Ann Arbor Antique Market

“I know, I know. But we could get a mattress custom made…”

Antiques, like love, can cause people to do crazy things. I overheard this gentleman suggest a custom-made mattress to someone on the other end of his cell phone call, presumably because he was lusting after the Victorian bed frame two booths over. Wisely, he chose to have the conversation away from said bed frame, and its seller. Wanting an antique (or anything, for that matter) so badly that you’ll have something purpose-built simply to make it usable does not make for a good bargaining position.

April through October, the Ann Arbor Antique Market takes place every Sunday out at the Washtenaw Farm Council Grounds. It’s been around in one form or another for 39 years, founded by Margaret Brusher in the Farmers Market. In fact, I remember when we used to call it the “Brusher show.”

Several years ago, Mrs. Brusher retired and sold the Market to Tom Monaghan, former pizza magnate and Catholic philanthropist. I have a long-standing (though now pointless) policy of not ordering pizza from Dominos because I don’t agree with the man’s politics, or his religious enthusiasms. So one would think I’d extend my boycott to the show. But the lure of antiques, again like love, is too tempting. A medium pepperoni with extra cheese I can resist. But not the 1930s Double Wedding Ring quilt I just bought. Hey, at least I don’t have to have a bed built to go under it.

Depending on the month, anywhere from 200 to 300 dealers sell their wares in stalls throughout tents and the fairground buildings. Vendors selling large pieces of furniture usually set up in the tents where there’s more room to maneuver, while smaller and more fragile collectibles are in the buildings. I spoke with one dealer who told me that gas prices make it harder this season for the out-of-state vendors to show. And while I have to imagine that a de-Pfizered Ann Arbor will have less money to spend on antiques, dealers I spoke to said that this season’s early shows have been busy.

In 15+ years of attending, it seems to me that prices haven’t really gone up that much, at least on pieces that I can afford and am interested in. For instance, Victorian dining room and bedroom furniture appears to be priced at about what it was five or ten years ago. Quilts seemed to peak about seven or eight years ago, particularly on geometric Amish styles, but that seems to have leveled off. However, items that fall into the “folk art” category, and anything that is particularly graphic – vintage posters or tin advertising signs – seem hot. Antiques, like anything else, have their fashions. One wonders at the popularity of prosthetic legs, for instance. Unfortunately, the policies of the current administration may mean they are in demand.