By Keysha Drexel
Journal editor
Not only will the ninth annual Antiques at The Gardens offer plenty of chances to shop for antiques, furniture, porcelain, fine art, silver, garden accessories and jewelry, it will also give those attending a chance to be inspired by and get advice from the most creative minds in architecture, interior design and landscape design.
The Birmingham Botanical Gardens event, set for Oct. 2-5 this year, will bring together more than 14 tastemakers to curate themed areas with goods selected from Birmingham and other regions as dealers from across the country present their wares.
New to Antiques at The Gardens this year, the Tastebuds: Define Your Style event will kick off the weekend’s festivities on Oct. 2.
During the 10 a.m. event, young style enthusiasts will have the opportunity to join flower magazine editor Margot Shaw and featured speakers Paige Albright from Paige Albright Orientals and Jennifer Boles, author, blogger and creator of The Peak of Chic, who will share stories and tips to help define and express personal style.
The Tastebuds event is limited to 40 people under 40 years old. Tickets are $15. A raffle will be held at the Tastebuds event, with the winner taking home a garden stool from Summer Classics. The Pantry will provide lunch for Tastebuds.
This year’s tastemakers include Birmingham’s Taylor Dawson and Associates Architecture, Shepard and Davis Architecture, King’s House Antiques, King’s House Oriental Rugs, Falkner Gardens, Elegant Earth, Studio C Architecture and Interiors, RSH Designs, Gallery 1930, Ware M. Porter & Co., Pat Hiden Interiors, Henry Sprott Long and Associates, Patti Woods Interiors, Thompson House Interiors, Jamie Inge Interiors and Libby Greene Interiors, along with Kinsey Marable from Charlottesville, Va., and Christopher Spitzmiller from New York, N.Y.
The tastemakers will join national dealers including Mobile’s Avril Walker Design, Estate Jewelers, Evy McPherson’s Gracia Home from Nashville, Thomas M. Fortner Antiques from Memphis, Atlanta’s Laura Pearce Jewelry, Jim Thompson America, Inc., and McDonough Fine Art, Pennoyer Newman Distinctive Garden Pots from New York, N.Y., Edwin C. Skinner Antiques from Fairhope, Whitehall Antiques from Chapel Hill, N.C., and Birmingham’s Wallace Burke and Hitz Lauber.
Those attending the Red Diamond Lectures Series that is always a part of Antiques in The Gardens are in for a double dose of stylish information.
This year’s lecture series will feature two speakers–Shane Connolly and Maria Buatta.
At 1 p.m. on Oct. 1, Connolly, who holds the Royal Warrant of Appointment from His Royal Highness The Prince of Wales, will speak about his latest work, “A Year in Flowers.”
Connolly served as the florist for the wedding of Prince Charles to Camilla Parker-Bowles and the wedding of Prince William to Catherine Middleton.
On Oct. 3 at 11 a.m., designer and author Mario Buatta will discuss his “Fifty Years of American Interior Decoration.”
After launching his firm in 1963, “The Prince of Chintz” filled his client roster with an impressive list of celebrities and moguls, from Henry Ford II to Barbara Walters and from Nelson Doubleday to Billy Joel.
Buatta oversaw the design for the Blair House in Washington, D.C., and he was responsible for the design of pop-star Mariah Carey’s posh New York triplex that was featured on a one-hour episode of “MTV Cribs.”
In addition to the Tastebuds event and the Red Diamond lectures, those attending this year’s Antiques at The Gardens will also have a chance to privately shop the sale at an exclusive black-tie event.
The Stern Agee Gala in The Gardens will be from 7-11 p.m. Oct. 2 and will give those attending a chance to check out the stylish offerings from the sale while enjoying cocktails, hors d’oeuvres and dancing to the sounds of The Atlanta Pleasure Band.
Tickets for the Stern Agee Gala are $150. Admission to the public sale is included.
Public show hours are 1-5 p.m. Oct. 2, 10 a.m.-5 p.m. Oct. 3 and 4 and 11 a.m.-3 p.m. Oct. 5. Admission is free for Birmingham Botanical Gardens members and $10 for nonmembers.
Proceeds from Antiques at The Gardens support The Gardens’ educational programs. The event has raised more than $2 million since 2006.
For more information, contact Ragan Cox at 414-3965 or [email protected] or visit www.bbgardens.org/antiques.
For tickets, visit www.bbgardens.org/antiques or call 414-3950.
