Fair draws treasure hunters to Sisters

The folks who stage the Sisters Antique Faire want to make sure it improves every year. This year was a time of both refinement and growth for the event.

Although the number of vendors who set up their booths at Village Green Park last Saturday and Sunday was about the same as last year, the quality of goods was higher and the larger crowds attracted prove that quality will always bring out the shoppers.

"The crowds seem to be quite a bit larger this year," said Jeri Buckmann, events coordinator for the Sisters Area Chamber of Commerce. "I have had several of the vendors tell me that this has been one the best years so far. All the ones that I have spoken with have told me the same thing: that sales are better this year."

There are some vendors who have "brick and mortar" operations and use the shows as a chance to spread their appeal to a larger crowd.

"We have a wide variety of European chalet things. Our store (in Bend) is about 5,000 square feet, but it is still small compared to the Colorado store which is about 50,000 square feet," said Patty Jo Beal, who was working at the Ski Country Antiques booth.

"We like going to these kind of events, but we are only going to the Sisters fair this year."

At the other end of the spectrum is local Jerry Taylor, president of the Sisters Kiwanis club.

"We started doing this about 30 years ago, but we don't go around show-to-show to do antiques. This is a once-a-year event for us in Sisters. We just live about two miles down the road," he said.

"We like to sell things, buy things, trade things around. We are trying to downsize our house, and this is a nice way to get some of the stuff back in circulation. We also like to change the things we are collecting, and so once a year we do this, and we can rotate our stuff out," said Taylor.

Although there may not be a strong commercial interest in the operation of Taylor's booth, there is no less passion for the event.

"When we are on the road with our motor home, it gives us a chance to see antiques. Sometimes we buy things, and sometimes we don't," said Taylor. "It is really totally a hobby for us, not a serious business. This is the only show we do. It is fun seeing the local people. Everybody comes out. It is just a really fun show, and this is our fifth year. We are already looking forward to next year."

The type of items collected is personal and sometimes starts as a hobby and grows into a business.

"I have been doing sporting collectibles for about 10 years, but I have a personal collection that goes back much farther than that. I buy and sell across the board but mostly fishing collectibles," said Rod Kaiser from Newport.

As the passion grows it spills over from the personal life and sometimes can create a crisis at home.

"I go to about eight to 10 shows per year. But I know a lot of dealers and we get together a couple of times a year and trade stuff back and forth. In my trade you buy three things and keep one, so my home is really filling up," said Kaiser.

Many of the exhibitors have a long history at the Sisters Antique Faire, but others are relative newcomers. They all seem to be making plans already for next year's show.

"We are really enjoying ourselves and already talking about next year," said Kaiser.