Antiques& Gardening at the Mansion
First Year Granville Show Exceeds Expectations
Enthusiastic crowds, perfect weather, high quality offerings, and an exquisite setting made for successful antiques and gardening show.
High Quality Show
Last Weekend (May 18th, 19th and 20th) almost 1,000 people attended the Antiques and Gardening Show at the Historic Bryn Du Mansion in Granville, Ohio. Crowds and the climate converged for perfect antiquing-not nice enough to entice one to the golf course or yard, but not nasty enough to stay home. Forty Garden and Antique dealers participated in the show offering everything from plants to paintings, furniture to ferns, jewelry to jardinières. The quality of the offerings was extremely high, and attendees favorably compared it to the well established Columbus Academy Show as well as the Franklin Conservatory Show in nearby Columbus. Show manager Jay Melrose has been in the business for 25 years, and knew all the dealers personally. “We wanted to establish a reputation as a quality show, so I approached dealers I knew I could count on."
Historic Bryn Du
Bryn Du is owned by the Village of Granville, and used for a variety of events. Local field hockey and lacrosse teams play on the great lawn, which is also home field of the Columbus Polo Club. The 62 acre gated estate is on the National Register of Historic Places, and features a circa 1905 Georgian-Federal sandstone mansion, a 32 acre great lawn, and the fieldhouse, previously home to an indoor tennis court. Bryn Du was, for much of its life, a working farm, and the grounds are elegant but not formal. “This is the best setting I could possibly imagine for a show,” Melrose said. Antiques dealers took over the mansion and fieldhouse with tall case clocks, majolica, 19th century furnishings, needlework, rare books, Chinese export porcelain, oil paintings, rugs, porcelain, and gardening displays spread about on the lawns and patios.
Second Annual Antiques a & Gardening at Bryn Du
Sales met or exceeded the expectations of better than half of the participating dealers. “Everyone I’ve talked to said they are coming back next year. We have a waiting list,” said Melrose. The show qualified as a success on the fund raising side as well. It was a benefit for the Bryn Du facility, and the governing board was happy with numbers of attendees as well as dollars. The goal was to raise money as well as public awareness of the facility, and with 1000 attendees bringing in between $17,000 and $18,000, the show did just that. For information about the 2008 second annual Art and Gardening at Bryn Du, contact Bryn Du or Jay Melrose at J@melroseduddy.com .
