Antiques & Design Show Returns to East Hampton

On July 15 and 16, East Hampton residents and visitors can spend their weekend walking the grounds of the beautiful Mulford Farm while admiring vintage jewelry, timeless furniture and other items for sale at the 17th annual East Hampton Antiques & Design Show.

Prior to the main event, there will be a preview cocktail party on Friday, July 14 — hosted by honorary chairperson Liz Lange — that will offer an early buying opportunity.

“I love finding old things,” Lange said. “This is an event that I look forward to every summer, and I’ve often found things that I love.”

Lange said that when Antiques & Design Show organizers reached out to her, she was thrilled.

The show benefits the East Hampton Historical Society, and although Lange is not directly involved in the society, she commented on her love for the classic “summer cottages” of the Hamptons. Lange grew up coming to East Hampton and said that she used to have a house on Lily Pond Lane, so she fondly remembers the Hamptons architecture of her childhood in the 1980s.

“It was a no-brainer to me because I have a love of preserving the old Hampton and the old houses that exist here,” Lange said when reflecting on her acceptance of being honorary chairperson.

Lange’s love of the “summer cottage” aesthetic led her to want to preserve her home in East Hampton — the fabled Grey Gardens, where Jackie Kennedy’s aunt and cousin, Big Edie and Little Edie Bouvier Beale, once lived.

Lange embarked on a three-year restoration project on Grey Gardens, instead of knocking down the historic home in exchange for a newer and larger residence.

This correlates with the type of work that the historical society aims to do in East Hampton, to preserve the rich heritage of the East End through a variety of methods and mediums.

Lange added that even if her role is mainly just to talk about the show and act as a hostess, she said she is still grateful for the opportunity to promote an event that is near and dear to her heart.

“Even if you are not a shopper, you are outside and walking around and looking at pretty things,” Lange said. “It’s always a highlight of the summer for me.”

These beautiful things at the show take time and effort to curate and make their way to East Hampton. Vendors from across the country are invited to participate in this show, and people like Vitas Normantas are tasked with managing the technical side of organizing and inviting vendors.

Normantas said the three core areas that he and his peers focus on when inviting antique collectors are retention, referrals and recruitment.

Seventy-five percent of previous antique and vintage dealers are returning to the fair this year, according to Normantas. The retention rate is evidence that both the attendees and those who are selling find value in the show.

Referrals primarily come from either the current group of vendors or self-referrals can be made. Many of the current vendors know of other quality vendors through networking and interacting with people in their area of expertise. The level of interest a vendor has in participating and selling items at these shows is another aspect that goes into curating and deciding who gets a spot at the show.

The third element, recruitment, occurs when Normantas and other people committed to the curation of the East Hampton show go to visit other antique and vintage shows.

“We get to see who really has made an effort to bring the best product they can, people who have really unique and cool stuff, people who are knowledgeable,” said Normantas on what they look for when recruiting.

Normantas added that while vendors come from all over and also locally, each quality vendor buys their product from all over the world to sell at different shows across the United States. This product has been collected and carefully curated, to provide unique and high quality items for East Hampton residents and visitors.

“It’s like visiting 45 galleries because typically the people manning the booth have so much historical product information and unique design eye and unique knowledge that they bring with them to these events,” Normantas said.

He also commented on the connections made at this show between the vendors and the buyers. They can have conversations about items that the buyer is looking for, and then keep in touch about certain items that the vendor discovers in the future.

“They are building their clientele and building a relationship with that individual and understanding what they want and helping them obtain that goal,” Normantas said.

The East Hampton Antiques & Design Show will occur on Saturday, July 15, from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. and Sunday, July 16, from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. The show’s advance admission fee is $15, and tickets can be purchased online at easthamptonhistory.org/east-hampton-antiques-design-show-2023. Tickets to Friday’s opening night preview party start at $250 each.