Twelve Days Till Dolly! Come with a Friend

Twelve days from today, we'll swing open the doors at Will Rogers Memorial Center and the 48th Annual Dolly Johnson Antique and Art Show will kick up its heels.    


Today’s message: Come with a friend.


In selling at antique shows for 22 years, I have done a lot of people watching. I see pairs of people who attend antiques shows together. It may be a couple. It may be sisters. It may be old friends. It may be a date. It may be an interior designer with a special client. It may be best friends. It may be an “antiquing friend.”

Sometimes I see mother-daughter teams shopping together and frequently I see mother and daughter-in-laws. One Thanksgiving weekend, far from my Fort Worth family, I went to an antique show in a Maryland farmer’s field with my mother-in-law Ginny. She bought a necklace with a pendant made out of a vintage silver fork. She loved oddball things like that. Today I cherish that memory of being with her on that beautiful day in that farmer’s field and one of her granddaughters cherishes that funny necklace.


More and more, I see multiple generations at shows---a grandmother and granddaughter, an aunt and a niece. I have realized that those who come to a show in pairs have a different show experience—and it meets different needs---than for those who come with a larger group or who crave to come alone. More on those two shopping styles later.

Two is small enough to stay together, small enough to come in one vehicle and even small enough to have less competition for the same antique that both may covet. It’s a second opinion. It’s also a relationship-nurturing scale. Two can experience their time together as valuable to them. They not only invest in antiques. They invest in time together.

Judy's Antiques- Two winners from Wisconsin

 I think of Beverly and Sarah, a mother-daughter team who simply would not go to a show without each other. This is part of what they do together. They each have their own households and their own styles, but they spend time together at antique shows. Sometimes they spur each other on toward a purchase and sometimes they hold each back. They value one another’s opinion. They value one another.

I think of co-workers Kenneth and Caroline. On their days off, they love to shop together. They each listen to what the other would like to have. While one is not looking, they each will whisper, “Hold that, I’ll get it for their Christmas present.” Many presents later, this is a strong friendship. They enjoy the company of beautiful things together. They would have it no other way.

Table for Two-Adele Kerr Antiques

I think of Aimee and Dudley, a young couple with children. They leave the children with a sitter and meander through antique shows to experience an environment together that inspires them to go home and nurture their nest. They shop for antiques and vintage items for their children. The children are in their minds, but this is their time together to gain perspective on their lives. They are not at work, not at the computer, not watching TV. They are moving through an extraordinarily beautiful space together, gaining inspiration for enhancing their own home. I envy them. My husband would rather nap in the car!

I think of mother-daughter Marty and Laura. They live in different cities. They meet at antique shows. The mother buys jewelry—she already has a full house. With the mother’s encouragement, the daughter carefully selects something wonderful that she plans to carry from home to home throughout her life. Someday, when she needs it most, she will look at an antique in her home and it will bring her mother’s presence to her.


Two is a strong number. Two is fun. Two goes a long way.


Who would you like to spend a delightful day with? Call them. Forward this blog to them. Meet them at the 48th Annual Dolly Johnson Antique and Art Show, which will soon be here!


Find a Show Discount Coupon at http://www.dollyjohnsonantiqueandartshow.com/