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Guests attending the 18th Annual Antiques and Design Show Benefit in 2024. ROSSA COLE
Guests attending the 18th Annual Antiques and Design Show Benefit in 2024. ROSSA COLE
Items available at the 18th Annual Antiques and Design Show Benefit in 2024. ROSSA COLE
Debbie Druker and Steve Long from the East Hampton Historical Society. ROSSA COLE
Mulford Farm in East Hampton, the location of the 19th Annual Antiques and Design Show Benefit. ROSSA COLE
The East Hampton Historical Society is hosting its 19th annual Antiques & Design Show Benefit from Friday, July 11, to Sunday, July 13, at Mulford Farm in East Hampton.
The event will open with a preview cocktail party from 6 to 8:30 p.m. on Friday, July 11, before the main sale is held over the weekend. The sale will be open from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. on Saturday, July 12, and from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. on Sunday, July 13.
The sale features antiques and art dealers showcasing a variety of antiques and home and garden items. Items available at the sale include rattan and bamboo furniture, garden decorations, lighting, textiles, mirrors, paintings and period jewelry.
Initially started as exclusively an antiques sale, the sale has grown in recent years to include a wider variety of items and styles.
“When it first started, it was really an antique show,” said Debbie Druker, the president of the historical society’s board of trustees. “In the last five to seven years, we’ve incorporated mid-century design and rebranded it into an antiques and design show, as people’s tastes have changed and what they’re looking for.”
The sale’s design committee, which oversees putting the sale together, features some new members alongside longtime members, which Druker says has “reinvigorated” the committee.
A new element of this year’s show is that each member of the design committee will be donating an item, either from their personal collection or one they have found elsewhere, that will be put into a silent auction.
This year’s show features David Kleinberg as honorary chair, a role that has previously featured names like Ralph Lauren and Ina Garten.
Kleinberg, who owns a house in East Hampton, is an interior designer who runs David Kleinberg Design Associates and is a member of the Interior Design Magazine Hall of Fame.
As a regular attendee of the sale, Kleinberg echoed similar sentiments to Druker about adding new life to the sale.
“There’s an enormous community of people in the design world who have houses and spend time out on the East End,” he said. “One of the things we wanted to do was reinvigorate the design around the show because that generates more interest and excitement.”
Kleinberg said he’s excited to see dealers who will be part of the sale for the first time, as well as veteran dealers returning for another year.
“It’s nice to create a weekend that will have a concentration on design, antiques and interiors,” he said. “The Hamptons are a place where everybody’s so house-proud, everyone loves to go and see each other’s house and what they’ve done to the garden this year.”
The sale is one of the key fundraising events that the historical society runs to cover operating costs and maintain the properties the society runs, including Mulford Farm, Clinton Academy and Thomas & Terry Nimmo Moran Home Studio.
“We have a lot of historic properties. We have six of them to manage in East Hampton,” said Steve Long, the historical society’s executive director. “That’s a lot of lights to keep on, a lot of grounds to maintain, a lot of walls to plaster and paint and make sure they’re looking good. So events like the antiques show really helps us keep our buildings up to snuff.”
The funds from the sale will also go toward the educational programs that the historical society puts on. Long said that these programs are “a centerpiece of the historical society’s strategic plan, and so having the proceeds helps us educate more and more of the community about the history of East Hampton.”
Long said that while there isn’t a specific amount he hopes to raise, last year’s sale raised around $175,000, adding that “I’m hoping we exceed that. If not, that’s still pretty good.”
And with the new additions to the design committee, ticket sales have seen a decent increase so far. Long estimated that in terms of sales, “we’re about 25 to 30 percent ahead of where we were at this point last year.”
Tickets to the preview cocktail party start at $275 and include entry to the show on July 12 and 13. Show tickets for July 12 and 13 began at $18 in advance and $20 the day of. For tickets, visit easthamptonhistory.org.
