Tuesday Jan 11th - Maddy Gordon Editor and Publisher of the Head Hunters Newsletter arrived at the convention site ahead of others to meet with the Radisson staff and get everything ready.

Thursday Jan 13th. Dealers began arriving and setting up in their rooms. Dealers who signed up for the convention were encouraged to set up and sell out of their rooms Thursday and Friday nights. Although most of the dealers selling were located on the first floor of building 6000 there were dealers scattered throughout building 6000 up to the 7th floor. One room had in excess of 400 head vases for sale while some only had a few. Some of the dealers only set up part of their for sale collection in their rooms as they had to move them on Saturday from their rooms to the Convention where the main sale was held. We were located on the 5th floor and had about 60 heads for sale. We also sold our Head Vase Price Guides and Replacement Head Vase Earrings. One dealer had to locate in a separate building due to our building being full. The Radisson Resort is made up of a number of buildings rather than being just one large high rise hotel. The Radisson itself was quite nice with well kept grounds, and several different size pools, some with waterfalls. There was an informal get together in the lobby of the convention center on Thursday night for those that arrived on Thursday to register , receive name badges etc. Several dealers sold out of their rooms until approximately midnight.

Friday Jan 14th - Friday morning quite a few people attended Renninger's Antique and Collectibles outdoor show featuring approximately 1200 dealers. A bus trip to Renninger's was provided for a nominal fee , although many took their own vehicles as we did . Renninger's was about 50 miles from the hotel. The outdoor sale didn't start until 10 a.m. We arrived at 10 am and left about 3 p.m. and only covered a part of what is billed as Florida's largest antiques and collectibles show. Cost to get in was $10 per person. There is a small town located nearby called Mt. Dora. Many people told us that this was an elegant little town to visit with many interesting stores, however due to the time constraints we didn't make it to Mt. Dora. Those that did talked about how much they enjoyed this scenic town.

Friday Evening Jan 15th - At 6:30 P.M.. there was a Cash Bar in the Pre-Function area of the convention center where people mingled and got to know each other. We were surprised to find out how many people had been to so many of the previous conventions. Those who had not registered and picked up their name badges on Thursday night did so at this time. Following the get together the doors of the convention center were opened for a desert bar and presentation on reproduction head vases by Kathleen Cole author of two well known books on Head Vases. Set up on a table were the reproductions along with the original head vases that they were reproductions of. The reproduction head vases are believed to be made from molds of the originals but the giveaway is the painting of the head vases. Most of the reproductions are very shiny. The cheeks on the reproductions look clown like with too much makeup on the cheeks. Kathleen did point out that it is really easy to tell when you see the reproduction up against the real thing. However, when you just see a picture such as on an auction site it may be quite another thing to distinguish the real thing from the reproduction, especially if the person selling it doesn't tell you. Buyer Beware !!! There was also a brief slide presentation showing the real ones vs. the reproductions. There are about eight heads that are being reproduced at the current time. While the reproductions do come with a sticker that says made in China, these stickers are easily removed ( and often are ). After the presentation some of the dealers opened their rooms to sell.

Saturday Jan 15th. Those dealers that set up in their rooms had to take all their heads from their rooms and move them to the convention center. While it was only a couple of buildings away it was still quite involved , especially for those dealers that had a large quantity. Doors were open to the public at 9 Am. and remained open until 3 p.m. There was a $10 charge per person to the public to attend. This helped pay for advertising in various Florida publications etc. As usual, many of the heads sold were sold to other dealers. There was coffee and tea, and various snacks set up during the sale, although it didn't take long for most of the food to be eaten up. Prices on heads ranged from a few dollars to several thousand dollars. Many people were surprised at the large number of heads that were priced above $1000 this year.

After the doors closed at 3 p.m. the dealers packed up. At 6:30 P.M. there was a cash bar in the pre function area of the convention center. People gathered and talked of the days activities. This was followed by a hot buffet dinner inside the convention center. The food included prime rib, along with some kind of specially prepared chicken dish along with all the trimmings, and some very fattening deserts. The guest speaker after the dinner was Ruth Worthington who did a really terrific job with her talk and slide presentation of Ladies a Sign of the Times. I was very impressed with her presentation style and content. After the presentation Maddy Gordon held drawings for various door prizes that were donated by various dealers. Our table surprised Maddy by filling out numerous slips with her name so that her name was drawn over and over during the drawings. Of course she didn't accept any of the door prizes but it did provide a humorous atmosphere as her name was drawn numerous times. Prizes were also given for the youngest head vase collector, the oldest. The person who bought the most head vases also received a prize ( that person purchased over 30 head vases ). Other prizes were given for the person who had traveled the greatest distance to come to the convention. Maddy was also presented with a very unusual head at the end of the evening in recognition of all her hard work putting the convention together.

Sunday Jan 16th. An optional breakfast buffet was provided for those that wanted to attend. There was an additional cost for this, but was attended by quite a few. Kathleen Cole spoke after the breakfast on Repairing Head Vases. The breakfast and presentation was over at about 9:30 a.m. Most people left after the breakfast but some stayed another day or so and visited the various attractions around Kissimmee and Orlando. Everyone I talked with seemed to enjoy the convention quite a bit and enjoyed meeting old friends and making new ones.

This was the first head vase convention that my wife and I attended. On behalf of everyone that was there I would like to particularly thank Maddy Gordon, Kathleen Cole and Ruth Worthington for their work in making this convention such a success. To the many dealers who attended, Thank You. To the new friends we made.... Thank you and God Bless You.

Dave and Yvonne Barron

Back To Chrissy's Ladies News Page