed to Petoskey, that most beautiful show at the top of the lower peninsula where we spend our days displaying and describing our wares for ardent and intelligent visitors from all over the country. Can't wait, and hope to see you there.
