Small Home Gazette, Summer 2023

An Arts & Crafts Oasis

23^rd Annual Twin Cities Arts & Crafts and 20^th Century Design Show and Sale

This September, the Twin Cities Arts & Crafts 20^th Century Design Show and Sale (TC20 Design Show) will open its doors for the 23^rd year. The event offers an increasingly rare opportunity to get up close and personal with a wide array of Arts & Crafts objects, both vintage and new. Though 23 is not a traditionally observed anniversary, the fact that a niche show has made it this far—surviving a pandemic and a sharp contraction in live events—is worth celebrating.

We sat down with Brian Smith and Cam Quintal, organizers of the TC20 Design Show and the owners of Eastwood Gallery antiques business in St. Paul, to talk about the past, the present and the future. The conversation has been edited for clarity and brevity.

Small Home Gazette: It’s hard to believe it has been 23 years since the first show.

Cam Quintal: Actually, our first show was in 2000, so this would have been our 24^th show. But there was a wrinkle in time during the pandemic, so we finally got to where the number of shows matches the number of the year.

Gazette: What should people expect to see at this fall’s show?

Brian Smith: You’re going to see a great variety of items. That has always been the nature of this show. We have some dealers who focus on art and some who focus on pottery. Others focus on metalware or Indian pottery. There are going to be great examples of furniture. And we’ve got four or five new dealers that either haven’t exhibited with us before, or took a few years off.

Quintal: The good thing is it’s always been a quality show. We always stress that, whatever we do, we want to make it quality. You’re not going to find trinkets and knickknacks. It’s all going to be good quality items, whether it be from Arts & Crafts or Art Deco or Mid-Century eras.

Gazette: What has changed over the years? How has the show evolved?

Quintal: Well, it has always been about Arts & Crafts. A few years ago we tried to make it kind of a bungalow fair, with tradespeople offering roofing, siding, windows, things like that. More like a restoration event. But that didn’t work out—we just didn’t get the response and participation from those businesses.

Smith: In the last five years we’ve tried to do more Mid-Century Modern items, more of a 20^th century design show. We do have some of that, but not as much as we had expected. There are a lot of mid-mod shops in the Twin Cities, but they don’t seem to do shows. It seems to always go back to Arts & Crafts, which is what we’re mainly doing again this year.

Quintal: For seven dollars admission, come in and enjoy two or three hours. See the best stuff that this area is ever going to have. Dealers bring different items in each year. Where else can you go to one place with 30 dealers from all across the country?

Smith: Also, just to hang out with people who are like-minded. To maybe run into people that you know, or at least dig the same stuff that you do. Whether you’re a novice or advanced collector, it’s going to appeal to everybody.

Gazette: What if you don’t know much about antiques, or what’s a fair price for a particular item?

Smith: Well, this is a perfect opportunity to expand your knowledge. You’ve got all kinds of experts here. When I started out, I was intimidated, afraid to ask dealers a stupid question and get the eye roll. But really, that’s not the case. Dealers are happy to answer questions and do a little mini tutorial if that’s what you want. So, if you’re just starting out, it’s a great opportunity to see a lot of stuff; ask a lot of questions; get some context and a frame of reference.

Quintal: For example, if you’re looking for a dining room sideboard and you go into a shop, they might not have the room for multiple items there. At this show there could be four sideboards to compare. Ask questions, learn how they are different. Why are they priced so differently? What sizes are available; does it have a plate rail; is it the original finish or refinished?

Smith: If you look around, in the same way there aren’t as many Arts & Crafts antiques shops as there used to be, there aren’t as many shows like this. If you enjoy that kind of thing, it’s good to support it. There’s the Grove Park Inn show (in Ashville, N.C.), and there used to be a California show. There used to be one in Chicago, several in New York, a Denver one, and a Seattle show. Other than the Grove Park Inn, I don’t think any of those others exist anymore. People don’t realize how lucky they are to have a show like this.

Gazette: The show is in a new building on the Minnesota State Fair Grounds, correct?

Quintal: When we switched to the new building (Fine Arts Building on the Minnesota State Fairgrounds) a couple of years ago, it allowed dealers to display more art because of the permanent walls. In the previous building (Progress Center), you walked in, and it was a vast rectangle. The new space lends itself to booth spaces where dealers can hang things up.

Gazette: If someone isn’t able to make it to the show on September 23 and 24, or if they want to explore Arts & Crafts more, your shop, Eastwood Gallery, is someplace they can go.

Quintal: Yes, we’re one of the few remaining stand-alone Arts & Crafts shops in the five-state area now. There are, of course, dealers who offer Arts & Crafts in the area, but stand-alone shops are becoming rare.

Gazette: It’s safe to say that the Arts & Crafts style, whether it’s antiques or houses, isn’t as hot as it was a few years ago. What has your experience been as a business that focuses on that style?

Quintal: When someone asks if it’s still popular, I say it’s not what it was 15 years ago, when it was the trendy thing, and Jack Nicholson and Barbara Streisand and all the Hollywood people were decorating with it. But it has leveled off to a point that I’d say it’s going to stay. There is always going to be interest in it. You’ve got more of the true lovers of the style rather than the trend hoppers.

Smith: What’s interesting is the amount of people that we get coming into our shop who like Mid-Century Modern and don’t really know anything about Mission. And then they realize, “Oh, I do kind of like that…” Mid-Century and Mission have the same lines. Mission has the same kind of proportions, but it’s oak instead of upholstered or chrome. It’s fun that we’re able to mix and match a little bit more than we used to.

Gazette: When you’re shopping for vintage items online, even if the seller takes the best photos and has lots of close-ups, there’s still something about being able to actually see the object in person.

Quintal: We really want people to come in and do exactly that. Touch it, feel it, sit in it, open the drawers. A lot of our stuff sells locally and in the Midwest just for that reason. We really try to support the area that we’re in. We’ve been blessed to be doing this for 22 years.

The Annual Twin Cities Arts & Crafts/20^th Century Design Show and Sale typically takes place in September. Eastwood Gallery is located at 1818 Selby Avenue, St. Paul, Minnesota.