It’s early Sunday, day two of the NYC Pier Antique Show and you’re already up and at the 94th street pier parking lot off loading your 2nd round of quality hand picked pieces and with help, you carry your new inventory to your installation. This has become old hat to you. You’re a pro now. You’re relaxed. You’re confident. You re-arrange the inventory to allow for the new pieces. You clean and polish everything. Put out more business cards and brochures. You’re ready for day two and with several hours to kill before the doors open to the public; it’s time for coffee and conversation. It’s time to meet, mingle and compare notes about the successes of Saturday’s turnout.
With this early morning free time you swing past nearly every relevant booth and installation in the cavernous Pier 94th street pier.
An anticipated announcement comes over the PA system reminding you that you have 30 minutes before the doors open and another message, a warning, about breaking down your installation before the show is over. Don’t do it. You could be banned from participating in other events put on by the shows promoter, U.S. Antique Shows.
This time you make a stop by the food concession and load up on breakfast bars and water for snacking during the show and one more cup of coffee for the hike back to your installation.
With the water and breakfast bars stowed under the Adrian Pearsall sofa and the coffee now downed you are ready to face the public. The doors are open and here they come.
The crowd starts out on the light side. I suppose many New Yorkers are sleeping in, going to brunch or on their way to church. However, as the temperature outside warms up so does the foot traffic on the inside. Yesterday’s window shoppers have returned and are buying today. The energy is slower today. People are more relaxed. It feels good.
The late morning ease sets the tone and the balance of the day progresses smoothly.
Towards closing you start thinking about breaking down your installation. Packing everything and safely loading your goods into your truck is forefront on your mind. And secondly, the 4 plus hour ride home. We are getting near the end of the event and the pier is emptying out. The high speed pace of the weekend has almost ground to a halt and is shifting into the breakdown mode. Everyone is exhausted and cranky and facing the same tasks. Blankets, boxes, shrink wrap, packing bubbles all begin to reappear and the last phase of the event is underway. Porters have returned and are racing rewrapped product back to the trucks that have been filling up the parking lot. The crew that manages the parking, security and traffic are doing an amazing job. The grand exit of over 400 venders runs smoothly. Quick goodbyes to new and old friends and we’re off into the traffic, bright lights and the tall buildings of New York City. Next stop…Boston MA
Now that I have had time to reflect on the Pier Show I have realized that the true wealth and value that I obtained came from the connections that I made and all that they shared with me. Those connections, my new friends, are priceless.
Will I be doing the NYC Antique Pier Show again? You can count on it.
