Happy Autumn!
We've just returned from a most successful buying trip to England, where we enjoyed good buying and pleasant exchanges with many old friends. We visited antiques shops, several markets, and a few fairs. At the end of the day we usually ate and drank in favorite pubs in each of the areas our travels brought us. The weather - well, the less said about that the better. When we landed at Logan International, Airport last Friday, the temperature was in the low 80s, the warmest we'd seen in three weeks.
The last stop on the English leg of our trip was Portobello Road in London, where we met with our favorite jewelry dealers and finished our business agenda. Shortly after noon we boarded the high-speed Eurostar train at St. Pancras Station, which would take us under the English Channel and onward to Brussels. From Brussels, a short train ride took us to Ghent, where we stayed for two days, relishing this city's great museums. Another half hour train ride brought us to Bruges, where we spent the remainder of our holiday in one of our favorite European cities. In upcoming newsletters we plan to share some of the photographs that record our adventures and some of our favorite places in these two great Belgian cities.
Our shipment has arrived safely, and we're in the midst of the huge job of preparing everything for our Fall Opening on November 9 & 10. When we left on October 2nd, our shop and online inventories were frighteningly thin. Thanks to aggressive dawn-to-dusk shopping and the help of our capable "picker" network, we now have a bumper crop of fresh things in all areas. Our shop, with its freshly painted walls and newly stained floor, is empty as I write this, and tomorrow we'll begin to fill it with our new furniture, paintings, and smalls.
So, this pre-Opening Newsletter contains no new inventory. Listings of some of our new stock will be the focus of our next month's Newsletter, scheduled to appear on Wednesday the 13th. We'll also be bringing some of our recent purchases to the Wethersfield Antiques Show on November 15 & 16.
Although this edition is brief, you'll find most of the usual offerings as you scroll down the page. We hope you'll have a look.
