Really good "brown" furnture is going for nothing on the US side of the pond as well. People aren't snapping up the bargains, but why? I think it's something to do with the very spotty nature of this recession -- some people are affected by it terribly, others hardly at all. The ones who still have money have stopped spending it, because they feel guilty indulging themselves when others are suffering. This is where the Green side of antiques can help. Something Green is something people can feel good, not guilty, about buying. (Brown is Green?) Buying antques really IS good for the planet -- it's not just a marketing slogan, it's the absolute truth. That's why we made the video "Antiques R Green" (upload pending if not below) to help get the word out. The more of us who spread the word, the better.
John Fiske. Antique Dealer (New Hampshire, USA)
Friday, 15 May 2009
Tuesday, 5 May 2009
SNOUTS IN TROUGH
As the reasons for embarking on a political career have descended from high ideals of selfless duty to a desire for power and its trimmings we have been subjected to sights of the most grotesque avarice from our esteemed leaders. The list of scandals is endless and it is amazing how often they have involved MPs lining their pockets and those of their families in ways that are at best underhand and at worst illegal. A recent revelation has involved a so called John Lewis list of furniture and furnishings which MPs can feather their ‘second nests’ to the tune of £22,000 a year. That’s on top of the mortgage interest repayments which are also covered and the £400 of shopping that can be done a month without any need to produce receipts. Quite why all this is necessary is unimportant, what is delightful for the rest of us is to see the content of the list for a look into the coffee-sipping (from the £100 coffee maker they are entitled to) lives of our public servants.
MPs have hypocritically been trying to wriggle out of declaring their expenses for a while. At a time when everyone else is expected to be more transparent in their dealings than ever before it is remarkable that the ruling cabal see fit to hide their own excesses behind a smokescreen of parliamentary procedures and regulations. We can only hope that these Orwellian swine are forced to change their ways by the strength of public disgust with them. Recent local election results seem to show that the ruling party have certainly fallen foul of the man in the street as belts are tightened in the wake of the credit crunch. Perhaps further revelations will now be suppressed as in the last week MPs spent £100,000 on the appeal to prevent further disclosures about their expenses.
What irritates perhaps most, is not the greed or the hypocrisy, it is a clause written into the terms of the slush fund that the furnishings cannot be ‘antique, luxury or premium-grade’. As an auctioneer I can tell you that this clause is absurd.
It presupposes that an antique is automatically a luxury or premium grade item. When it comes to government spending we have had to get used to incompetence and a total failure to get value for money. I have no issue with John Lewis as they fulfil their role in the retail market, but show me a country saleroom and I will show you an antique dressing table for under £100 let alone the £500 quoted in the list. Government failure to get value for money or stick to budgets can be summed up by a few recent white elephants namely that monument to New Labours vanity the ‘Dome’, the Wembley debacle and more recently by the 2012 Olympics – great ideas on paper but ones which ended up costing the taxpayer far more than the projected amounts. Some politicians have axes to grind of axes and one of these concerns class issues. Perhaps antiques, even if they are cheaper than a new item, are not suitable because to some they have the whiff of country houses and elitism about them.
There are two reasons why I think this clause should be revoked and both should chime current thinking among the public and politicians. Famously Gordon Brown proclaimed himself as a ‘prudent’ chancellor so lets start with prudence.
If the furnishings for MPs second homes' furnishings were bought at auction a large saving could be made. I would suggest for starters that savings could be made on the dining table, £600 is actually quite modest for a dining table at retail level but at auction a 19th Century mahogany tilt top breakfast table could set you back £200. Next the £500 for a chest of drawers would buy you two standard Victorian examples. Instead of forking out £200 for ‘lamp tables’ (how bourgeois) you can pick up a late Georgian oak tripod table for £150. One of the biggest savings has to be the wardrobe, the listed allowance of £700 sounds modest for retail but the era of the built in wardrobe has helped to reduce the price of this sort of large furniture at auction. Ordinary Edwardian examples can make less than £50 at auction but why not go for a really decent bit of furniture - a linen press, these were once a staple of the business and worth £1000-1500 for a standard example in mahogany, prices have slumped to as low as £400-600 at auction and you get a lot for your money.
As well as making a saving on the purchase price antique items will hold their value better than modern items which generally have no resale value. Some of the items might gain in value over the period of a parliament and if a sitting MP was ousted the items could be dispersed at a profit. Think of the size of the sale after the next election!!
