Message from the President June 2010

The Perfect Time for You

By Brian Pitman, June 2010

Next month is our annual convention in Clarksville, Indiana (right across the river from downtown Louisville), and many of you have signed up to be there. With a dynamite auction from Jim Seeck of the John and Ruth Phillips collection, a phenomenal display of peacock patterns featuring presentations from Tom Mordini and Ron Britt, a banquet seminar unlike anything you have seen from Stacy and Desiree Wills, a hotel that has a water park and plenty of amenities and southern hospitality that our club hasn’t seen in a long while, we sure hope to see many more of you there. Carl Booker has included a registration form and a schedule for your convenience in this issue of the Carnival Pump, so please take a moment to register.

I got to spend some quality time with Ruth Phillips at the HOACGA convention earlier this year, and you can tell that the decision to sell her collection was not done lightly. There has been much discussion in carnival glass circles this year about the number of auctions and collections available (which is really the same as every other year in recent memory, isn’t it?) Some have said that it is all the sellers’ faults, some blame the auctioneers and others blame the current economy. Most forget to embrace the silver lining, though. I can’t remember a better time to buy some great carnival glass than right now. People looking to put together a beautiful collection can do so, and perhaps even save a buck or two at the same time.

I was speaking to an auctioneer the other day about the current state of carnival glass, and the auctioneer summed it up pretty well. “If you are buying for the love of the glass, now is the perfect time for you,” said this wise auctioneer. “If you are buying for investment, now is also the perfect time for you. Values will go up, higher than ever before, in time. You just need to have patience, buy the right pieces with gorgeous color and iridescence, and then just enjoy the glass until you are ready to sell. You could make a great profit on your glass, not to mention the joy it will bring you displayed in your home.”

Of course, I couldn’t agree more. I think about the great glass that will be at our convention in the rooms, and then that beautiful (and rare and valuable) auction glass from Ruth and John just kicks it to the next level. If you love carnival glass, then our convention will indeed be the perfect time for you. In addition to the opportunity you will find there, we will have some of the best people in carnival glass around to joke with, share with, and just plain enjoy.

So, whether you are in it for the love, the people or the money, we have you covered with this convention. Check out the schedule, the lovely hotel and the auction glass, and then put in that registration. Our hotel block isn’t open forever, and our special rate included free breakfast and much more. As usual, you may contact me if you have any questions through my email at bpitman@woodsland.com, or you can call me at (785) 274-9105. We are here for you, and we can’t wait to see you!