Thrusday, January 14, 1999
Lebanon anticipates antiques show crowd
BY JENNY CALLISON
Enquirer Contributor
LEBANON — No matter how bleak the weather is this weekend, the semiannual Lebanon Antiques Show will create a sunny business climate.
Many of the anticipated 2,500 visitors to the show also will find their way into downtown Lebanon's antiques and specialty shops. They will receive a warm welcome.
“I love having the show here. It brings more people that might not come otherwise,” said Jeb Gerhardt, whose Gerhardt Rug Gallery features new and old rugs from the Middle East and Asia. His inventory also includes pillows and luggage made from rugs.
Next door on South Broadway, Betty Maudlin of American Spice & Co. expects a busy weekend in her shop, which relocated to Lebanon from Waynesville in October.
“We had a wonderful Christmas season. The response here has been very positive,” said Mrs. Maudlin, whose store specializes in American country furniture and decorative items.
Around the corner on Mul berry Street, Gerald Miller and Brian Simpson have just finished redoing the window displays at their shop, Uniquities.
“We have items in here that cost $2-$3,” Mr. Simpson said, “and we have others that cost $20,000.” In addition to Mr. Miller's inventory, Uniquities showcases the wares of several other deal ers. The merchandise is a balance of antique and new items, but as the shop's name suggests, the two men try to feature items that are unusual.
“The show represents the two biggest days of the year,” Mr. Simpson said, adding that prospective buyers usually first attend the antiques show, then check out merchandise and prices in the downtown shops.
Charles Gerhardt, at Gerhardt Tribal Art on North Broadway, was packing a variety of Latin American and African art and artifacts to take to a show in Detroit.
“I'll be gone but my shop will be open this weekend,” he said. “The antique show brings tons of business. It's a numbers game: you get more people in town, and more people come into the shop.”
Mr. Gerhardt, the father of Jeb Gerhardt, sells much of his merchandise to collectors but also attracts customers who purchase his masks, Navajo rugs, prints and primitive sculpture as accent pieces in their homes.
Shop owners said that because the antiques show has a reputation for quality and people come prepared to buy, everyone benefits: Lebanon businesses as well as the visiting dealers.
The 83 dealers expected at this weekend's show come from as far away as Maine.
“These are top of the line dealers,” said Sue Hall, show manager. “We have buyers who fly in from all over the country because they know we have things that haven't been altered, with original knobs and original surfaces.”
Admission fees and other proceeds of the antique show benefit the Warren County Historical Society, which sponsors the event.
headIF YOU GO
• What: Lebanon Antiques Show
• When: 11 a.m. to 7 p.m. Saturday; 11 a.m. to 5 p.m. Sunday
• Where: Warren County Career Center, 3524 N. Ohio 48, Lebanon
• Admission: $5, good for both days
• Information: 932-1817
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