Secondly, we are being asked more than ever to be ‘eco friendly’ in our lives. Coming from people who fly business class to Bali for conferences on global warming this is pretty rich, but the environment is now a key political battleground. When we are encouraged to recycle I always think of antique furniture as the ultimate example; it may have been owned by many generations of one family or by many different families, either way it is of a quality that will last for centuries. The cold reality for much cheap mass produced furniture of the sort favoured by young people now that we are all ‘minimalists’ is that much of it ends its life at a landfill site. Much of it has been made from pale soft woods and is not built to last. It is cheap but that cheapness is a false economy when viewed long-term. The fact that our ‘throw-away society has reached a stage where even furniture gets thrown away horrifies many people, we need to realise that the environmental effects of mass producing things cheaply (whether it be chickens, cars or chairs) outweigh the benefits. The trouble for MPs is that the availability of cheap consumer items is key to winning votes. They could begin setting an example and offsetting the environmental cost of their ‘two Jags’ lifestyles by buying furniture which has not been made from fast growing wood and chemically treated and that will last far longer than any political career.
As an auctioneer I cannot understand why the industry I work in has been singled out by Government in this way. The same rules do not apply to the cars MPs drive which certainly seem premium grade to me. Perhaps they feel that antiques are inappropriate for MPs because they are built to last, good quality, economic and eco friendly, everything the modern MP is not.
MPs have hypocritically been trying to wriggle out of declaring their expenses for a while. At a time when everyone else is expected to be more transparent in their dealings than ever before it is remarkable that the ruling cabal see fit to hide their own excesses behind a smokescreen of parliamentary procedures and regulations. We can only hope that these Orwellian swine are forced to change their ways by the strength of public disgust with them. Recent local election results seem to show that the ruling party have certainly fallen foul of the man in the street as belts are tightened in the wake of the credit crunch. Perhaps further revelations will now be suppressed as in the last week MPs spent £100,000 on the appeal to prevent further disclosures about their expenses.
What irritates perhaps most, is not the greed or the hypocrisy, it is a clause written into the terms of the slush fund that the furnishings cannot be ‘antique, luxury or premium-grade’. As an auctioneer I can tell you that this clause is absurd.
It presupposes that an antique is automatically a luxury or premium grade item. When it comes to government spending we have had to get used to incompetence and a total failure to get value for money. I have no issue with John Lewis as they fulfil their role in the retail market, but show me a country saleroom and I will show you an antique dressing table for under £100 let alone the £500 quoted in the list. Government failure to get value for money or stick to budgets can be summed up by a few recent white elephants namely that monument to New Labours vanity the ‘Dome’, the Wembley debacle and more recently by the 2012 Olympics – great ideas on paper but ones which ended up costing the taxpayer far more than the projected amounts. Some politicians have axes to grind of axes and one of these concerns class issues. Perhaps antiques, even if they are cheaper than a new item, are not suitable because to some they have the whiff of country houses and elitism about them.
There are two reasons why I think this clause should be revoked and both should chime current thinking among the public and politicians. Famously Gordon Brown proclaimed himself as a ‘prudent’ chancellor so lets start with prudence.
If the furnishings for MPs second homes' furnishings were bought at auction a large saving could be made. I would suggest for starters that savings could be made on the dining table, £600 is actually quite modest for a dining table at retail level but at auction a 19th Century mahogany tilt top breakfast table could set you back £200. Next the £500 for a chest of drawers would buy you two standard Victorian examples. Instead of forking out £200 for ‘lamp tables’ (how bourgeois) you can pick up a late Georgian oak tripod table for £150. One of the biggest savings has to be the wardrobe, the listed allowance of £700 sounds modest for retail but the era of the built in wardrobe has helped to reduce the price of this sort of large furniture at auction. Ordinary Edwardian examples can make less than £50 at auction but why not go for a really decent bit of furniture - a linen press, these were once a staple of the business and worth £1000-1500 for a standard example in mahogany, prices have slumped to as low as £400-600 at auction and you get a lot for your money.
As well as making a saving on the purchase price antique items will hold their value better than modern items which generally have no resale value. Some of the items might gain in value over the period of a parliament and if a sitting MP was ousted the items could be dispersed at a profit. Think of the size of the sale after the next election!!
