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Miscellany09
By Kellie Green
from Florida Designs, PALM BEACH the Island, winter09 Vol.1 No. 2
Text by Kellie Green, Photography courtesy of Devonia Antiques
Devonia Antiques
One of Boston's most beloved shops expands to Antique Row, bringing with it the glamour of the Gilded Age.
Photo left: Exhibition vase from Coalport, England, circa 1895, hand-tooled gilding on ruby ground, inside is 24-karat gold.
Devonia -- Antiques for Dining -- is the newest showroom on Antique Row, just minutes from Palm Beach, offering anything and everything pertaining to the art of dining. "This area is such a natural fit," owner Lori Hedtler says, "So many of our clients not only reside here, but they entertain here and they entertain frequently.
Hedtler travels the globe purchasing an array of unique, museum-quality pieces for the table, including 19h-century vases, antique table linens, hand-blown stemware, and china from such names as Limoges, Minton, Royal Doulton, Spode, Wedgewood, Steuben and Tiffany. From impressive, complete sets to one of a kind, single pieces, Devonia's ever changing inventory includes oall price levels and specializes in dinner service for today's tables. For more information on Devonia Antiques, call 561-429-8566.
TATTLER
Plates with a gilded pedigree
by M.M. Cloutier from Palm Beach Life, February 2009
Lori Hedtler delights in the filigree and gilt of the Gilded Age china she sells at her Antiques Row shop, Devonia.
During an era in America that Mark Twain dubbed "The Gilded Age" - a span lasting from the end of the Civil War to the 1929 stock market crash - the act of dining hardly focused on food and drink.
It was all about the refined equipage: 24 karat gold-and-enamel Tiffany soup bowls, say, or hand-painted and artist-signed Limoges dinner plates and tea sets with gilt as thick as icing.
Such high-culture dining eclat is the hallmark of Devonia - Antiques for Dining (www.devonia-antiques.com), which quietly opened a few months ago along West Palm Beach's Antique Row as a sister act to its longtime showroom amid Boston's tony Beacon Hill and its chic niche at Bergdorf Goodman in New York.
Devonia's Antique Row location, with tastefully arranged displays, brims with museum-quality mint-condition china, crystal and hand-blown stemware that once might have graced the tables of the Vanderbilts or J. P. Morgan.
All of it extends a nod to Palm Beach's own Gilded Age nascence, when Standard Oil baron Henry Flagler transformed the island into a resort, but that's not why Devonia's now here.
Says owner Lori Hedtler, a second-generation antiques dealer often consulted by major auction houses, "Really, Palm Beach is a natural fit for us because so many of our clients reside here full-or part-time. They entertain frequently and set their tables with pieces that reflect their educated and cultured style."
"When you set a beautiful table, you're telling a story."
Hedtler opened Devonia in Boston in 1995, and within minutes of opening her doors, an affluent woman from Maine - pie-eye awed by the panoply of handcrafted turn of the 20th century pieces by such legendary names as Minton, Coalport, Royal Doulton, Baccarat, Steuben and more - purchased an entire dinner service.
"From the start, it was clear we were one of the first to build this niche market in antiques," said Hedtler, who previews and selects pieces from private estates of families in the United States and Europe. "When you set a beauftiful table, you're telling a story with the candlesticks and the compotes and the side plates. Every course is prose in its presentation.
"Gone are the days of the typically matched china sets and standard glass centerpieces - people have become much more interested in qcquiring pieces that have a past and a true artistic beginning," she said. "They want to build their own unique set, wqhich is why we pride ourselves in mixing and matching various styles, colors and patterns. In doing so, they are really elevating the act of dining to an art form."
Devonia-Antiqus for Dining is at 43 Charles Street on Beacon Hill. Hours are 11 a.m.-5 p.m. daily and Sunday noon-5 p.m. Call 617-523-8313 or visit www.devonia-antiques.com and 3703 So Dixie Highway,West Palm Beach, FL 33405,tel: 561-429-8566 email: devoniapalmbeach@aol.com
Hot Plates
Cuisine-art
Boston doyennes dish out big bucks to dine like the Vanderbilts
from the Reporter, Boston Magazine September 1999
Last year's Limoges just doesn't cut it anymore, gals. Beacon Hill brides in this bull market are listing among their must-haves the hand-painted, antique china that Lori Hedtler supplies at Devonia-Antiques for Dining, her Charles Street haven of the Gilded Age. We're talking the sort of china that J. P. Morgan had custom-made, with gilding as thick as icing. And hand-painted porcelain from defunct North Shore estates that immortalize great-grandmfather's best fox hunt.
