East Hampton Antiques & Design Show Returns For Centennial Edition

In celebration of its 100th anniversary, the East Hampton Historical Society brings the centennial edition of the East Hampton Antiques & Design Show to the Mulford Farm on the weekend beginning Friday, July 15.

Decorative items sold at the Antiques & Design Show will include classic rattan and bamboo furniture, lighting, textiles, architectural elements, American and European country decor and furniture, Art Deco and Moderne, garden ornaments, wrought-iron accessories, industrial items, paintings, trade signs, period jewelry, weather vanes and mirrors.

In celebration of the society’s centennial, the preview cocktail party on Friday, July 15, at 6 p.m. will have 12 honorary chairs and all-star design luminaries from past shows in attendance. The show will then be open on Saturday, July 16, from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. and on Sunday, July 17, from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m.

Tom Samet, renowned interior designer and the 2017 honorary chairperson of the antiques show, suggested that guests keep an eye out for vintage rattan and wicker, as they are very popular right now.

“You can’t just go once,” Samet said. “When you go to the show, you go at least two or three times to really immerse yourself in it.”

Every time he goes, he purchases one or two items to remember the show by. His favorite item was a Portuguese enameled lobster.

Marshall Watson, an interior designer, published author and 2021 honorary chairperson, noted that the antiques at the show are “eccentric pieces that you won’t see anywhere else.”

At a past edition of the antiques show, Watson bought the chandelier that is currently in his dining room, which has been shared on Instagram countless times.

Samet and Watson will return for the 2022 show and both described the event as “magical” and believe it is a great social occasion.

“Many designers from New York, we all see each other at this event,” Watson said. “We may have been in show houses together or we know each other through the world of design, but we don’t always get together, and the evening is always fun because we get together and socialize. The sun is setting, you’re in this 18th century world, people are excited to see each other and there’s a creative essence in the air that you don’t see at other shows.”

The East Hampton Historical Society helps the community keep the past present, according to Steve Long, the executive director of the society.

“One of the reasons people connect with the antiques is it’s a connection to the past. They’re interested in where the object came from and what it was used for,” Long said. “That’s what we’re very interested in doing with our entire community — is finding ways to connect [people] with their own history and also the history of our community.”

Proceeds from the show and preview party will be used to support the work of the East Hampton Historical Society such as school programs, collaborative programming with other history organizations and costs related to preserving historic structures and artifacts, according to Long.

“We have a bell on the roof of Clinton Academy, and objects like that out in the elements deteriorate over time, so by supporting the antiques show we can make sure that that bell is ringing another hundred years from now,” Long said.

A benefactor ticket to the preview party supports upkeep of Clinton Academy’s bell tower for a year, a patron ticket provides a child with a scholarship for the historical society’s Marine Explorers summer program and a sponsor ticket finances a field trip for local students to visit historic sites, according to the East Hampton Historical Society’s website.

General admission tickets to the East Hampton Antiques & Design Show cost $15 per person and can be purchased at the “Events” page on the East Hampton Historical Society’s website at easthamptonhistory.org, by calling the East Hampton Historical Society at 631-324-6850 extension 1 or by email at info@easthamptonhistory.org.