top:2px;padding-right:5px;font-family:times;”>Over this past month and a half, having been out of town traversing Europe with my darling dreadlocked 16 year old nephew, a mountain of mail has grown on my desk. Part of the wonderful joy of being The Antiques Diva™ is that I receive copious quantities of snail mail & emails updating me on the happenings in the art & antiques world.
You might think that I’m just incredibly savvy, spending hours doing research on the best art & antiques fairs around (and as I am a notorious insomniac I do surf endlessly at wee hours in the morning), but in fact, more often than not, these show dates & addresses are sent to me in the post on cards or publicity folders to my home business address and I merely share my wealth of resources with you.
I’m the environmentalist’s & postman’s worst nightmare as I’m on everyone who is anyone’s mailing list. As my notoriety as The Antiques Diva™ has grown, these postcards come more frequently often accompanied by handwritten notes saying, “Why don’t you tell your readers about this upcoming show?”
Last night with my nephew safely returned home to his parents after his European tour, I began sorting through the post, tossing out junk mail or expired fair information, and in the rubble I found a few upcoming shows/fairs worth mentioning.
So get your calendar out – The Antiques Diva has a few last minute dates for you!
London
Olympia International Art & Antiques Fair – June 5 – 15, 2008 – Olympia Exhibition Halls, open daily 11am – 7pm. Over 250 vendors are selling priceless works of art & antiques from almost every period and continent. Very Posh event. Don’t miss the Diamond Lunch next Saturday if you can help it – it’s sure to be brilliant!
Paris
31st Foire aux Antiquaires St Germain – June 5 – 15, 2008 – Place St Sulpice, open daily 11am – 8pm. Da Vinci Code fans will find this setting all too familiar as the L’Eglise St Sulpice, from which the square where the fair takes place takes its name, is prominently displayed in the movie. More to my liking is the fact that I’m as likely to find a gorgeous antique to buy as I am to run face to face with Catherine Deneuve (who lives in a gorgeous apartment overlooking the square). Madame Deneuve is spotted annually picking through the brocante in the most elegant of French attire.
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Modern & Contemporary Art Auction Sotheby’s Amsterdam – Sale: Wednesday 25 June 2008, Public Viewing: 20-23 June daily 10am – 4pm. Highlights of the sale include R 79-2 by Jan Schoonhoven, Music Hall by Jan Wiegers, and Cobra artist Karel Appel’s gouache on paper titled Beest.
The Swan Auction House – Algemene Kunst –En Antiekveiling – Sale dates: June 9 – 24, 2008. De Zwaan is known for the incredibly low prices with which they auction their goods! Furniture items can be snatched up for a song and I know more than one antique dealer in A’dam who buys their inventory here (and then marks it up 20 or 30% from their purchase price – why pay more when you can get it from the antique dealers source)! Check the Auction House website for an exact listing of the various dates the different categories will be auctioned. Of particular interest to me is the June 13 (1pm) auction of antique furniture – specifically chairs, settees, lamps, clocks and barometers!
to-find-my-favorite-french.html” target=”_blank”>Brederode Voorjaarsbrocante 2008 – June 13, 14, 15, 11am – 6pm. This won’t be the first (or last) time you hear me wax poetically about this Secret Sale held inside a private apartment on the Lijnbaansgracht in the Jordaan. Antiques, Home Furnishings, and Garden Décor abound in beautiful tableaus. Make sure you mention that The Antiques Diva ™ sent you!
Lijnbaansgracht 56D (by the Westerstraat), 1015 GS Amsterdam
Milan
Viscontea – Casa d’Aste End of the Season Sale – Antiques, Modern & Contemporary Auction – Sale June 26, 2008. Public Viewing: 23 – 25 June, 2008 daily from 10am – 7pm. An auction catalog will be available on the site as the date draws near! And, miraculously, the site is available in English as well as Italian and French. I’ve not bought from here before but am curiously intrigued as I’ve heard good things about them! Should you know anything about this Italian Auction house, please let the Antiques Diva know!
Happy Shopping!
The Antiques Diva™
Greetings Diva Readers!
For those of you interested in Paris & the St Sulpice Brocante mentioned in this blog I thought I should direct you to another blog which has some gorgeous photos taken at the fair! Visit Tara Bradford’s Paris Parfait and see the Boundful Treasures of St Sulpice!
http://parisparfait.typepad.com/paris_parfait/2008/06/post-2.html?cid=118906680#comment-118906680
Gros Bisous!
The Antiques Diva (TM)
I’ve fallen in love with Brederode and can’t wait until the Christmas sale! Please keep us informed on the next dates for the next secret sale!
Lisa, Amsterdam.
Hi Diva,
Touching base with my Brederode report: My husband and I went to the sale today ( I was afraid that the choices would not be so good if I waited- so he took off work for the day). We got lost and had to call for directions – which was of no help. So, we drove All around the city and got there @ 12:30.
As soon as we walked in and my husband said hi – she said “Oh you’re the one that called”. I’m guessing it was the American accent. Anyway ,she asked if we spoke with The Antiques Diva and therefore we didn’t even have to ask for the AD discount-she automatically gave us 10% off when she knew that you sent us there!
I got a table, chair, flower container,a piece of pottery and some iron edging for the garden . They were exactly the type of things I was looking for.
I will definitely be a repeat customer. Thank you so much for info!
Florence
Thanks so much for the quick reply. Garden decor is exactly what I am looking for-I would appreciate some example prices. I will let you know how I liked it.
Florence
Hi Florence,
Last year when we went to the Brederode Voorjaarsbrocante, we found the prices to be reasonable – and comparable to stores with similar quality! She had a wonderful selection of garden style decor (for that bringing the outside inside look) and had a bohemian shabby chateau ambiance! I’m planning to go tomorrow to the sale and will plan on posting a few example prices here so you can check back to this comment site and get an idea of what price range to expect.
Make sure to tell Annette Brederode that you read about her on the “Antiques Diva” and ask if she’ll make a special Antiques Diva Discount for you!
Regarding parking – this is Amsterdam so as you know it’s never easy to park in A’dam! Brederode is located on the Lijnbaansgracht (nearby the Westerstraat) and so you might find some parallel parking spots on this road or the Marnixstraat or Nassaukade. If not there is a garage at the Haarlemerplein that is walking distance.
When you arrive at the “Voorjaarsbrocante” you are likely to be confused because this isn’t a store – but an apartment building and there will only be a small photocopied sign out front letting you know you’re at the right spot! I can’t remember off the top of my head which floor the apartment is on, but I do seem to recall it was one of the top floors of the building and either the apartment building doesn’t have a lift, or the lift wasn’t working last year. But dont be put off by this… I loved the secret sale & consider it a wonderful antiquers afternoon!
Hope you enjoy the Brocante! If you get a chance, let me know what you think of it!
Cheers!
The Antiques Diva TM
Hi Antiques Diva,
I’m not sure whether or not I should have e-mailed you directly or blogged this question….but for the this Brederode antique sale, I wanted to know if the prices were reasonable and how is the parking situation there?
Thank you! Florence