As with most other industries which have had to dramatically adapt during the last ten years in order to remain both desirable and competitive, within the antiques trade there exists a number of variables which have been staggeringly difficult to overcome for most dealers in the retail environment. This is clearly exemplified by a significant number of long-standing, leading dealers throughout the US as well as England closing in recent years. This is a telling reflection of the state of the industry as well as an ominous sign for the future of collecting antiques.

I personally believe that the single most damaging factor to the industry over the last ten years, and the one which has been mostly not addressed within the trade, has been the increasing amount of marketing and alternatives targeted at both the younger consumer  as well as the middle class. Both of these are the traditional area from which collectors enter the market - over this period I have seen the range of client which even considers antiques dramatically shrink, and it is difficult to even consider our previous client base as potential clients.

Our reliance on single-mindedly chasing those with the greatest assets alone has caused us great harm.  This puts us at risk of losing everything, as well as the reason why we even work in this industry.  In effect, we have been chasing the money to our own detriment.  We also have not been creating and educating collectors on a wide enough scale. It’s not even anyone’s fault, per se. It’s just happened because everyone was just trying to keep up and remain in the industry because we love working in it.

However, I miss those old clients, as well as the genuine spirit in which they collected. They approach antiques with the finest intentions - they buy because they love them and ironically this is also where collectors are created. This is the entry point for a life-long love of antiques - or art. Or anything for that matter.

It is not a coincidence, nor a short-term design trend, that you are noticing more and more found-objects and recycled material being used in highly creative and sometimes quite stunning ways by young architects and interior designers in their work for clients in their 30’s and 40’s. It is not a coincidence that you are seeing more and more reproductions out there -particularly of the catalog company variety. It is not a coincidence that there’s hardly an antique pictured in the pages of leading home design magazines. Its economics - and it has the potential to enrage everyone. I know that and so does everyone else.

However, for antiques to remain a viable option in terms of home décor, as well as collecting, they must be reinvented in terms of their availability, presentation and marketing. In addition, we must  educate consumers on a wider scale. We just have to acknowledge that. I urge you to achieve this goal in whatever manner you see fit.  Make improvements as you see fit to educate and motivate people to look at antiques. Educate them and they will love you for it. Know your inventory well and handle the best you can. Education will be key in improving the confusion that’s out there about antiques.

When I began blogging about the industry I did so out of a growing awareness of the extreme damage which was ocurring to the industry - from within as well as from outside influences. By nature, I am not what I would even call very political (honestly) -  but my main concern has always been about  the antiques themselves, the state of the antiques industry and the ever growing list of problems it faces, and it’s simply important to start talking about things rather than just pursuing the same short-sighted path.

I’ve worked in the trade for what seems like a lifetime for both auction houses as well as dealers handling everything from 18th-19th Century English, French and Continental furniture and decorative arts,  as well as  18th-19th Century art, as well as contemporary art in the mid-high range,  so I can’t claim exemption from politics or questions of perception. I cautiously work around  these issues, as we all do, and many of them I struggle with. There is no such thing as the entirely politically correct anything, or an entirely perfect anything, and there can’t be. It’s virtually impossible to define.  We all do our best. However, I do know the industry - I know antiques & art  and I do know that something has to give in order for it to continue to work over the long haul.

I just know - as well as most of you do - that we need to start addressing some issues. It can’t just be only about chasing the person with the most money, whoever it is -  because it will not work in the long run. There is only so much chasing we can do.  I also truly believe that it can be done based on a certain level of quality. I could be wrong - but its worth a shot.

The different sectors within the marketplace must start to communicate with one another and make whatever changes are necessary in order to make this happen. It’s just about the antiques. It’s not about politics. It’s not a marketing ploy, a way to gain attention or about selling anything.  The antiques industry is so very much about perception - just as the rest of life. I began working on my blog because I saw just how far the industry has fallen and I wish for us not to keep relying on the same methods to keep antiques a part of everyone’s lives.

I say these things while promoting no one in particular. I’m not even promoting myself. It’s just a reflection of where we are now.  Please try to affect some sort of change, where ever and however you do it.