Brand new this year was a full schedule of sensational pre-Gathering activities, expertly arranged and coordinated by local member Bette Sherman. Early arrivers took part in a day trip on Thursday to Springfield, OH to do some antiquing. Included was Ohio's largest antique mall called the Heart Of Ohio and a stop for lunch at the Cracker Barrel. An informal dinner at the famous landmark Montgomery Inn Boathouse restaurant topped off the day.
About 22 people showed up for dinner - had a wonderful meal AND a view of the river.
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Friday morning we were treated to one of the best Museum field trips ever. Our extremely well-connected Bette arranged for the Textile Curator at the Cincinnati Art Museum to give us a private, behind-the-scenes showing of their purses in their storage department.
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Scores of exquisite bags were laid out for our personal enjoyment, with museum staff members on hand to open them, turn them over, answer questions, etc.
Needless to say, our own members with their extraordinary knowledge base provided historical details to the museum folks as well, making it mutually beneficial. The museum staff was happy to acquire information about their collection of antique & vintage purses.
One of the best parts was the spontaneous decision by the curator to walk us back to the newly installed long-term storage area. She opened huge wall units, electronically controlled for temperature and humidity. Drawers upon drawers were opened, with hundreds of treasures lined up on acid free sheets. 45It was like winning the lotto for us! Many other precious textiles reside in the same area: antique women's bathing suits, baby dresses & bonnets, antique men's clothing & wigs, etc…
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Post-museum, most of the guests gathered for an informal lunch at the Rookwood. It is housed in a building formerly used for making pottery; in fact some members sat at a table inside a kiln!
Back at our hotel, the magnificently historic Hilton Netherlands Plaza located in the heart of downtown, people took a quick break to freshen up and then gathered in a private area of the lounge for the Welcome Reception, the official start of the Gathering. Hugs were exchanged between old friends and new friends were warmly welcomed. 74Members nibbled on an array of cheeses, crackers and breads, nuts, and fresh fruits, while sipping (and/or guzzling) fine wines, microbrews and soft drinks.
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One new addendum this year was the Mentor Program. New attendees were paired with veteran ones to have any pre-gathering questions answered, provide a familiar face to welcome them, someone to sit next to at meals. It seemed to work very well and will definitely be continued.
Friday night was our traditional sit-down dinner, served in a private Salon. Draped tables were on hand for guests to lay down their special purses brought for Member Show and Tell. This was kicked off during our yummy white chocolate mousse dessert, with members sharing special purses and the stories which accompanied them. The collection on that table certainly rivaled any in any museum, and truly provided a once in a lifetime viewing opportunity.
At the conclusion, some people retired exhausted (like me) while others formed tiny subgroups to continue the party in individual rooms or down at the bar. But Saturday morning came bright and early for our Purse Bazaar in the grand Continental Ballroom.
Fifteen tables were laden with a stunning array of beaded, mesh, celluloid, petit point, leather, antique, early, vintage, compacts, frames, accessories and more. One would need to visit hundreds of antique malls to find this kind of selection.
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I was especially grateful that Linda and George Messinger used a table simply to display their fabulous collection just for our enjoyment; nothing was for sale.
Still, many thousands of dollars changed hands; no one would never know the economy was having problems in that Ballroom that morning.
People were on their own for lunch, but reconvened in the lobby at 1:30 for the BEST FIELD TRIP EVER!!! The 40 of us boarded a brand new motor coach with plush seats, giant picture windows, heavenly air conditioning and even a restroom in the back. We were professionally chauffeured to a trio of local member homes to view their collections.
Our first stop was Bette Sherman's magnificent historic mansion.
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We strolled up her lovely tree-lined driveway to find an antique chalkboard welcoming us. Inside was room after room packed with fascinating collections of antique purses, vintage cosmetics, peanut butter tins, wedding dresses and much, much more. There were three floors of collections, all meticulously organized and artfully displayed in custom shelving units, curio tables and glass cabinets. (And I thought I was doing a good job when I moved my purses from shoeboxes to flat files.)
In addition to the eye candy, Bette provided sweets for our tummies as well. A professional baker was on hand with delicious delights, teas, old fashioned sodas and more. As we exited, we were handed us favors of purse-shaped cookies wrapped with custom tags.
