Appraisers to stage “Road Show” during Hampton Roads Home & Garden Show

Have you ever wished “The Antique Road Show” would come to town so you could find out if your treasured item is really a treasure? Then don’t miss the next best thing, happening during the Peninsula Housing and Builders Association’s Hampton Roads Home & Garden Show April 14-17 in the new Hampton Convention Center.

An “Appraisal Fair” hosted by the area’s most established and respected experts will help reveal whether you have a valuable treasure on your hands. Linda and Larry Makowski of Express Auction Marketing Specialists will lead a team of appraisers who provide one free appraisal for guests of the home show between 10 a.m. and 4 p.m. Saturday, April 16. Additional appraisals are $10 each.

They have been conducting appraisal fairs locally for the past several years, spurred by the success of the PBS series. This year, they’re back by popular demand at the Home & Garden show, where they’ve been a hit the past three years.

“People will bring all kinds of items from jewelry to glassware, artwork, photos of furniture to dolls, kitchenware, dolls and books,” says Larry. “About 10 percent of the time, you’ll see a real find.”

Linda reports people usually react with surprise “Sometimes it’s a good surprise, sometimes not so good,” she says. “Jewelry is always a big surprise. Artwork is always interesting because very few people know about it unless they bought it from a gallery or if it has been in the family for years”

Guests will register at their booth and complete a questionnaire about their item to help save time during the appraisal. “We will ask any additional questions while we are examining the item,” says Linda. “We then give them an oral summary and provide a form they can reproduce to start their book on their personal valuables.”

Linda’s specialty is jewelry, fine and decorative art, furniture and personal property. Larry’s forte is Asian art, gems and dolls. In addition to state requirements for auctioneers and decades of experience, both are among a select group to also have earned Certified Auctioneer and Certified Estate Specialist status.

When they’re not doing busy conducting estate and commercial auctions up and down the coast, or probating a will, the Maokowskis are often providing appraisals from their offices based in the Old Moose Lodge in Gloucester County and in Baltimore, Md.

“Antique-ers” will enjoy perusing the adjacent booths displaying American furniture from the 1890s to the 1940s, 19th century furniture, Oriental art, and bronzes and gardenware.