by Guy Apter
Recently returned from the Winter Antiques Show in New York, we felt compelled to put pen to paper to give a short run down on our experience at the show and what that means for the market.
As always, it is a delight to attend. The organisers were as keen as ever to ensure our experience went smoothly and create an atmosphere that is conducive to making sales. We achieved a great deal of publicity, with the highlight being the illustration of our Red Japanned Bureau cabinet in the New York Times and being featured in an article in the Art Newspaper.
Business at last year’s show was certainly effected by Trump’s election and inauguration. However, this year the show occurred in far more favourable circumstances. Taxes are down, the stock market is up 25% on the year and people were keen to spend.
We have spent many years developing our approach and we would sum it up with one word: attractive, used three times.
Attractive piece, attractive display and attractive price.
More particularly, we take a broad range of styles and forms and allow each item the space required to be seen. Judging from the compliments, we did not disappoint. Indeed, with a record number of sales, our approach was correct and we sold across the board. Sales included lighting, objects and furniture.
We select each item on colour, patination, originality and value. This can be illustrated clearly by the wonderful bench in the image below. This was in untouched condition with a rich patina and being priced sensibly, it sold within an hour of the opening.
What became abundantly clear during the course of the show was that there is an increased interest in and demand for fine pieces of English furniture.