No wonder every group, organization, charity and association wants her to host their events!!!
Back on the bus, we headed to Leslie Shay-Rouster's home.
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From the moment we walked in, it was clear how much time she had spent preparing for us. We stopped dead in our tracks at the first sight of Leslie's world class Early Purse collection. Not only were there extraordinary examples never before seen (even in books) but the way she presented them for us was jaw-dropping.
Laid out on draped tables throughout her home, purses were organized into categories, with framed and mounted information cards detailing the history and provenance of every piece. To be able to pick out favorite pieces, and then actually learn about them on the spot was an opportunity of a lifetime. Purse ephemera was incorporated, like original photos of ladies using their purses, and antique fashion magazines validating time periods. It was not just a museum, it was the Smithsonian of Home Tours.
On to Kim Stonecipher's we went. I was not surprised to learn later that this was her dream house, as it would be anyone else's as well. Purses were everywhere: in an antique spool cabinet, china hutches, every nook and cranny. Kim's inner Martha certainly showed itself in all she did to prepare for us.
Because we were staying for dinner, beautifully draped and set tables were all ready. In the middle were handmade centerpieces with summery straw hats stuffed with flowers and topped with paper purses. The scene was worthy of an APCS wedding.
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Wine in hand, we leisurely wandered marveling at not only her treasures, but also her fabulous decorating skills. Soon the world class Vonderhaars Caterers informed us dinner was ready. Filet mignon, grilled salmon, salad, green beans, mashed potato bar, and concluding with Cincinnati's famous Graeters Ice Cream, it was definitely the meal of the week.
Once the tables were cleared we began the sixth annual Crappy Purse Exchange Contest. Previous winners include Lori Blaser's plastic bead purse with missing lid and broken chain, in addition to Kathy Gunderson's diseased, stinky, cracked celluloid. This year, there were no such doozies; in fact many of them were really nice!!! Thus there was lots of "stealing" and mostly happy campers.
The coach returned to the hotel around 10 pm and I think that was pretty much it for everyone. The only thing that could have topped a day like that was a good night's sleep. Sunday morning, members wandered into the Rookwood conference room around 8:30 for a delicious hot buffet breakfast and huge, welcome steaming urns of coffee and tea. Sausage, bacon, eggs, baked good, fresh fruits, potatoes and all the fixings started off our day just right.
While the room was filled with laughter and clinking glasses, Lisa Moreno was hard at work setting up for her interesting & educational presentation on Jeweled Purse Frames. As the Society's only Gemologist, she was well equipped to share with us her knowledge about colored stones, diamonds, pearls, settings, shapes, real versus synthetic and types of metals.
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A slide show accompanied a four-page handout, and an assortment of frames and loose stones were passed around on lined trays. I am sure I am not the only member who rushed home to check out my own frames to determine what treasures I have.
Lisa was followed by Doris Coghill, our resident expert on beads. She gave a fascinating presentation on the origin of many of our glass and steel beads, with a slide show featuring actual photos taken inside various factories across the world, illustrating how these teeny tiny things are made. I was dumbstruck at the amount of work and hand craftsmanship that goes into these little beauties, even to this day. Doris's professionalism and experience at public speaking was evident and we were so lucky to have her. Even when I had a few minutes of trouble with the projector during her opening, she just kept right on going, using her personality and knowledge to engage the audience.
It was almost noon, and time to wrap up this, my last time organizing an Annual Gathering.
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I tried my best to acknowledge all the help which had poured into this year's events: Kim Stonecipher, Kathy Gunderson, Leslie Shay-Rouster, Lisa Moreno, Doris Coghill, and Bette Sherman worked tirelessly.
But the best news of all was announced at the very end. Elaine Oswiecky, one of our Northeast members, volunteered to take the torch from me, and organize a Gathering for 2012 in New York City. With many members located there, and Elaine's creativity and party planning experience, not to mention that utterly fantastic locale, I am confident this wonderful tradition will continue successfully. And I can't wait to be there… as a GUEST!
See you soon,
Melissa O.
Cincinnati Gathering
The 2010 APCS Annual Gathering in Cincinnati .
