U.S. Antique Shows reports hearty response during Miami Beach show

MIAMI — U.S. Antique Shows recently concluded their largest antique event, The

Original Miami Beach Antique Show with a record opening day. It was reported the largest show opening since 2008 and a 20 percent increase in attendance from 2014. The group also noted a vast amount of strong sales across the show floor for all five show days.

Held at the Miami Beach Convention Center, The Original Miami Beach Antique Show presented nearly 1,000 recognized dealers from around the world, Jan. 30-Feb. 3, 2015. Attendees were able to explore collections from Renaissance to Art Deco eras including fine art, American and European silver, antique jewelry, 17th-19th century furniture, porcelain, and more.

“We measure the success of each event on several factors. One is attendance, but others are sales of merchandise and how other features of the show performed. Overwhelmingly, our dealers reported robust sales and many attendees sought out our staff to provide compliments about the quality and varied merchandise on the floor. In addition, special events like the Booth Talks, Appraisal Day and the Jewelry History Series have grown dramatically in popularity,” says Dan Darby, Emerald Expositions vice president and U.S. Antique Shows general manager.

U.S. Antique Shows also reported that 77 percent of exhibiting dealers renewed their booths for the 2016 show. In addition, many of the show’s dealers expressed having great selling experiences at the show.

View one in a series of videos from the Original Miami Beach Antique Show called “Antique Insights from an Expert”....

“This is my 31st year doing the show and we had an unbelievable experience this year. We sold everything from Lalique glass to Italian glass to objects and sculptures. The reception was phenomenal, in fact, on opening day you couldn’t even walk through our booth because we had so many bags from customers that purchased items. The Miami Beach show is truly one of the best shows in the entire world,” said Jeff Myers of Myers-Huffman Antiques.

Thom Marone of Art Deco and Modern Design agreed, “The show was fantastic! I sold half a showcase of porcelain merchandise.”

Jewelry Dealer Walter Engelbert of McTeigue said, “We had a very good show in Miami Beach this year. We had strong sales occurring with retailers as well as other dealers, mostly at the beginning of the show, but there was business at the latter part as well. Most of our business was in estate jewelry, both signed and unsigned, very broad from smaller to larger estate pieces.”

Appraisal Day, held Saturday, Jan. 31 from 12-6 p.m., was also a huge success. In partnership with Skinner Auctioneers & Appraisers, the event attracted more than 100 attendees interested in getting their family heirlooms and antiques appraised. The items brought varied in both value and size, including jewelry, sculptures, art glass and large scale paintings.

Attendees were enthusiastic about inquiring knowledge on their pieces. “Fantastic and

quick service,” “expert knowledge,” and “very personable appraisers” were some of the comments received from Appraisal Day attendees.

April Matteini, regional director in Skinner's Coral Gables office, also offered remarks on the day. “We saw a lot of extraordinary pieces today. The Miami Beach show always attracts people that are truly interested in antiques and antique jewelry, which makes for a wonderful experience for our team.”

The Original Miami Beach Antique Show was recently listed by BizBash, a resource hub for the event and meeting industry, as one of Miami/South Florida’s Top 100 Events. The show has long been recognized by the Miami media and industry trades for its extensive selection of merchandise, cross section of buyers and sellers and consistent show traffic.

U.S. Antique Shows produces eight shows nationally. The next show scheduled is the Pier Antique Show, March 28-29, at Pier 94 in New York City.