Secondly, we are being asked more than ever to be ‘eco friendly’ in our lives. Coming from people who fly business class to Bali for conferences on global warming this is pretty rich, but the environment is now a key political battleground. When we are encouraged to recycle I always think of antique furniture as the ultimate example; it may have been owned by many generations of one family or by many different families, either way it is of a quality that will last for centuries. The cold reality for much cheap mass produced furniture of the sort favoured by young people now that we are all ‘minimalists’ is that much of it ends its life at a landfill site. Much of it has been made from pale soft woods and is not built to last. It is cheap but that cheapness is a false economy when viewed long-term. The fact that our ‘throw-away society has reached a stage where even furniture gets thrown away horrifies many people, we need to realise that the environmental effects of mass producing things cheaply (whether it be chickens, cars or chairs) outweigh the benefits. The trouble for MPs is that the availability of cheap consumer items is key to winning votes. They could begin setting an example and offsetting the environmental cost of their ‘two Jags’ lifestyles by buying furniture which has not been made from fast growing wood and chemically treated and that will last far longer than any political career.
As an auctioneer I cannot understand why the industry I work in has been singled out by Government in this way. The same rules do not apply to the cars MPs drive which certainly seem premium grade to me. Perhaps they feel that antiques are inappropriate for MPs because they are built to last, good quality, economic and eco friendly, everything the modern MP is not.
Friday, 1 May 2009
Henry Sandon & Iain Brunt's take on the Industry
Last year many antique and fine art dealers were forced to close their premises as a direct result of high rent and business rate increases, at a faster rate than in previous recessions. While the Chancellor’s rethink on the previously tabled increase in business rates shows some sensitivity to the needs of businesses, it does not do enough to help this often overlooked sector. In 2007 the UK’s antiques and art industry generated revenue of £4 billion. Global revenue from the art and antiques market was £40 billion in 2007, the UK’s contribution therefore represented 10 per cent of the global market share. In 2008, however, there was a significant fall to £2.75 billion. While other sectors are receiving help from the Government, the antiques industry — which is partly reliant on the housing market — does not. Even the recent VAT reduction does not help us. The antiques industry creates jobs in tourism, shipping, transport and conservation.
At a local level, antique shops provide an important draw to country towns, helping other local shops and businesses. Every closure leaves a gap in provincial streetscapes. On an ecological level, the antiques industry encourages the re-use of old and beautiful things, reducing landfill and new-goods consumption. With sterling at its lowest for some considerable time, UK products are once again attractive to overseas buyers. With some marketing support from the Government, we could be using this opportunity to reach the world market for antiques.
- Iain Michael Brunt (Ledsham, Leeds) and
- Henry Sandon (Worcester)
Wednesday, 22 April 2009
A&A must get the message out
I am a gen-y female earner-spender - always looking to decorate the home with goods for the very mod-com household here in London. I think you'd be surprised to find that us young things are getting back to basics in search of the beautiful and the unique - we don't all look to Bose & Ikea for furnishing solutions! And more of us are also starting to look to more sustainable/environmental purchases - even more reason to 'recycle' beautiful things as apposed to purchasing new mass-produced space-fillers.
Perhaps there is a lack of education in terms of investing in antiques - understanding the value in each A & A, beyond appeal- probably why you don't see us time-poor gen-y's turning up at your sales.
But rest-assured with a bit of WOM marketing more Gen Ys will be purchasing!
22.4.09 London - TM by email
Perhaps there is a lack of education in terms of investing in antiques - understanding the value in each A & A, beyond appeal- probably why you don't see us time-poor gen-y's turning up at your sales.
But rest-assured with a bit of WOM marketing more Gen Ys will be purchasing!
22.4.09 London - TM by email
Thursday, 16 April 2009
"An imporant consideration in the days ahead ..."
The third quarter headline on the RICS Art & Antiques website reads:“Activity slows due to housing market downturn, but top end is still buoyant.” This follows the second quarter headline: “Super rich bolster the market” and the first quarter,“Investments in arts and antiquescontinue to rise”. Perhaps fourth quarter headline should read ‘A year is a long time in the Art World’.
