There’s something about shopping for antiques that’s just so special and rewarding. Finding perfect pieces to showcase in your home is always a carefully thought-out process, but selecting an antique takes even more consideration.
Every time you walk by that piece, whether it’s a table centerpiece or a chest of drawers, memories and thoughts of the past rush through your mind. It’s like the antique is sharing its story with everyone. I find it interesting to learn the story and history behind different pieces.
For all my antiques lovers out there, I’m recommending an amazing event you should attend! Innovators and industry leaders from all over the design world will gather at the Birmingham Botanical Gardens in Alabama from October 5–8 for Antiques at The Gardens, an event showcasing 21 antiques dealers across the United States.
For $15 general admission, you can browse expansive galleries to uncover a magnificent selection of antiques from premier exhibitors and retailers. Enjoy this showcase of exceptional heirlooms and collectibles featuring everything from fine art, silver, and jewelry to estate furniture and home and garden accessories. You’ll also find porcelain and fine china that you won’t be able to leave without.
There will also be sessions led by Tastemakers, a group known regionally and nationally for outstanding architecture, interior design, and landscape creations. You can even meet the Tastemakers at a fun lunch hosted by our very own Southern Home magazine on October 6 at 12:30 p.m. Lunch tickets are $30 each and include your meal and an exclusive roundtable discussion. Sounds like a dream to me!
Antiques for the public shows will be on display all weekend. Explore and shop Friday, October 6 and Saturday, October 7 from 10 a.m.–5 p.m. Sunday hours will be from 11 a.m.–4 p.m.
You can also purchase separate tickets for other exclusive events happening throughout the weekend. Go to the website to check them out! Come enjoy these beautiful grounds that will be overflowing with antiques—you know I want to!
Comments 4
I love antiques because there is always a story behind each piece…not just a general history, but a personal story…even if it’s imagined…it brings so much meaning to these treasures.
Antiques connect us to our past. There is something truly special about serving a beautiful cake on your great-grandmother’s cake plate or deviled eggs on your grandmother’s crystal plate. Or, perhaps, sitting on the settee where a dear friend who went home to be with our Lord many years ago napped as a small boy in his grandmother’s parlor. Even if we weren’t priviledged to be apart of the family who cherished our antiques before us, in using them I still feel a connectedness to the past; a grounding of you will. Whether the item came from my family or another’s, I often have the sense that I am the caretaker of the item whose responsibility it is to enjoy it, cherish it and pass it on to someone else who will do likewise in the years to come. By respecting the items, I feel we are honouring those who prepared a place for us…
What do I love about my antiques? That they were handed down through our families. Whether it came from my grandparents’ homes or my husband’s family, each piece has a story. Our home was built by my grandfather and it is furnished with our families’ heirlooms. Some items are small, while others are pieces of furniture or Gone With the Wind lamps. I can close my eyes and see each piece because they have become such a part of me.
I love the sense of history and always wonder about the people who made the piece, their vision and also, about the owners of the antique piece and how they used it, what did it mean to them to own it. I have several antique furniture pieces in my home, some of humble provenance and others more graceful. Family pieces are the best.
Thanks, Phyllis!