|
Aside from being lucky, learning how to pace and balance one's business is the art of dealing one off items like antiques. As a young dealer, you tend to leap towards everything. In my case, I made some rash decisions. And when I say rash, I mean disastrous. Some of those things ended up at home, some ended up in auction, usually making a solid loss, but in some cases, rarely as it happened, selling extraordinarily well. (I am thinking of a pair of secretary bookcases that I bought thinking that someone would want a pair, but after three years, giving up on them. I bought them at a Christie's sale for $6,000 and they made $30,000 at Sotheby's.) The pace of business is very hard to define when you are selling one-off items. You never know who is going to need what. There are times when having a gallery filled with great things just isn't enough due to reasons that are beyond your control. Not having them is equally perilous, of course, because you have to have inventory. Finding the right pace and balance is finding that mysterious spot--the right goods, the right clients, the right economy--it's a crapshoot at the best of times and a terrible business model.
Accrued knowledge of antiques that comes with experience can alter the enthusiasm you can have about items. Years ago, I was at a Wendy Show in White Plains (the Wendys, mother and daughter, used to manage shows, some at the Armory in New York and several in White Plains in Westchester) when I saw a really lovely late 18th century sideboard. It even had a label of the makers whose name I have forgotten--they were from Guildford in Surrey. I have also forgotten who the dealers were, but they had a very good booth. I bought the sideboard for about $18,000 if I remember correctly. That particular model of sideboard by these makers always made good prices in auctions, usually in the $20,000 range, and dealers would ask up to $75,000 for them. They were a reliable commodity that reflected the great craftsmanship and good design of the late 18th century. I sold my sideboard to an English dealer, I think, for a short profit, as I already had two sideboards in my gallery in Pound Ridge, neither as good as this one.
As it happens, I was offered one of these Guildford made sideboards recently. They are just as nice as always--beautifully made with good proportions. I like them as much now as ever. I was sorely tempted, I have to say, but sideboards are no longer in demand. People don't use them anymore even though I was certain I would be able to, at some point, sell this one. The problem, however, wasn't so much that I could sell it, the problem was when I would sell it. If I knew an English dealer who wanted one, I could go for a short profit, but no English dealer I know wants a sideboard, no matter how good. Like me, they know that selling it will take a good amount of time--serving tables and side tables are selling, but not sideboards. My desire to own a very good thing was deferred by the reality that I can't wait for the right customer anymore. My desire to purchase something just because it is good has been tempered. The pace is just a little slower these days. The balance is totally skewiff.
|
