Website Update

Well, after almost 5 years (can't believe it has been that long) I have updated the website. Not much but added a 'Canadian Art' page and added a link to this blog on the 'News & Views' page.

All this is part of my new effort to re-energize my business and marketing approach.

It's a scary world out there with Facebook, Twitter, Linked In, blogging and well, the list goes on! Not sure where it's all heading but it's kinda fun to discover these new mediums, they keep me feeling current and energized about my business and life in general in some strange way.

I always find it a little ironic too, dealing with 'old things' and using such new technology to help me.

Canadian Studio Pottery

Canadian studio pottery is a mystery to many in our industry, and this is why I think it’s a great area to start collecting.

The Canadian craft scene has always been very active, and this certainly holds true for the studio potters.

There seemed to be a real surge of it during the late 1960s-70s, at least from my perspective. I can remember my Aunt Jane using hand thrown bowls made from beige clay very typical of Ontario and Quebec pottery from that period, for her salads and desserts. And as we comb through estates we see lots of it, vases, dishes, bowls and even figures, much from the same period. I think in some ways it came about as a result of the whole ‘hippy’ or earthy movement, people wanting a lifestyle that looked towards simpler wholesome living, making our own breads and almost going back to basics. This was perhaps an effort to distance themselves from the June Cleavers of the 1950s-60s who loved entertaining in high style with fancy dishes filled with bridge sandwiches made from Klik ham.

Anyways, as a result we find all kinds of studio pottery around today, and most of it remains a mystery. There are all kinds of wonderful shapes and designs that only bear a cryptic cipher or a scribble across the bottom. And with no definitive book out there deciphering these mystery marks we are left guessing many times as to who these artists and potters were.

Additionally I think that the pottery of this period has yet to come into its own. It has not become fully appreciated by enough collectors yet, and while there has always been a devoted audience for it, I think it has the potential to really gain momentum in the collecting field.

So get to know some of the BIG names in Canadian pottery, Deichmann, Harlander, Lorenzens, Jean Cartier, but don’t forget the lesser known guys like Jarko Zavi, L&M Designs and The Five Potters. Become familiar with the signatures, look for their designs and always keep an eye out for good form and decoration. These are some of the collectibles of tomorrow.

The Victorian Couch

There are a few things we get calls about that make us cringe. Cringe because we unfortunately know that there is next to no market for. One of those 'albatrosses' is the antique / Victorian / camel back sofa.

The fact is that they are usually too low for modern seating arrangements, need costly re-upholstering and repair and are rarely comfortable. Newly reupholstered antique pieces don't cut it either, they generally won't be right for their new buyer and then there's the hygiene issue of using 'another person's sofa'.

The reality is that you can buy a new sofa in a store like the Art Shoppe or even IKEA in your own choice of fabric and shape and have it delivered to your door in 6-8 weeks, avoiding all the problems of an antique piece of seating.

So, unless you're sitting on a really, really special antique couch, chances are it's not worth much if anything at all.

Manage Your Collections!

I was browsing the web a while back and came across a great article about collections and the burden they can place on loved ones once we're gone.

It was really food for thought, realizing that not only does it present a burden, but alot of the knowledge and understanding is in our heads, and if we go so goes that important stuff that is so crucial to the collection. Like obtaining fair value for it when it is dispersed or sold. Your expert knowledge and even provenance add value to things and cannot easily be transfered to loved ones and are often forgotten once we are gone.

So I think you'll find this article pause for thought as I did;

Their Treasure, Your Burden

Enjoy.

Best in Show

We were sitting at one of our estate sales this afternoon and chatting with a friend of a friend who was helping us out at the sale. In his ‘real’ life he’s a documentary film maker, and the crowd and process struck him as something that might make an interesting documentary. We all kind of chuckled.

However he had a good point; it doesn’t really matter what the subject is, as long as there are interesting personalities – a good story is in there somewhere. And if there is one thing this industry has is it's ‘interesting personalities’. The conversation turned to Christopher Guest’s ‘Best in Show’ and well, you can imagine the laughs we had.

His observation got me thinking.

For as much as this business is centered around objects, it’s really the people that make it so compelling. Not only the cast of characters that chase after this stuff and sell it and horde it and seemingly worship it (myself included), but the people that touched it along the way, the person that created it, the one who loved it, first received it or gave it away. It’s really the history that we find as alluring as the object itself, sometimes even more so.

And I can’t let this go without giving a shout out to the people that work with me, Steve, Kay, John and the list goes on. For as much as our business is centered around objects, the people who you share it with also help bring it to life.

After all stuff is just stuff; and really we’re only renting it until the next owner takes possession. But it’s the people we meet along the way, the lives we touch and that touch us - that’s what brings this stuff to life.

Vintage Furniture ~The Goods

So enough about furniture that doesn’t sell; what about furniture that does? What follows is a list of furniture that I find to be still desirable in the market, at least here in Toronto.

1. Art Deco furniture
2. Art Nouveau furniture
3. Arts & Crafts furniture
4. 1950s & 60s teak and rosewood furniture
5. 1950s & 60s Scandinavian designed furniture
6. 1950s & 60s modern style furniture
7. 1950s & 60s painted Italian furniture (Florentine, etc)
8. 1960s, 70s, 80s chrome, glass and Lucite furniture
9. English Georgian and earlier antique furniture
10. Any piece of furniture with a designer’s name attached to it

As you can see, it’s primarily ‘modern’ style furniture that is in current style; clean lines rule the day.

We often find the most saleable styles of furniture (in particular 1950s-60s Scandinavian modern) were purchased by architects, artists and other like minded people with modern tastes and an eye on design and construction. They often still love the furniture they bought all those years ago, or their children do, making them a rarer find in todays market.