The Washington Antiques Show

It was a dark and stormy night for the Washington Antiques Show. No really, it was a cold, rainy, miserable, DC January evening. I stood on Wisconsin Avenue at 5:30 after having changed from a preppy khaki store clerk into a fashionable press hack looking for a cab and realizing that, "Lord this isn't NY." It was cold and wet and I was holding a bag and an umbrella and trying to hail non-existent cabs at the same time. Actually I didn't hail a cab until I saw one.

Now, I'm not trying to sound like a former snooty New Yawker but my fellow DC'ers are simply not taxi savvy.Over the years I have watched countless people stand by the side of the street with their arms raised high with nary a cab in sight. "What are they waving at?", I've always pondered.I however have a trick that works ninety percent of the time when looking for a cab. I light a cigarette. Yes, Homer smokes, (see representational picture at top of page,) knowing that the minute I spark a fresh one a cab will come along, and it did.

I was kindly invited to attend the fifty-fourth Washington Antiques Show on opening night. Despite the weather, the annual event, in a new venue drew a full house.

It was a venerable DC crowd and a new venue, The Katzen Arts Center.I thought the Center was a much better exhibition space for the event which has long been held at the Omni-Shorham Hotel. The theme of this year's show was Art and Antiques in Red with a special room designed by Barry Dixon of Warrenton Virginia. Circulating amongst the crowd were the Honorary Chairs His Excellency Sheikh Salem Al-Sabah, Ambassador of Kuwait and Mrs. Salem-Al Sabah.

I wondered through the three floors of exhibitors and chatted with many of the Antique Dealers. All seemed to be curtailing their usual trips to the different Antique Shows around the country and are obviously hurting in this economic downturn.

I must honestly say aside from very pleasant company I didn't see anything that caught my eye as a very interesting piece. Additionally, as the auction fiend I try to be this is not the venue for finding a deal. None the less, the Antiques Show exists for charity purposes and that is what is important. It is the major annual fund raising event of the Thrift Shop Charities which provides multiple services to needy entities throughout the city.

I did however end the evening with a long chat with noted Interior Designer Barry Dixon. He had great things to say about many of the design bloggers around the country and says he is an avid reader of a number of them. " I especially like Eddie Ross, Cote De Texas and Mrs. Blandings," he said. "My staff is always printing out posts that they think I should see and there's just incredible talent emerging in this field."

Here are some pictures and some friends old and new from the evening.


The Red Carpet


Noted Washington I.D. Andrew Law and Katie Gewirz


Beautiful Library Ladder


All American Pieces


Dinner for two in Barry Dixon's Red Room


Well known Washington Interior Designer Kelly Proxmire and Dorothy Woodcock.


Interior Designer of the Evening Barry Dixon with Michael Schmidt and the Jim Lambeths.