We’ve wound down our Jump Start sale, with this coming Monday the last day. The ides of March? No oracular visions, so we did not beware. If anyone else had presentiments, they ignored them, too, as the sale has been pretty well received. There are, I am happy to report, a fair number of buyers of English antiques abroad in the land.
What’s interesting, too, is that our buyers seem to be of a pleasing demographic, falling into what a decade ago was termed the X generation. As I recall, they were, as a group, characterized by disillusionment with the materialism of their baby-boomer parents. Club culture at night, and slacking off during the day does not seem to mesh, however, with the body of our younger collectors.
But, then, it occurred to me that our cadre of collector customers all share a similarity of interests, and that age doesn’t really signify. What does, though, is the commonality of purpose that the word ‘collector’ implies. Keith and I started out as collectors, and our galleries are the ultimate expression of our own collecting bent. We can, therefore, through discussions with us allow someone not less passionate, but perhaps less acquisitive than Keith and me to benefit from our avocation. It’s interesting, having a word with a colleague in the antiques trade yesterday, he opined how well off a collector is that links up with a dealer with whom they feel comfortable, as that dealer will put in front of them in short order items that the collector, on his own, may take years to find.
And, frankly, Keith and I do that nearly every day, suggesting items to collectors. We speak to a certain few collectors weekly, and some almost daily. It is a joyous interchange, I can tell you.