Hardy Antiques - Wither the trade

Wither the trade

Last week's conversations seemed to be about the trade and its future. It was raised by my next door neighbour, one of my customers and on twitter (@HardyAntiques). None of them talked to the other, so I suppose somehow it must be me guiding the convo, but it felt totally random. First was my customer who asked about the trade. He is of the view that it's dead. Then next door came in to tell me that one of the best and sharpest traders about is closing his retro unit down and that his purchase of mid-century things has dwindled to almost nothing recently. But the bugger still managed to buy a pair of good early 20thC bedside cabinets from under my nose! Still smarting. And then, on Twitter the chat turned to centres being dead, and one factor being the way they are mixing old and new which simply confuses buyers. To top it all, a day or so later I found out that our local painted furniture emporium, the shabby chit centre, has closed its doors for the last time.
But the questions remains: where is Antiques as a trade going? Does it even have a future? If you believe the rumours and some of the press, you could be forgiven for thinking that it is as dead as a Monty Python parrot. And that is very dead. But it's not. Not quite, anyway. It has been tough, that's for sure, and you have to work really hard to get that 'buy', but its not dead. Its just different. And that means new opportunities as well as some closed avenues. Yes, a lot has changed, as fashions always will, and just because something was popular a generation ago doesn't mean it is going to rise again. I pity all those people with sub-Danish teak furniture for example, just as those left with rooms full of post-war utility furniture are struggling to get rid of it now even the grey-painters don't buy it any more.
Aside: I think, although I wasn't around (don't be cheeky), there are strong parallels between the fifties and nowadays. Maybe a bit more digging into my theory will yield a new post - how lucky are you? Spoiled, I'd say. Anyway, back to the main theme....
The way things are right now I think that we traders need to be across everything: shop (high st), social media, website, trade portals such as Antiques Atlas and so on - really encompassing as much as you can. Trouble is they all cost money. Just sitting here, selling nothing, costs me a fortune every month (eight lights on all day every day for example) (and you want me to take HOW MUCH?!), and in all honesty I am not as diversified as I could be (recommendations of other avenues more than welcome - the buttons at the end of this post will take you straight to my social media)
Are centres dead, was one of the other questions? I think they may be. I've had space in six different ones and although they are all still going (some barely), the nature of what they sell has changed a great deal. They all now mix old and new; some more than others, but because of their very nature the mix is random. One of my ex-centres has fallen down the quality ladder quite some distance, reflected, I think, in the level of trade they see now and thus increased dealer turnover. I think people find centres confusing. I also think that this may be because centres are not able to stamp a clear retail vision, a unified 'look', on their premises. And is if to prove my point I immediately can think of one exception that has a very strong look. That's because the people who run it have a very definite view of what they want. Auction houses are always a good bell-weather of trends. More and more of them are offering a, shall we say, increasingly 'social' experience. They gear sales to an interior 'look' and offer cafes. The best of them have a really strong luxury store feel to their layout. I just wish I had the space and capital to do that.
Yes painted guff may be behind us at last - you know, the ubiquitous grey chalk painted stuff - and mid-century may at last be seeing the sorting of the wheat from the chaff: much of the stuff made quickly in the 60's and 70's was pretty terrible, but some of it was as fine as the best antiques of the 18thC, and deserves to be collected. I suppose what I am saying here is what has always been true: that quality always has and will continue to survive. Which is why the centres selling (and I apologise in advance if this is you) handmade jewellery by someone who is disgruntled that they never made it to art college is wrong. If people want crafts they can get those in village craft centres, or at fetes. They come to centres and shops for something different, surely?
The future, in my view, is all about branding. We traders need to have something that customers can hook onto and remember. Plus we need to present stuff really well, and have an ability to find the 'look'. Show customers how that mahogany thing fits with that 20thC practical and beautiful whatumacallit. Because in my view, buyers nowadays are buying with their eyes: they have a much stronger sense of style than we used to (in my day: grandad) and whatever they buy, its got to go with their 'look'. That's the future. People don't want to see thousands of items locked away in cabinets. They want house and home beautiful. If we can show them how to do that, then we will be set fair for a long healthy and happy future.

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03/06/2016 Posted by Paul Hardy Tags: antiques

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