notes

While Black Friday numbers are good, it does not appear many people did much travelling over the holiday weekend. The retail fabric of America enables everyone to enjoy the full retail experience without travel, so one can be near home, too. Although this begs the question about the number of outlet malls one nation requires, that will not be addressed here. Well may you ask, though, what has this to do with English antiques?

This, of course- when one stays, and presumably entertains, at home, its charm and comfortability are of a particular importance. Nothing new in this, but significantly more pronounced of late, as people seem to want to stay home. More so lately than in the recent past, interest in those pieces central to entertaining- sideboards, dining tables, dining and kitchen chairs- constitute a goodly percentage of our inquiries. Never fear- for the moment, at least, we still have a good selection.

Black Friday followed by Cyber Monday might not be the same thing to a dealer in English antiques as it is to a big box store. Still and all, it is nice to see the surge in traffic which, frankly, we were able to experience certainly on the Friday and the Saturday. Plenty of gallery traffic and not just walking off the turkey. Well, maybe walking off the turkey, but one could do that without making one’s way to Jackson Square.

We are not exactly sold out- admittedly, our price levels are a bit above that of a Zhu Zhu hamster, but, then, a body might get more good out of what we offer. A pair of Regency period armchairs are, in this person’s opinion, considerably more established in the canon. If any of my cadre of blogophiles are conflicted in this matter, however, let me offer to throw in a Zhu Zhu hamster along with the pair of armchairs!

Despite the wider economic tragedy wrought by Bernie Madoff, I was nonetheless amused by the Fed’s auction of his personal items last week. The question is doubtless begged ‘How many jewel mounted wristwatches does one man need?’ If one has read and been influenced by John Molloy’s book Dress for Success the answer is ‘none.’

Not only for those of us who deal in English antiques, but all art and antiques dealers, a frequent frustration is that a billionaire, real or erstwhile, would splash out on fancy cars, or wristwatches, and neglect fine art and antiques. Keith and I have often wondered, tongue in cheek, if some of our pieces, could they be driven down the road with the price tag still on them, mightn’t we meet with greater sales success.

Of course, the flash and bling, not representative of our personalities, does not find its way into our aesthetic- or those of our clients, either collectors or interior designers. Ultimately, as my loyal cadre of blogophiles will recall, that is what happens in our business, we find common ground in matters of taste with our clients, and that common ground has from the first met with a particular absence of glitter. If that lets us out of a relationship with the Bernie Madoffs of the world, all I can say to the antiques god is ‘Thanks!’

First thing, browse the newly designed website for the Jackson Square Art and Antiques Dealers Association.

Whingeing about the fate of the art and antiques venues worldwide is an essential but hardly a favorite topic, despite the numbers of times this has been the subject of my blog. The nature of the trade, with requisite expertise in buying stock and selling settled in only one or two individuals, necessarily limits nearly all dealers to the ranks of small business. Indeed, given the type of material that some dealers sell, to whom they sell it, and where they sell it makes it appear they are big players. The where they sell it, now and recently, has become a real problem. The competition from mass market luxury goods manufacturers, mainly in the world of fashion, increases rents in a number of what were traditionally the best art and antiques venues. That a retailer that yields more in turnover can afford to pay more rent is certainly not a surprise. I hesitate to cite any figures, but let us safely assume that the fashion retailers’ inventory turnover of 4 times a year is considerably more than that of the best art and antiques dealers. Moreover, no dealer could ever sell that quickly, as, unless he’s planning to go about of business, he could never as quickly obtain replacement stock.

We have heard the argument made that higher traffic retailers do just that, bring more trade into the neighborhood and presumably more foot traffic into adjacent, established galleries. Not likely. The numbers of buyers for the $5,000 couture evening frock are far inestimably more numerous than those for the six or seven figure antique or work of art. For us, no question about it, what brings in traffic that are more than just browsers are the dealers that are nearby. The notion of a crossover buyer that does not exist between luxury mass marketer and gallery exists in spades between galleries.

All this was brought to mind reading a little squib about the tax increases felt most significantly by a small group of antiquarian booksellers in a small but centuries old venue in London’s West End. With all of them small in size and individually owned, they are an easier target for any sort of predation than a large, publically held company that can afford to fight back- or, more likely, give pause to anyone that sought to pick them out as a financial target. In the case of London specifically and the UK generally, there is an awareness that art and antiques venues constitute an important part of the nation’s cultural heritage, and there is a movement afoot to provide some sort of protection, including tax relief, to allow dealers to afford to carry on in business. Hopefully this effort will bear fruit before it’s too late. Even for those who can financially afford to carry on, we’ve seen too often in the last few years that sometimes it is just a matter of a much-harried dealer throwing in the towel.

Whether it is Bond Street in London, the Quai Voltaire in Paris, or Jackson Square in San Francisco, and we can all name plenty of others, venues form a fascinating part of the urban landscape and, local government take note, should be cherished.

The redoubtable Brian Haughton sent out an email blast today, the formal announcement of his new fair ‘Art Antiques London’, scheduled for 9 to 16 June. The venue will be a marquee in Kensington Gardens, opposite the Royal Albert Hall. Time will tell, for Haughton and the 60 dealers he promises in attendance, what this venue will bring. It has worked for decades for the Proms, so who knows?

Although an exhibitor list is not yet forthcoming, one presumes a good selection of English antiques. What is not apparent yet is the competition for those dealers amongst the newly reorganized Olympia fair, and what might still emerge as a son of Grosvenor House, its organization still being talked over amidst the former Grosvenor House grandees. For myself, visiting the fairs on my own and with clients, two running simultaneously was all I could hope to take in. More than that- it can be too much of a good thing. Moreover, not all London dealers participate in even the local fairs. Antiques shoppers, whether they be other dealers, collectors, or interior designers appear finite in number and those from abroad also wish to take in some of the non-exhibiting London and countryside galleries and salesrooms. Their time, patience, shoe leather, and money is finite, too. It remains to be seen what the new bevy of fairs will offer, besides good quality dealers, that will make the upcoming London antiques season stand out. Lacking an extravaganza that attracts a goodly number of new buyers, the fairs may find they’ve done not much more than dilute the fairs’ effect, with the same number of punters spread around more venues.