Perhaps it's because I first saw the ad in the middle of the night (new baby Nora is a nightowl) and I was grumpy, but a recent commercial for Ikea really annoyed me (at least as much as the recent Restoration Hardware catalog). The commercial showed a number of rooms decorated in the Ikea style (which includes many crappy knock-offs styled after antiques) and the tagline at the end: Ikea--Life Improvement Store.
What about Ikea improves anyone's life? Okay, so it's cheap and convenient and in some small way that may be a modest improvement over 1970s paisley furniture from Goodwill. But let's really think about how a chair or a sofa from Ikea improves your life. Firstly, it's cheaply made using eco-irresponsible materials. True, that may not impact you right now, but let's face it, it will eventually. Secondly, you have to assemble it. If you have ever assembled any piece of mass-produced furniture, you already know that this process will NOT improve anything about your life (in fact, it'll ruin your weekend, most likely). Thirdly, once you bought it, it's monetary value is precisely zilch. Have you ever seen Ikea furniture at a garage sale? A quick search on Columbus, Ohio's Craig's List found a couple hundred Ikea objects for sale, mostly at a teeny tiny fraction of their original price. Of course, the reality is, your Ikea purchase won't last long enough to make it to a garage sale, unless you're planning one for next weekend. The stuff is so cheap that as soon as you assemble your new chair, you should probably immediately start planning on replacing it.
Am I being harsh? You betcha. We in the antiques industry need to set our sights on the likes of Ikea...they are the ones attracting potential young collectors (or simply young folks interested in classic style). We simply have to talk louder and in one voice about antiques in terms of their green-ness, quality, style, retained value, etc. etc. If we don't start acting boldly and immediately, we are in trouble.
Sunday, September 12, 2010
Tuesday, September 7, 2010
The newest young collector
Arrived last evening. Baby Nora and her mother are both perfect and healthy. Her father is. just. wow.
Saturday, August 28, 2010
The real competition
Recently, I've been having a riveting, albeit blood pressure-raising, conversation with an Indiana friend in the trade. He received the newest Pottery Barn catalog where they are hawking bad reproductions of 19th-century printer's chests and other things very clearly based on antiques. It's almost like they look through auction catalogs or go to shows to get inspired, and then send the plans to China to cheaply manufacture knock-offs.
And then the new Restoration Hardware catalog landed in both of our mailboxes. Hoo-boy...have you all seen this? Gary Friedman, the CEO, states, "No longer mere 'retailers' of home furnishings, we are 'curators' of the best historical design the world has to offer."
Um..excuse me? Seriously? I don't know what's more offensive, the fact that he described himself as a curator or that he claimed to have stuff that's better designed than the originals that his company has so poorly imitated.
I'm terribly sorry to inform you, Mr. Friedman, but if you want to find the curators of the best historical design, you need to look at places like Winterthur, the Met, and the MFA-Boston, as well as at antique auctions and shows around the country. Additionally, your customers would be better served by going to auctions, shows, and flea markets, where they will find better design AND better quality, all for a better price and in objects that will be worth something in 10 years.
Folks, you want to know where the (potential) young collectors are? They are at Pottery Barn, Target, Ikea, and they are shopping via catalogs like Restoration Hardware. They may not be as interested in history or art as you are or we are, but they are interested in style, quality, and price...and they aren't finding the best at those places, although they think they are. We need to get their attention and draw it to our business. So next time you see a Pottery Barn catalog on the coffee table of a friend or relative, surreptitiously swap it with an auction catalog or a copy of Maine Antique Digest, The Magazine Antiques or Antiques and Fine Art.
(And to my museum friends, you need to raise a stink with American Association of Museums...they need to protect the title "curator" the way that the American Library Association protects the title "librarian.")
And then the new Restoration Hardware catalog landed in both of our mailboxes. Hoo-boy...have you all seen this? Gary Friedman, the CEO, states, "No longer mere 'retailers' of home furnishings, we are 'curators' of the best historical design the world has to offer."
Um..excuse me? Seriously? I don't know what's more offensive, the fact that he described himself as a curator or that he claimed to have stuff that's better designed than the originals that his company has so poorly imitated.
I'm terribly sorry to inform you, Mr. Friedman, but if you want to find the curators of the best historical design, you need to look at places like Winterthur, the Met, and the MFA-Boston, as well as at antique auctions and shows around the country. Additionally, your customers would be better served by going to auctions, shows, and flea markets, where they will find better design AND better quality, all for a better price and in objects that will be worth something in 10 years.
