MARBURGER FARM ANTIQUE SHOW IN ROUND TOP MARCH 30-APRIL 3

Forever Young

1.26.10 Round Top, Texas  --  What’s in the water at the Marburger Farm Antique Show?

It just might be the fountain of youth.

On March 30 – April 3 nearly 400 exhibitors will arrive in Round Top with antiques that are cutting-edge, fusing quality with youthful hip. Those in-the-know have noted that the show attracts plenty of younger shoppers who enjoy being outdoors, visiting with friends and chasing down the bargains that are bound to be found in the mix.

The latest news? The dealers at Marburger Farm are getting younger too.

At age 29, Dakota Pratt will come from Los Angeles for his fourth year at the twice-yearly Marburger Farm Antique Show. Coming with him will be the folk art and furniture that he creates from antique tractor springs, vintage bottle caps and other reclaimed industrial fragments. And, if past shows are any indication, he won’t be going home with them.

Exhibitor Kim Hoegger of Kim Hoegger HOME in Dallas will bring garden antiques, including architectural concrete planters and statues, as well as her younger perspective on the appeal of antiques. “I don’t buy an antique because it’s 18th or 19th century,” she says. “I buy it because it appeals to me and because I love it and I know my customers are going to love it. I think that younger dealers focus on the look of something, not the history. If it is beautiful and useful and clients can appreciate it for being gorgeous—that’s enough for me.”  

Dealer Brandon Nelson of Three Oaks, Michigan agrees. “I’m all over the map in terms of periods. I respond to things visually and viscerally. While I’ll bring some production pieces, I’m especially looking for one-of-a-kind, out-of-step pieces.” For the spring show, Nelson will offer a primitive carved maple head, about 100 years old, with, he says, “a stunning presence.” His booth will include industrial antiques, advertising signs, architectural salvage and Americana mixed with mid-century modern.

In her eighth year in business, jewelry dealer and designer Michelle Billette from New York says that “Marburger Farm is a steep learning curve. But there are lots of younger dealers and designers there now. It’s a community and you’re surrounded by inspiration with all the expertise and innovation of other Marburger Farm dealers.” Billette will bring antique jewelry, both Tiffany and vintage costume jewelry. She will also bring a collection of French drawer pulls and other delicate brass hardware that she has dipped in gold and fashioned into cuff bracelets. This “fusion of old and new,” as she puts it, “is a way to bridge the past, that you couldn’t improve upon, but to change the context of the pieces.”  

Changing the context of the pieces. What else can you expect from an antique show with a presence on Facebook, Twitter and YouTube? And behind the scenes, the youthful owners of the show continue its original emphasis on finding the most adventurous and creative dealers anywhere and giving them time and space to create displays of antiques that inspire and delight shoppers of all ages.

That’s on top of offering a third food pavilion, an expanded parking shuttle fleet, wi-fi, on-site shipping, an ATM, air-conditioned rest-rooms and stirring into the mix special events and souvenirs like the Marburger Farm T-shirts that read “Peace, Love & Antiques.” Special events include Jo Packham, creator and editor of Where Women Create Magazine, signing copies of her inventive new publication, along with Gina Galvin of Peacock Park Design, whose workshop is featured on the spring cover. Marburger Farm welcomes the debut of the new book, The Parisian Cowboy’s Guide to the Round Top Experience, as well as a live radio broadcast from the show on Thursday April 1.

While the waters of Lake Marburger may hold a fountain of youth, plenty of long-time, experienced dealers populate the ten giant tents and twelve historic buildings of the Marburger Farm Antique show as well. But their spirit is cutting-edge, progressive and lively. As dealer Randy Farmer of Nashville’s Artifact Antiques puts it, “The dealers at Marburger Farm are friendly and excited about what they do. There’s not an old curmudgeon in the bunch.”  As they tweet on Twitter, that’s pretty darn awesome!

The Marburger Farm Antique Show opens Tuesday March 30 for Early Buying from 10 am until 2 pm for $25 admission. Regular $10 admission begins at 2 pm until 5 pm that day. Parking is free and your admission is good all week. Shopping continues on Wednesday, Thursday and Friday from 9 am until 5 pm and on Saturday, April 3, from 9 am until 4 pm. All area shows will maintain their regular schedules and still get you home in time for Easter Sunday. For maps, photos and information on tickets, groups, the Marburger Café and special events, see roundtop-marburger.com.