The first 3/4 of the year was influenced internationally by the strength of the Modern and Impressionist Art Market rather than the traditional art & antiques however. In recent sales this modern bubble appears to be bursting, as predicted for sometime, bringing the art world to the brink of collapse as happened in 1990. We have seen the economic chaos at the top end of that market bring financial worries to us all.
The Government created fiscal changes to cushion a blow that will knock many out later. The traditional, commercial auction market place has had to cope with a down turn in many areas of “antiques” for the past seven years. Despite ‘50% Off’’ furniture being advertised in many of the country’s larger department stores, prices there are many times higher than antique furniture being sold at auction;the latter being both of superior materials and workmanship.We must continue to bring this observation to the attention of the public, letting the world know just how much better value an antique is compared to the modern equivalent. An important consideration in the days ahead, where greater saving will have an important role to play in all our lives.
Perfect for a Flat
We are currently in a buyer's market for Victorian and 'everyday' antiques. Particular areas in the
doldrums are furniture, watercolours, silver, plate and glass. These categories have been undervalued since the 1980s. Auctioneers have tried to promote Victorian furniture as a quality affordable way to furnish a home.
Sadly the fashion for cheap pale furniture and minimalist interiors has held sway and the middle market remains flat. For example, good quality mahogany breakfast tables in 2008s sales were struggling to meet estimates of as little as £300- £400. Given that the size of these tables is perfect for a flat or small house, it seems ridiculous that people are happy to pay more for a low quality modern example.
For the first time house buyer, brown furniture now represents a solid investment. Not only is it often cheaper and better quality, it will also hold its
value and will increase in value when fashion finally comes full circle. Modern furniture has little or
no resale value and often ends its life in a landfill site!
doldrums are furniture, watercolours, silver, plate and glass. These categories have been undervalued since the 1980s. Auctioneers have tried to promote Victorian furniture as a quality affordable way to furnish a home.
Sadly the fashion for cheap pale furniture and minimalist interiors has held sway and the middle market remains flat. For example, good quality mahogany breakfast tables in 2008s sales were struggling to meet estimates of as little as £300- £400. Given that the size of these tables is perfect for a flat or small house, it seems ridiculous that people are happy to pay more for a low quality modern example.
For the first time house buyer, brown furniture now represents a solid investment. Not only is it often cheaper and better quality, it will also hold its
value and will increase in value when fashion finally comes full circle. Modern furniture has little or
no resale value and often ends its life in a landfill site!
Tuesday, 14 April 2009
THE DEATH OF THE DINING ROOM?
AN AUCTIONEER’S PERSPECTIVE
Recent reports that the dining room may be extinct by 2020 have come as no surprise to regional auctioneers. Anybody in the antiques trade will tell you that this process has been going on for some time. In recent years the way we live our day to day lives has changed out of recognition.With couples both at work in the day, convenience foods and microwave meals have replaced proper home cooking for many people.
For others the television set has replaced the dining table as a focus for family bonding. Just as church attendance is booming at Christmas while dropping away in the rest of the year, eating in the dining room is an intrinsic part of major holidays like Easter and Christmas but neglected at other times. While they may be little used, dining rooms still have strong cultural associations with the coming together of families. Using a dining room once ortwice a year doesn’t make sense for those with little space to spare. For some it becomes a playroom for children, others convert it into a supplementary sitting room or guest bedroom. Alternatively walls are knocked through to make open plan ‘living areas’.
With the rise of the internet and the consequent boom in ‘working from home’, dining rooms often end up as offices too. This shift in lifestyles has seriously affected the financial value of ordinary antique furniture. In the 1980s it was hugely popular with American buyers. These were the days when basic Georgian and Victorian dining tables were selling for thousands of pounds and large dealers and exporters could go to sales and buy nearly all the furniture lots for export. Sadly for vendors and for auctioneers, those days are gone. People who purchased furniture in the boom years often get an unpleasant surprise when an updated valuation reveals that some items are worth less now than when they were purchased.
This gloomy state of affairs should have us all rushing to buy antique furniture.
As fewer houses contain dining rooms, having one will come to have a cachet of its own and filling it with antiques is a wise investment. Not only should it last longer than modern furniture, it has an intrinsic quality and beauty. Secondly, with prices already at rock bottom for standard pieces, it may prove sounderthan the shaky stock market. Should the worst happen, at least you will have a set of chairs toshow for your money… more comfortable to sit on than a valueless share certificate.
