By Paige Houpt
Mason Times staff writer
The Mason Antique District drew crowds from around the state for its annual Cabin Fever Open House Saturday and Sunday. The antique district, at 205-208 Mason St., had antiques on sale and an appraisal fair from noon to 2 p.m.
The quality of an antique isn’t comparable to the mass produced items that you find at antique stores such as those in Mason’s Antique District, said Debbie Phillips, who traveled from Jackson for the open house.
Phillips has been collecting antiques since she was a little girl. Phillips and her husband Dennis have been going to antique shows for more than eight years. Both said they love how every item is different and has a history.
“A lot of the stuff is almost one of a kind,” Phillips said. “It’s unique and that’s why I like it.”
Antique shoppers could bring items to be appraised for free in attempts to trade in their treasures for cash.
Ken Merlino, of Redford Township, was the on-site appraiser. Merlino said he has been coming to the Mason Antique District for more than 13 years for antique shows and appraisal fairs.
In a given weekend, the open house can expect 50-100 people a day, Merlino said.
“People will bring in everything from antique coffee cups to artwork to get appraised ” he said.
The open house experienced a smaller turnout to last year’s event, said Mary Gullett, who has owned her antique boutique in the Mason Antique District since 1988. The smaller crowd be due to the snowstorm that hit mid-Michigan earlier this week. Gullett suspects it’s the slow economy that affected the small turnout.
“People just are not buying like they did,” Gullett said.
“I expected it to be a lot busier this year then it has been.”
The concept of an antique sale is really interesting and the story is well written given the information that was available to you. It’s too bad that the antique sale wasn’t as busy as previous years, because it would have been interesting to read about more specific antique items and maybe read about its value. Other things that would’ve been interesting to read about is: What was the oldest antique there? What was the highest bid for an item? Any unique items that were appraised? What did the appraiser have to say about the antiques or about the overall turnout? Also, it would have been nice to have some images to compliment this story. Photos that showed some of the antiques or gave a visual as to the turn out of the antique sale. Good article. I like the focus on a specific antique collector.
Great turnout. Better next year.