The 2019 Hartford Show will present a millennials’ view to the world of antiques and arts.
Kate Avery
, artist, furniture designer, painter, blogger and influencer, is on tap to share her knowledge and design expertise on Saturday, March 23, at 2 pm, with her talk “Fresh Design with Antiques”. On Sunday, March 24, from 1 to 4 pm,
Kate and Emily Brandenburg
, collector, web-designer and social media consultant, will share their design savvy and love of antiques and art with visitors at the design room they have created.
For
Kate,
owner of Heir and Space Design, a casual trip to a local flea market at the age of ten sparked a lifelong love of antiques. She first collected cowbells, as they were cheap and amusing, then moved on to collecting and researching antique textiles. By high school she was lecturing on the topic. After studying history, culture, and fashion at the University of Connecticut and the London College of fashion, Avery followed her antiques and history passion to a position as Visitor Services Manager at the Harriet Beecher Stowe Center. It was during this time that Heir and Space was born out of a desire to marry her appreciation for antiques and interior design.
After her time at the Harriet Beecher Stowe Center, Kate moved forward in her career to the prestigious antiques firm of Nathan Liverant and Son LLC where she enjoyed an immersive experience in Connecticut history and early American material culture. This thrilling education helped to further inform her work with furniture and antiques at Heir and Space.
Through her blog and social media presence, Kate has, for over ten years, sought to help connect antiques to the modern world and the young consumer. With antiques show features, auction reviews, and flea marketing trips. she educates her considerable and international following on all the beauty and functionality that antiques have to offer. By refinishing vintage furniture, Kate helps to bridge the gap and entice a new audience to share her love of all things old.
Kate lectures regularly on furniture, living with antiques, and design, most recently at the Columbus Museum of Art. In her free time, she enjoys painting in oils and watercolors, antiquing, renovating her 1923 bungalow with her husband, Brian, and hiking through the Connecticut countryside with their two border collies.
Emily Brandenburg
, a native of Ohio, grew up with antiques and frequently attended auctions with her father, learning hands-on about the material culture of the region. As a child, she was well known on the auction circuit and given the name “Patina” by long-time antiques dealers. A trip to New England as a teenager opened her eyes to 17th and 18th century American history and culture.
She and her husband, Benny Kreiner, recently relocated to the Shenadoah Valley in Virginia where they are renovating and decorating a 1900 farmhouse. Her style is a mix of 18th and 19th century Americana, with modern vintage items. She not only loves velvet couches and leather chairs but has a passion for primitive items with their original surface. Both Emily and Benny delight in all kinds of art and mix antique oils with 19th century prints and 20th century watercolors. Even a few paint-by-number paintings are in the mix. Emily works as a freelance graphic/web designer, and social media consultant for antiques enthusiasts, dealers and related organizations. She loves incorporating the world of technology with her knowledge and passion of antiques.
Join Emily and Kate on Sunday, March 24, 2019, in the design space they have fashioned to show how a millennial can decorate with antiques and art in a 21st century livable space.