Rather than‘knocking through’, thereby losing the privacy of an enclosed room, why not use dining rooms as multi purpose spaces? If you need an office take advantage of the infinite variety within antique furniture styles; use a Victorian pedestal sideboard (currently very good value) as a filing cabinet for example.
Many dining tables will extend through addition of leaves or have tilt-tops, meaning they need not take up lots of room when not in use. Alternatively use the dining table as a desk – plenty of room to spread those papers out (but make sure to protect the surface from scratches). With imagination, the dining room should be able to shine at special family gatherings while being functional in other ways for the rest of the year. Many auctioneers have stopped selling Victorian and Edwardian furniture, preferring to concentrate on that end of the market where certain items can still reach extraordinary prices, but at Simon Chorley Art & Antiques, as at many provincial firms, the aim is to offer a wide range of antiques suitable for all pockets.
If you haven’t been to our saleroom or watched a sale on line, you may be surprised to see what bargains there are to be had, particularly if you are looking for the sort of furniture suitable for a kitchen or dining room. Minimalism may currently rule the roost but when fashions change, as they will, it pays to be ahead of the game.
Stylish breakfast table,a steal at £170, Nov 07
Fruitwood table from our Jan 08 sale, a bargain at £150
Recent reports that the dining room may be extinct by 2020 have come as no surprise to regional auctioneers. Anybody in the antiques trade will tell you that this process has been going on for some time. In recent years the way we live our day to day lives has changed out of recognition.With couples both at work in the day, convenience foods and microwave meals have replaced proper home cooking for many people.
For others the television set has replaced the dining table as a focus for family bonding. Just as church attendance is booming at Christmas while dropping away in the rest of the year, eating in the dining room is an intrinsic part of major holidays like Easter and Christmas but neglected at other times. While they may be little used, dining rooms still have strong cultural associations with the coming together of families. Using a dining room once ortwice a year doesn’t make sense for those with little space to spare. For some it becomes a playroom for children, others convert it into a supplementary sitting room or guest bedroom. Alternatively walls are knocked through to make open plan ‘living areas’.
With the rise of the internet and the consequent boom in ‘working from home’, dining rooms often end up as offices too. This shift in lifestyles has seriously affected the financial value of ordinary antique furniture. In the 1980s it was hugely popular with American buyers. These were the days when basic Georgian and Victorian dining tables were selling for thousands of pounds and large dealers and exporters could go to sales and buy nearly all the furniture lots for export. Sadly for vendors and for auctioneers, those days are gone. People who purchased furniture in the boom years often get an unpleasant surprise when an updated valuation reveals that some items are worth less now than when they were purchased.
This gloomy state of affairs should have us all rushing to buy antique furniture.
As fewer houses contain dining rooms, having one will come to have a cachet of its own and filling it with antiques is a wise investment. Not only should it last longer than modern furniture, it has an intrinsic quality and beauty. Secondly, with prices already at rock bottom for standard pieces, it may prove sounderthan the shaky stock market. Should the worst happen, at least you will have a set of chairs toshow for your money… more comfortable to sit on than a valueless share certificate.
Rather than‘knocking through’, thereby losing the privacy of an enclosed room, why not use dining rooms as multi purpose spaces? If you need an office take advantage of the infinite variety within antique furniture styles; use a Victorian pedestal sideboard (currently very good value) as a filing cabinet for example.
Many dining tables will extend through addition of leaves or have tilt-tops, meaning they need not take up lots of room when not in use. Alternatively use the dining table as a desk – plenty of room to spread those papers out (but make sure to protect the surface from scratches). With imagination, the dining room should be able to shine at special family gatherings while being functional in other ways for the rest of the year. Many auctioneers have stopped selling Victorian and Edwardian furniture, preferring to concentrate on that end of the market where certain items can still reach extraordinary prices, but at Simon Chorley Art & Antiques, as at many provincial firms, the aim is to offer a wide range of antiques suitable for all pockets.
If you haven’t been to our saleroom or watched a sale on line, you may be surprised to see what bargains there are to be had, particularly if you are looking for the sort of furniture suitable for a kitchen or dining room. Minimalism may currently rule the roost but when fashions change, as they will, it pays to be ahead of the game.
Stylish breakfast table,a steal at £170, Nov 07
Fruitwood table from our Jan 08 sale, a bargain at £150
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