Annual Houston Museum Antiques Show is twice as big this year

The annual Houston Museum Antiques Show and Sale will open Friday, Feb. 26, with double the number of vendors in its 2015 show.

“We have 26 vendors this year, twice as big as last year,” says Donna Flippin, show chairwoman. And 14 of those 26 are new, she adds.

With more vendors comes the need for bigger space. Flippin says the show will again be held in Stratton Hall on Broad Street as well as Stratton’s adjoining new space called The Peyton.

“Our idea, when we found out about the new Peyton venue in Stratton Hall, was that we didn’t want there to be an opportunity for another party to rent that room on the same nights, creating two different events happening at the same time. So we took a leap of faith and said let’s fill it up,” explains Flippin.

The three-day antique show is a major fundraiser for the Houston Museum of Decorative Arts. Every year, antiquers from around the region are drawn here in search of a find among the displays of porcelain, glassware, vintage jewelry, Staffordshire, silver, antique prints, furnishings, canes, pocket watches, rugs and more.

Vendors making their debut at the Houston show are Ellen Afterman of Atlanta, antique prints; The Box Shop of Atlanta, English boxes and tea caddies; Shelley Boykin of Birmingham, Ala., jewelry; Judi Garrett from Griffin, Ga., vintage costume jewelry; Russell Harrell from Bland, Va., porcelain, glass and jewelry; James Kent from Fort Worth, Texas, porcelain and glass; and The Killing Stads from Vass, N.C., porcelains.

Also, McDonough Fine Art from Atlanta, signed antique prints; Steve Perrone from Florida, pearl jewelry; Dmitriy Proshkin from Flintstone, Ga., fine art; McNeil Rigby from Villa Rica, Ga., crystal, porcelain, paintings, rugs, jewelry; Nancy Weaver from Robertson, Ala., small items; Virginia Hallett from Scottsville, Ky., antique art; and Demba Saccoh from Trenton, N.J., African artifacts.

As is tradition, the Houston show will host an antiques expert to give educational talks and identify items brought in by show visitors. Kirk J. Nelson, director of the New Bedford Museum of Glass in New Bedford, Mass., will speak on early American glass and American art glass of the late 19th century.

Nelson grew up in Manchester, Conn., which was the site of a glass factory in the 18th century. His interest in glass was encouraged by his father, a collector of glassware and antiques. Nelson started collecting coins and stamps and later became interested in glass after visiting the Corning Museum of Glass in New York during his sophomore year of college.

His interest in glass expanded to include books about glass. He built a collection of more than 2,000 books before donating them to the New Bedford Museum of Glass.

In addition to his lectures, the expert will hold glass identification sessions on Friday at 10 a.m. and Saturday at 2 p.m. No appraisals will be given, only IDs, with a limit of three objects per person. A show ticket is required to participate in the glass identification session.

Contact Susan Pierce at spierce@timesfreepress.com or 423-757-6284.