So.....
Our second trip was to the Hartford show, and we have a few comments:
1. They had no idea how many paintings would show up. The line for paintings had to be 4 - 6 hours long. If you go, just try to avoid bringing paintings (of course, ONE of the paintings at 2008 Hartford came in at 500K. Watch for it in January 2009!!! (Not mine, though, we gave up and quit the paintings line at 7 PM -- our enter time was 2 PM)
2. I guess in CT, they expected lots of furniture, but the Keno brothers stood around most of the day doing almost nothing. It took me a couple of hours to get a one-off silkscreen print appraised (and I was VERY happy) and a good bit less for my wife to take a handmade pewter picture frame through "Decorative Arts" (also a happy experience).
I suggest that if you apply for tickets, try for the earliest time slot they have. Book a room for the night before. At least, if you enter at 8 AM, no one's ahead of you, especially if you have paintings or prints; again, the earlier you get in, the shorter lines you will encounter. The appraisers may be able to spend a little more time with you, too. Break up your lots, so you and your roadshow partner can split up and go on two lines at the same time. In Hartford, EVERYONE seemed to have a painting! Except for Posters and Prints, everything else moved apace.
GOOD LUCK (and bring a chair for your butt and a cart for your stuff).
No drawings winning for us in 2011 through 2014, but we keep trying.
So, now...
2015 was the charm. One of my daughters won tickets to the Charleston Antiques Roadshow. It was the second week of August, and I'll say that Charleston is pretty hot then. We were never in Charleston and heard it's a great tourist town, so we made a whole vacation out of it. It's a great place!
We brought art this time. That's usually subject to long lines, but we had 10 AM tickets. The longest Disney-esque lines were at the entrance. This snaky ordeal takes a long time before they even take your tickets and you finally get to the triage are, where your treasures are inspected and you get tickets to the appraisal areas.
This time, we brought a HUGE piece of Chinese art (3' X 5') which we moved on a 2-wheel dolly designed for construction panels. That turned out to be an original Chinese painting (artist unknown) from the early 20th century supposedly worth about a grand. I brought part of my collection of the art of Walter Dubois Richards. I knew more about the (listed) artist than did the appraiser, but got some decent appraisals and was encouraged to keep collecting his work, as it is still very affordable.
Once again, we didn't get chosen for video, so you won't be seeing our faces in TV in 2016.
Here we go again! Daughter got tickets for us for the Virginia Beach Antiques Roadshow on May 2016. We dragged more junk down there and had a good time with our worthless trifles. Original Art is now separated into two groups - signed art and non-signed (considered to be Folk Art). Here's the view from the MIDDLE of the line for signed art. It was a bit over an hour long. Our stuff was worth BUPKIS!
This time, I found the "Feedback Booth" and made the cameraman laugh, at least. If I ever get on TV, it'll be this segment. I brought 2 signed engravings that have appreciated in value by over 7,000%, but I only paid 35 cents each for them and today they're worth $25, which of course doesn't even cover the cost of matting and framing. But, as usual, we had fun. So, watch for me in 2017 (HAH!) Comment: Didn't make it on TV from the Feedback Booth. Oh well...
Again, if you want to go, Check the tour website in January, pick your city, and have all your friends and relatives apply for tickets, and don't forget to ask for an early entry time. If you win tickets for a later entrance, don't be shy. Go early and at the entrance, check the table on the far left, and they MAY be able to swap your later tickets for an earlier entrance. This worked for us.
If they announce another East Coast trip next year, of course we'll apply again. We won't ever get wealthy on our stuff, but we got a great vacation in Charleston! Virginia Beach, Meh.
We won a drawing for 2017 in Pennsylvania. Gave the tickets away to a friend who lived near the venue.
Go for it!
