Chappell & McCullar’s newest member of staff is Jack Edward Tremper. He’s penned today’s blog entry, and we hope this is the first of many. Michael, after all, needs a break.
It’s now been two months since I started working at Chappell & McCullar and seem to be settling in to the fast paced world of English antiques just fine. Being a young university graduate, I seem to be a bit of an anomaly in the antiques world having yet to meet anyone in the business that is within a decade of my age. And I’m not the only one who has noticed this, as one of the first gallery visitors that I spoke with remarked about my young age. In the midst of our brief conversation, she asked me, “Why aren’t kids your age into antiques these days?”
At the time, I responded that I didn’t particularly know why and I have had an interest in antiques because I have been lucky enough to have an uncle (Michael Chappell himself) who is in the business. Upon further thought, now I would have asked the woman a question in response: “Have people in their twenties ever been very interested in antiques?”
Just like fine wine, exotic food, art museums, or opera, it takes time and education to develop an appreciation for antiques. When you’re in your twenties, unless you happen to be rolling in the bucks, you think in terms of – as Michael always says – “value for money.” Does this car have the best options for the price? Is this the fastest computer on the market? Is this apartment close to popular clubs and bars? It’s not that we’re worried about spending money; it’s that we’re worried we aren’t getting what we paid for.
And it’s not that antiques do not represent “value for money,” in fact in today’s economy they’re actually a viable investment option (particularly fine English antiques from Chappell & McCullar). But the reality is that a person in their twenties has yet to understand or appreciate the value. They have yet to learn the difference between George III period and George III style or even to tell the difference between oak and mahogany. This takes time and effort as well as the financial resources to properly develop a level of connoisseurship.
My progression in the appreciation of antiques went through different stages. It began in high school when I would simply look for the most expensive piece in my uncle’s gallery or antiques show booth. Then I looked for the oldest piece. Finally I would look for the piece I simply liked the best and tried to decide why I liked it.
Now that I work for Chappell & McCullar and it is part of my job to be both knowledgeable and appreciative of fine antiques, I have found like most things, the more knowledgeable you are about something, the more you appreciate it, even if you do not necessarily find it aesthetically appealing. So, in response to the woman who asked me why “kids” my age aren’t into antiques these days, here is a simple answer: they have not yet had the time to develop an appreciation for them. It’s not just that they’re only into their iPhones or new cars (though that can be the case), it’s that they have yet to take the time to learn the difference between style and period, Georgian and Regency, or even have an interest in decorating their apartments or new homes.
Give the young people (me included) some time, and the appreciation will undoubtedly materialize.