Collin Forbes & O'Brien: An estate sale 'tag' team

SALISBURY — Even those who aren’t antiques afficionados have felt a sense of loss in recent years now that the Fitch-Howard tag sales no longer exist. They were a Northwest Corner tradition, grand old estate sales that were put on with vigor and panache. The sales were always held at a notable house, usually one that was on the real estate market, and the furnishings were high quality, diverse and honestly (if not always inexpensively) priced.

In recent years, Elizabeth Fitch and Gerry Howard had slowed down as health issues got in their way. And then, one summer, the sales simply stopped.

Since then, there have been some excellent sales on a smaller scale, such as those produced by Linda Schilling.

But starting this weekend, a new tag-and-estate-sale venture on the Fitch-Howard model is being launched by a quartet calling itself Collin Forbes & O’Brien.

Nick and Anne Collin bring antiques expertise; he is the former owner of the Salisbury Antiques Center, which was on Library Street (his calling card was the life-sized statue, more like a caricature really, that sat in a pickup truck near the Scoville Library when the center was open for business).

Diane Forbes brings marketing expertise. After retiring from a career in the film industry, she has done publicity for Farm Country Soups and for Kathleen O’Halloran’s clothing store in Millerton. Peggy O’Brien brings an excellent eye for decorations, skill with power tools and knowledge gleaned in her years as an attorney.

“Who knew that you needed insurance if you wanted to run a busines like this,� Forbes said rhetorically. “Peggy did.�

More than anything, what the partners bring to the venture is a sense of excitement and a love of beautiful things. Collin closed his antique center four years ago, after 35 years in the business, in part because it simply stopped being fun. As he and his three partners busied themselves decorating the interior of 505 Wells Hill Road (near Route 112), site of their first sale, he was grinning ear to ear, despite the heavy rains that were soaking his clothes as he ran back and forth between the barn and the main house.

As with the Fitch-Howard sales, the Collin Forbes & O’Brien sales will be held in houses that are for sale (at least one more sale is planned for this summer). This one is on Wells Hill Road and is new construction, completed by Northwest Hills. The real estate agent is Best and Cavallaro, who will host an opening night party for the sale (and a viewing of the house, which has spectacular views) on Friday, June 20, from 6 to 8 p.m.

There is a $20 cover charge for the party, with funds going to Habitat for Humanity of Northwest Connecticut and the Lakeville Hose Company. Wine and cheese will be served and everything in the house will be available for early buying.

The sale will be open without a cover charge on Saturday and Sunday from 7:30 a.m. to 3:30 p.m.

This is a particularly good time for a high-end tag saling. Prices on antiques have been dropping in recent years, according to Nick Collin, who has been watching antique sales so he can accurately price the items that will be sold this weekend. A circa 1760-era Pennsylvania tavern table for example, will be tagged at around $3,000.

“Three years ago, it would have been worth $7,000,� Collin said.

There will still be many high-ticket items. A burl bowl, for example, that is 24-inches in diameter and is, Collin said, “magnificent,� will be sold for about $2,500.

But there will also be plenty to buy in the $5, $10 and $25 range, including small items that will be offered, Fitch-Howard style, in the garage.

“And we’re going to be giving many things away,� Collin said.

For free?

“Yes,� he and his partners confirmed. “For free.�

Best of all, perhaps: priceless views from the new house out over the neighboring hills and forests.

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