Jonathan started the anniversary sale in 2006, to celebrate his father Conrad’s 30 years in the auction business. The sale was a huge success, with Kraft Auctions selling it’s most expensive antique collectible at the time in a pair of white opalescent sandwich celery glass vases for $18K. After that Jonathan and Conrad decided to conduct a premier Anniversary Auction every year.
In 2010, Jonathan moved the sale to January to capitalize on the post holiday lull in auctions and the sale got even bigger. He set his sites on conducting Northwest Indiana’s first antique auction that would exceed $1 million dollars in sales. In 2016, he achieved that goal. Over the years the sale has grown from a one day event to a three day sale with 7 rings in total and 4000+ lots. The auction attracts in person bidders from all over the country and online bidders from all over the world.
In 2017, Kraft Auctions will move the sale from the traditional location of the Lake County Fairgrounds to the Porter County Fairgrounds, located at 215 Division Road, Valparaiso, IN 46383
