Stuffing Stockings At A New Venue

What do a hockey puck, a string of beads, a Hummel figure, a Christmas tree ornament and a old box camera have in common? The answer: they are all less than 6 inches tall and therefore fit the bill to be included in Vivien Cord's annual Antique Stocking Stuffers Show & Sale. And all of the aforementioned items were there, joining a countless number of other things to please the 600 visitors who came to the show on Sunday, December 18.

Prior to Sunday, the show spent many years in the Civic Center in Old Greenwich, a venue that, over the years, has been neglected to the point that the roof leaked and the exhibition areas became very worn. "It was time to relocate to a clean and bright location, thus the move to the John Jay High School in Cross River, where we are very happy and welcomed," Cord said.

The show filled the cafeteria, a smaller exhibition area and some of the hallways, making it comfortable and easy to maneuver for both the dealers and the customers. The dealers and visitors concurred with her move. Exhibitor Marcia Chaloux of Newtown, Conn., noted, "I wasn't going to do the show if it was to be held in Old Greenwich again, but with the new venue, it turned out to be one of the best choices I made this year."

The show opened at 10 am to a lobby of early shoppers, and people continued to trickled in all day long. Just inside the front entrance, Nancy Craig of Dover, N.H., was set up, offering memorabilia, a selection of still banks, commemorative buttons and many baskets filled with everything from soup to nuts. "Best show since the recession started," she said, "I couldn't blink for the first 3 hours."

Just the opposite was true for Judy Ravnitzky of Mahopac, N.Y. "I did $65 in the morning, wanted to slit my wrists, but it was a good thing I didn't, because in the afternoon I sold four sets of fine quality stemware, mostly Moser, to a very knowledgeable buyer," she said.

An advertisement for the show, appearing in Antiques and The Arts Weekly , featured a Christmas tree made with a stack of words naming the objects one would expect to find at the show. Starting from the bottom with vintage designer costume jewelry, the tree topped off with tins, and in between the list included toys, bells, linens, frames, buttons, folk art, bookends, candlesticks, purses, doorstops, bottles, dollhouse furniture, shakers, figurines, advertising, tokens, molds and clocks, just 20 of the 80 different categories mentioned. And, indeed, there were lots more.

Many of the exhibitors rated the show's visitors highly, including Ryan Downer of Wolfeboro Falls, N.H., who said, "Customers flocked in droves and they were serious buyers with good Christmas spirit. They were interested in a variety of things, and were not afraid to spend." Olivia Garay of Whitehouse Station, N.J., added, "Awesome show, pleased with clientele. I do a lot of shows, and this one saw well-educated customers who knew their stuff, which made them easy to sell to."

Brenda Perrone of Pound Ridge, N.Y., one of the several dealers who offered early Christmas ornaments and decoration, noted that "people were looking for vintage Christmas and, as always, I did well." Other dealers pleased with the show included Arlene Kahn of New York City, who said, "We did well, just as we have always done in Old Greenwich," and Walter-John Kazeka, Sparta, N.Y., was also pleased, saying, "I'm happy, I did what I wanted to do."

Cord was impressed with several of the visitors who told her that they went to Old Greenwich looking for the show, and when they found it was not there, went home and Googled it and then came up to Cross River. The Stocking Stuffers Show replaces the March Cross River Winter Antiques Fair and is the major fundraiser for the John Jay High School PTO.

Next year the show will be at the same location on Sunday, December 16, and among the dealers you will meet will be Kathleen Otranto of Farmingville, N.Y., who said, "I'm smiling! Will do it again!"