THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1996, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Friday, February 16, 1996 TAG: 9602140136
SECTION: CHESAPEAKE CLIPPER PAGE: 04 EDITION: FINAL
SOURCE: BY ERIC FEBER, STAFF WRITER
LENGTH: Medium: 78 lines
A Chesapeake business will be one of the top attractions at a popular Suffolk antique show.
The 13th Annual Suffolk Antiques Show and Sale, sponsored by the Suffolk Art League and the Suffolk Department of Parks and Recreation, takes place Feb. 24 and 25 at the Suffolk Armory, 2761 Godwin Ave.
The show will include 25 antique dealers from Hampton Roads, around the state and the mid-Atlantic region.
Antique lovers, collectors or the curious will be able to see sterling silverware and whole place settings, furniture, glassware, linens, dolls, jewelry, paintings, post cards, tins, tools, crockery and many other items.
Also offered at the show will be expert repair services.
If you're looking for several types of high quality, antique glassware, a Chesapeake antique business could have the item you want.
Way Back Yonder Antiques, a Chesapeake antique showroom and dealership at Canal Drive, will be one of the featured exhibitors offering an array of items including their specialty antique glassware.
``We have a few specialties,'' said Ed Forlines, who owns and operates Way Back Yonder Antiques, along with partner Ken Woolard. ``This is our third year at the Suffolk show. It's a small show, but we've enjoyed good success there. This show brings out the pillars of the community, a very sophisticated crowd. We carry furniture and offer quite a fine selection of glassware.''
Forlines said he and Woolard also will have a display of antique furniture, including pieces from the 1700s on through the mid-20th century.
``Even our 20th century pieces are handmade, quality types,'' he said. ``We also carry Victorian antiques, usually walnuts and oaks.''
When not traveling to various East Coast and Mid-Atlantic shows, Forlines and Woolard attract a variety of customers at their shop, located in an area along South Military Highway and Canal Drive popularly known throughout Chesapeake as ``Antique Alley.''
``We're not the only shop around,'' Forlines said. ``There are a lot of other good shops in Chesapeake. There's at least a dozen, if not more, shops within walking distance from ours.''
Forlines said he and the other dealers love the location.
``If one shop is a success it brings people out,'' he said. ``So if there's a person in one store, he can look out and see my shop and others. The bigger the draw the more people come out and then browse through the other shops. It's a big draw.''
Forlines said he was always fascinated with antiques. He was drawn to them because of the historic aspect.
``I was intrigued by the fact that each piece had a history of its own and had its own place in history,'' he said.
He and his partner have been running Way Back Yonder Antiques for five years. When they go to purchase stock for their shop they usually buy from private homes, estate sales, auctions and other dealers.
What about flea markets and thrift stores?
Too time-consuming and not enough return for the effort, he said.
``Oh, you can find some real valuable pieces, no question about it,'' he said. ``But it's a slight chance. It's like playing the lottery: you have a chance to win big, but the odds are low.''
So Forlines and Woolard go for what are considered ``blue chip'' antiques: items that have been collected and sought after for the past 150 years, like period furniture, fine china and porcelain, to name a few.
``They're like safe, steady stocks,'' he said. ``They cost a lot, but they're safe investments and their worth won't go down.''
Besides each item's inherent worth, many people just like the fact antiques have been used and each piece has a story all its own.
``I was showing a mirror to one customer and it wasn't perfect by any means,'' Forlines said. ``But she told me that when she looks into that mirror she thinks about all the faces it has reflected, about all the people that have used it. People love it when there's an initial scratch on a desk, for example. They say it adds character.'' MEMO: For more information about the Way Back Yonder Antiques shop at 916
Canal Drive, call 487-8459.
by CNB