Geneva Antique Market to hold anniversary open house
Submitted by Geneva Antique Market
The Geneva Antique Market, 227 S. Third St. in Geneva, invites the public to an anniversary open house from 10 a.m. to 7 p.m. Friday, Sept. 9, during Geneva's popular Festival of the Vine. Refreshments will be served and nonperishable food items are welcome. The open house is part of the monthlong celebration, featuring anniversary promotions and the food drive.
Geneva Antique Market is celebrating its 20th anniversary against all odds. It is unusual enough to find an antique market in business for 20 years in the same location and rare for the core dealer group to remain nearly unchanged. Now add the fact that the business cannot be seen from the street level and it's easy to see why the Geneva Antique Market is in festivity mode. Their 20th anniversary observance during September is all about gratitude for the success of the business in the positive climate of the Geneva business community and giving back by including a food drive for a local food pantry. The antique market occupies nearly the entire lower level of the Berry House, a multishop century-plus building.
The 12 dealers who comprise the Geneva Antique Market co-op have grown into a family, each contributing antique expertise across the inventory categories of jewelry, glass, toys, pottery, ephemera, china and porcelain, primitives, books, folk art, Flow Blue, vintage Christmas, textiles, postcards, furniture and fine art. The sum of their Geneva Antique Market experience is 156 years and their total number of years in the antique business comes to 216.
For a business that is essentially about the past, there are some surprising aspects. This dealer group creates monthly themed vignettes of inventory gathered from all the dealers in an artful Center Table display. They offer an electronic newsletter, the “Vintage Voice,” by free subscription. It has shop news, promotion alerts, education, tips on caring for antiques and information on Geneva events. In addition to their website, www.genevaantiquemarket.com, they have an online antique store on Ruby Lane, www.rubylane.com/shop/genevaantiquemkt and you can follow the Geneva Antique Market on Facebook. And yet, care has been taken to create and maintain an antique market that resembles an old-fashioned mom-and-pop store than an antique mall with rows of square booths.
When people express surprise that an antique business can be successful in a down economy, the dealers have some good guesses as to why. They do not allow new merchandise as some antique shops do. They appreciate their good customers who are avid collectors, decorators and gift buyers of vintage merchandise. They are blessed to be in a vibrant downtown business community. And, most of all, they think that the love of history, nostalgia, old things and memories is exactly what folks need in tough times.
For details, call (630) 208-1150. It is open daily 10 a.m. to 5 p.m., and noon to 5 p.m. Sunday.