Folks, you want to know where the (potential) young collectors are? They are at Pottery Barn, Target, Ikea, and they are shopping via catalogs like Restoration Hardware. They may not be as interested in history or art as you are or we are, but they are interested in style, quality, and price...and they aren't finding the best at those places, although they think they are. We need to get their attention and draw it to our business. So next time you see a Pottery Barn catalog on the coffee table of a friend or relative, surreptitiously swap it with an auction catalog or a copy of Maine Antique Digest, The Magazine Antiques or Antiques and Fine Art.
(And to my museum friends, you need to raise a stink with American Association of Museums...they need to protect the title "curator" the way that the American Library Association protects the title "librarian.")
Saturday, August 21, 2010
We've got a "problem"
That chest of drawers has problems.
The chair is period, but is problematic.
Most of the stuff in that guy's collection has major problems.
Does this sound familiar? We hear comments like these all around the marketplace: at shows, at auctions, everywhere. What, exactly, are "problems" in the context of antiques? Generally speaking, condition issues and/or restoration. What we want to know is why something that is present in the vast majority of authentic antiques is a problem. If a 200-year-old blanket chest survives to today in totally original condition, without a bit of damage or repair, then it's a miracle and the price typically reflects this. But if it has a replaced back foot, all of a sudden it's "problematic." Why is this?
It seems to us that an authentic antique, even if it has significant restoration, is a good thing. So why do we condemn a restored object with a word like "problem?" Doesn't this make most antiques undesirable? After all, who wants to own a problem? (We do, of course, believe that fake or fraudulent objects, or those that have been "dressed up" or restored in a deceptive way can be problems, unless they are bought and sold as exactly what they are.)
It's only a word, yes, and in 21st-century America, we often get overly sensitive about words. But we're not talking about a misguided attempt to be politically correct, and we certainly aren't suggesting that we should start saying "the P-word." We are, however, saying that by using overly negative words to describe perfectly authentic antiques, we are demeaning them. We are not creating an environment in which these wonderful objects-objects that have lived lives and been used and even loved-are desirable. And aren't we, as auctioneers and dealers, suppose to be creating a desire to own these things?
What do you think?
The chair is period, but is problematic.
Most of the stuff in that guy's collection has major problems.
Does this sound familiar? We hear comments like these all around the marketplace: at shows, at auctions, everywhere. What, exactly, are "problems" in the context of antiques? Generally speaking, condition issues and/or restoration. What we want to know is why something that is present in the vast majority of authentic antiques is a problem. If a 200-year-old blanket chest survives to today in totally original condition, without a bit of damage or repair, then it's a miracle and the price typically reflects this. But if it has a replaced back foot, all of a sudden it's "problematic." Why is this?
It seems to us that an authentic antique, even if it has significant restoration, is a good thing. So why do we condemn a restored object with a word like "problem?" Doesn't this make most antiques undesirable? After all, who wants to own a problem? (We do, of course, believe that fake or fraudulent objects, or those that have been "dressed up" or restored in a deceptive way can be problems, unless they are bought and sold as exactly what they are.)
It's only a word, yes, and in 21st-century America, we often get overly sensitive about words. But we're not talking about a misguided attempt to be politically correct, and we certainly aren't suggesting that we should start saying "the P-word." We are, however, saying that by using overly negative words to describe perfectly authentic antiques, we are demeaning them. We are not creating an environment in which these wonderful objects-objects that have lived lives and been used and even loved-are desirable. And aren't we, as auctioneers and dealers, suppose to be creating a desire to own these things?
What do you think?
Friday, August 13, 2010
We're back...sort of...
Wow. The past 6 weeks have been a real roller coaster. Lots of travel (west and south), a death in the family, and 2 auctions. And, of course, there is the ongoing preparations for the arrival of the newest young collector, who is due any day now. So, as we wait and then adjust to our fabulous new life, our appearance here may be a bit irregular. Check back regularly, read our columns (the next two will be based on our trip to the New Orleans Antiques Forum), and be sure to pass around The Top Ten Reasons to Buy Antiques (links to the pdf are below and under our Fav Links).
Friday, July 16, 2010
Top Ten Reasons to Buy Antiques
As promised in our recent column in MAD, here is a free .pdf copy of our Top Ten Reasons to Buy Antiques. Feel free to email it, print it, pass it around, post it on shop windows or utility poles, link to it, whatever (just please do not change it).
Tuesday, July 13, 2010
Sorry folks...
that we've been absent. It's been a crazy few weeks (good and bad), but we'll be getting back to normal soon....
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