Business & Tech
Antiques Market in Geneva Gets a Little Antique Itself—Celebrates 20th Anniversary
"Invisible" market celebrates two decades by giving back to the community with a food drive and month-long celebration.
It is unusual enough to find an antiques market in business for 20 years in the same location, and rare for the core dealer group to remain nearly unchanged. Now add the fact that the business cannot be seen from the street level and it’s easy to see why the is in festivity mode.
The market's 20th anniversary observance will be celebrated during the entire month of September and is all about gratitude and giving back.
The is inviting the public to an Anniversary Open House from 10 a.m. to 7 pm. Friday, Sept. 9, at 227 S. Third St., Geneva. It is also hosting a food drive as part of the event celebration.
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Refreshments will be served and non-perishable food items are welcome.
Geneva Antique Market occupies nearly the entire lower level of the Berry House, a charming multi-shop century-plus building. Readers of West Suburban Living have voted it “Best Antique Market in the Western Suburbs” for three years.
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The 12 dealers who comprise the Geneva Antique Market co-op have grown into a family, each contributing unique antique expertise across the inventory categories of jewelry, glass, toys, pottery, ephemera, china and porcelain, primitives, books, folk art, Flow Blue, vintage Christmas, textiles, postcards, furniture and fine art. The sum of their Geneva Antique Market experience is 156 years and their total number of years in the antiques business comes to 216.
Reflecting on their good fortune, the dealers describe three kinds of folks who come to their shop. There are the loyal customers who come back and back and have actually become friends and the new customers who have heard of the market because of them.
Then there are the folks who didn’t even know they were going to an antiques shop when they left home, but they “fall into the door” because they are “doing Third Street.”
For a business that is essentially about the past, there are some surprising aspects.T his dealer group creates monthly themed vignettes of inventory gathered from all the dealers in an artful Center Table display that rivals some of the most professional retail merchandising. They offer an electronic newsletter, The “Vintage Voice,” by free subscription. It has shop news, promotion alerts, education and tips on caring for antiques.
In addition to their own website, www.genevaantiquemarket.com, they have an onlineantique store on Ruby Lane, www.rubylane.com/shop/genevaantiquemkt and you can follow the Geneva Antique Market on Facebook.
And yet, despite the modern businessmethods, great care has been taken to create and maintain an antiques market that far more resembles an old-fashioned mom and pop store than an antique mall with rows of square booths.
When people express surprise that an antiques business can be successful in a down economy, the dealers have some good guesses as to why. They do not allow new merchandise as some antiques shops do. They appreciate their good customers who are avid collectors, decorators and gift buyers of vintage merchandise. They are located in a vibrant downtown business community. And, most of all, they think that the love of history, nostalgia, old things and memories is exactly what folks need in tough times.
Geneva Antique Market, 227 S. Third St. is open 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. Monday through Saturday and noon to p.m. Sunday. Call 630-208-1150 for more information.
This article and photos are provided by Geneva Antique Market.