"Back 100 years ago, you had these wonderful designs that were gilded by hand," says Hedtler. "So for the price of an expensive plate at Shreve's, you can get something that's 10 times nicer."
KISS-FM founder Richie Balsbaugh and his new bride Maureen bought their service here, and Martha Stewart, whose tastes tend to the more casual British pieces, Carly Simon, an antique goblet fan, and Teresa Heinz are also Devonia regulars. "I do a lot of business with the New York girls," Hedtler says. "I sort of have a who's who of Park Avenue and 5th Avenue."
Hedtler's most recent prized finds come from a 300-piece Minton set commissioned by Judge Elbert H. Gary (as in Gary, Indiana) in the early 20th century. Hedtler demurred when asked how much these hand-painted, gold-standard pieces fetch, but regular prices range from $10 to more than $300 per plate.
Devonia-Antiques for Dining is at 43 Charles Street on Beacon Hill. Hours are 11 a.m.-5 p.m. daily and Sunday noon-5 p.m. Call 617-523-8313 or visit www.devonia-antiques.com.
Glass Act
by Andrew D. King
from the Shop Keepers, May 29-June 11, 2000
Our connections to the past rest ethereally upon the stories told by relatives and history books. And in the age of mass-production, where cost is often more important than craft, there are few signs of Old World attention to detail in today's furnishings. So what remains, besides the memories and legacies of past generations, are the beautiful relics they left behind. No one appreciates this more than Lori and Mark Hedtler, who collect porcelain and glassware at Devonia Antiques, a quaint hideaway amidst the ivy and bricks of "Antique Row" on historic Charles Street.
Walking into Devonia is like taking a step back in time to the home of a 19th century aristocrat. A panorama of the shop reveals crystal, blue, green and pink glassware in glass cases; gilded plates; hand-painted porcelain; silverware; hand-carved wooden tables and chairs. Contrary to Shakespeare's famous phrase, nearly everything that glitters in this shop really is gold. Of the highly esteemed pieces and sets from such legendary names as Minton, Coalport, Royal Worcester, Baccarat and others, many bear hand-designed guilded edges.
Lori reveals that most of her antiques come from the private estates of wealthy families in Europe and New England. In fact, Beacon Hill itself has been a source for some of the Hedtler's finds, as has nearby Brookline, the Cape and Newport, R. I. Everything is unique. Just look under a tea set and you'll find inscriptions like, "Made in France for Madame Defour in New York."
Devonia's quality is evidenced by its relationship with antique experts from New York, including some celebrity homemakers.
Though the Hedtlers have amassed an ever changing collection of exquisite value, they are not in business just for the money. Lori tirelessly educates and caters to customers who browse the shop. Pick up any random piece (but be careful!) and she can give you its historical background as well as its artistic relevancy. But more importantly, Devonia specializes in pattern matching. Whether shopping for personal use or wedding sets, Lori can help you mix and match pieces from across centuries, according to the occasion and your color preferences.
When asked how she became interested in antiques, Lori replies, "I grew up with it." Her mother owned a shop where she collected Chinaware; and naturally, she passed on the interest and expertise to her daughter.
So, if you're yearning to own a piece of the guilded Age, drop by Devonia Antiques on Charles Street where you can literally get in touch with the past.
Refer to Arts & Antiques, page 50.
The Dish on Devonia
It's still the Gilded Age at Devonia Antiques for Dining, the Charles Street emporium that specializes in the lavish crystal and porcelain spoils that once graced the dinner tables of steel magnates and railway barons. Owner Lori Hedtler sees herself as a caretaker for pieces such as 24-karat-gold-and-enamel soup bowls ($400 each) made by Cauldon in 1890 for Tiffany, until she "finds good homes for them." Among Hedtler's vast inventory, purchased at estate sales and antique markets, are turn-of-the century sets from English makers Minton, Coalport, and Royal Doulton; a 48 piece dessert set in sterling silver and etched glass made in 1881 for Los Angeles retailer Robert Anstead ($24,000)) and a circa-1915 Gundy-Clapperton crystal punch bowl with 12 punch cups ($7,950). And what if dinner doesn't require such Merchant-Ivory props? Well, there are lots of less expensive, slightly more practical pieces, such as 200 to 300 single plates starting at $30 eacy. A table for one, please.
43 Charles St. 617-523-8313; www.devonia-antiques.com