The shows of Americana Week can be fascinating buying and learning experiences, but they can also be overwhelming. Each show has its own distinct flavor and consortium of dedicated dealers. Take some time to browse and ask questions. You’re likely to find dealers ready and willing to share their knowledge.

Americana & Antiques @ The Pier 

The most comprehensive and largest event of Americana Week in New York. Over 150 dealers display for sale, folk art and fine art, American country and formal furniture, quilts, rugs, silver, fine porcelains, pottery, tiles and ceramics.

Book Alley @ The Pier - A Special Section

Also art glass, modern artifacts, modern and industrial design and furnishings, extraordinary real andcostume jewelry plus “Book Alley” a special section of books on the arts, antiques, design and more.

Indoors on Pier 92, 711 12th Ave. at 55th St and the Hudson River. NYC. Sat. 9 a.m until 5 p.m., Sun. 10 a.m. until 5 p.m..

Free shuttle buses to Antiques at the Armory on 26th St. and to midtown. Adm. $15.Combination ticket to Stella Shows’ Armory on 26th Street & The Pier Show – $20 for both shows. Show details at stellashows.com or 973-808-5015 Map

Stella Shows are Connected by Free Shuttle

Antiques at the Armory 

100 select exhibits of folk art, furniture, weathervanes, textiles, rugs, garden sculpture, fine art, fine porcelains, silver and glass. Also, American Indian artifacts, outsider art, African art, Americana, designer furnishings, modern design, prints and fine jewelry.

Downtown at the 69th Regiment Armory on Lexington Avenue at 26th Street, NYC. Friday and Saturday 10 a.m. until 7 p.m., Sunday 11 a.m. until 5 p.m. Adm. $15. Combination ticket to The Pier Show and the Armory on 26th Street – $20 for both shows. Complementary shuttle buses from Americana and Antiques @ the PierShow details to Antiques at the Armory. Info: 973-808-5015. Map

Shuttle buses  from Americana & Antiques @ The Pier depart Pier 92 at every hour on the half hour, from opening till 3 p.m., and then every half hour till closing. Bus makes three stops: Port Authority (42nd & 8th Ave.), Grand Central Station, 55th Street & Madison Avenue.

Shuttle bus from Antiques at the Armory depart Lexington Ave. at 26th Street every hour on the hour.

Complimentary service to Park Avenue Armory, departs 26th street on the Hour and leaves the Park Avenue armory every hour on the half-hour.

New York Ceramics Fair, January 17-21, 2012 

NY Ceramics Fair Schedule

The New York Ceramics Fair, brings together a carefully selected and distinguished international group of around 36 galleries offering all things “fired” – porcelain, pottery, glass, cloisonné and enamels in a setting perfect for the exhibition and sale of important small objects.  Location: Bohemian National Hall, 321 East 73rd Street. Map

By subway, take the #6 train to 68th Street and walk east a few blocks. By bus, M 15 on First Ave to 73rd Street.

If you’re driving in to NYC for the NY Ceramics Fair, you’ll be happy to know discount parking is available next door to Bohemian National Hall. Only $19 for up to any 10 hours of parking
Two parking lot entrances:
307 East 73rd St. (btw 1st & 2nd Ave.)
300 East 74th St. (btw 1st & 2nd Ave.)
Present your parking ticket at BNH reception for validation sticker.
To receive discount, validated ticket must be presented to parking garage cashier at time of check out.

Fisher Heritage Presents THE MODERN ART OF ANTIQUE QUILTS

Graphic quilts that look like modern art are the focus of a special collection assembled by Laura Fisher of FISHER HERITAGE at the Hayes Fine Arts Storage Building during NYC Americana week. 19th and 20th century quilts to seek out include rustic utilitarian quilts, African-American quilts, and quilts from various cultures. All had been ignored in antiques scholarship but now are exhibited and studied worldwide. Formerly a higher premium went only to quilts from the hands of a skilled or an identified maker, but now collectors’ dollars endorse edgier, linear, graphic, anonymous antique and vintage examples. Fisher says antique quilts are an ever more practical art investment especially given the current economy, and comparable in size to contemporary paintings. Thanks to changes today in approaches to interior design and collecting, quilts from various eras find a home in even the most modern rooms. Traditional boundaries no longer limit interiors as designers reject pure period re-creations in favor of an eclectic, personalized approach. Hayes is at 305 East 61st Street (between Second and First Avenues) See them Monday through Friday, January 16-20 and January 23-27, 2012, from 10-4:30. 212-838-2596; 305 East 61st Street; fisherheritage@yahoo.com

Outsider Art Fair,  January 27-29, 2012

The world’s foremost international marketplace for self-taught art, Outsider Art, and Art Brut, The Outsider Art Fair features 35 leading galleries from North America, Europe, Asia, and the Caribbean. More than 350 artists, ranging from the masters of Art Brut and Outsider art to recently uncovered treasures and emerging stars, are represented at the show. The exhibition includes the highest quality fine art from diverse realms of the self-taught and non-mainstream art world: original paintings,drawings, sculptures, textiles, and environments. 7 West 34th Street Map

The Metro Show, January 19-22, 2012

The Metro Show is new this year, replacing The American Antiques Show. The show features Americana and folk art plus modern design and photography. Held at the Metropolitan Pavilion, 125 West 18th Street, the preview for this show benefits the American Folk Art Museum. Map

Winter Antiques Show, January 20-29, 2012

75 exhibitors of Americana and more at the Park Avenue Armory. Open Daily 12:00 p.m.-8:00 p.m., Sundays & Thursday 12:00 p.m.-6:00 p.m. Map