By Randall Decoteau
hot\’hat\ adj hot.ter: hot.test [ME, fr. OE hat: akin to OHG heiz hot, Lith kaisti to get hot] 6 a: unusually lucky or favorable b: temporarily capable of unusual performance c: currently popular
Did you ever wonder if the experts have a handle on what’s selling and what’s dead inventory in today’s market? Are there areas of collecting that represent particularly “good buys” for the beginning collector, perhaps things that may be overlooked by those focused on other categories? How about trends – do most people recognize patterns where certain categories are increasing or decreasing in importance? This month Northeast visits dealers on the front lines that are willing to talk at length on the subject.
 Robert Cianfrocca,
Salt Marsh Antiques,
224 Main Street,
Rowley, MA 01969,
(978) 948-7139, www.saltmarshantiques.com
I started buying and selling antiques from the cradle, but I opened the store in 1986. We clean out estates, so our merchandise ranges from soup to nuts. We have porcelain from the eighteenth century on up to the early twentieth century; we have fine furniture, lighting, artwork, paintings, toys, clocks, sterling silver, textiles, jewelry and more. Our shop features 6,000 square feet of merchandise on three floors. The place is packed.
Hot items here are man-related. We sell a lot of things that gentlemen collect. That would be hunting and fishing related items, advertising memorabilia and tools. Sterling silver is hot for us these days and small decorative furniture is popular with the women who shop here. Jewelry is a staple and is always good for us. Dead items right now are items that have price tags that date back to 2005. Finding the correct price that the customer is willing to pay is the key to selling merchandise. Everything is saleable at the right price. We are blessed as antiques dealers because we can adjust our prices allowing the customer to always leave with something.
‘Good buys’ for the beginning customer can often be things that are overlooked by those focused on other categories. Anything in terms of quality twentieth century furniture is good. We sell wonderful solid walnut and solid mahogany late Victorian and East Lake furniture where the pricing is good and the quality is excellent. I wouldn’t hesitate to steer a new collector in this direction. Solid investment furniture is trending up. Eighteenth century antique furniture and decorative objects with quality trade names are trends – like Stickley furniture, Waterford crystal, Merrimack pottery, Tiffany sterling or Craftsman metalwork.
 Mary Dacquino,
Seasons at Calmore,
519 Main Street, Route 113, Dunstable, MA 01827,
(978) 649-8882, www.seasonsatcalmore.com
I’ve been actively selling since 1993, but I’ve been buying a lot longer than that. I’ve always loved antiques. Customers see a lot of American and English white ironstone when they come to my shop. I love culinary-related antiques – French, English and American. There are lots of American country furniture, textiles, utilitarian linens and other household antiques. I also have a woman who makes things out of vintage fabrics, like pillows and bolsters. We also upholster footstools with vintage coverlets and other old fabrics.
I’m finding that architectural pieces are hot these days. Pieces for home decoration are also doing well. I notice also that younger collectors react to industrial/urban/warehouse salvage merchandise. They like wire-ware, architectural fragments made into lighting, mirrors and vintage hardware. I like a blend of old and new in my shop. We all have to adapt to the marketplace in order to do well. Large pieces of furniture and Oriental rugs are harder to sell right now, while small accent tables run out of the shop. Ironstone sells consistently well.
Yellow ware has come down in price considerably. Is it a bargain? Not really, but I find that things priced realistically will sell well and hold their values. Classic blue and white willow ware is a good buy right now and hotel plates are very collectible. Hotel ware is fun to use decoratively; it has function and it’s on the way to being hot. Cake stands are hot at holiday time. They sell well if you make an appealing display. It’s all how you market the merchandise. Buy more than one of an item and display it well because things sell better when featured in multiples.
Everything is cyclical, so if you watch the cycles and buy when the time is right, you’ll do ok. Trendy isn’t usually the way to go. Buy things that will retain the price you paid for it.
 Wayne Gamage,
Fairfield Antiques Mall,
382 Skowhegan Road,
Fairfield, ME 04937,
(207) 453-4100, www.fairfieldantiquesmall.com
We’ve been in the business since April of 1998 – almost a dozen years! With more than 100 vendors, we sell pretty much everything. Our shop is 22,000 square feet of showroom space on five floors. There’s furniture, glass, pottery, old tools, clocks, prints and paintings, rugs, lamps, jewelry and vintage clothing. We’ve got old toys, coins and postcards, too.
Right now we are selling a lot of furniture. You can’t go to a furniture store today and get the same quality that you got a 100 or more years ago, so antique furniture is a good buy. We’re known for primitive and country smalls and they’re hot these days. Anything good sells fast. What’s quiet right now? I’d say high end glass and collectibles like Hummels and Roseville. I think it’s because people today are buying more practical items. Vintage clothing is an area of collecting that’s trending up. I see the same with reloading equipment like bullets and bullet molds which are hot. It’s a good time to buy these. Another thing is sets of china from the early twentieth century. You can get some very good buys in this area right now.
Advertising pieces are selling more and more. We do a lot with costume jewelry and we always have people looking for silver and gold. Kitchen collectibles and cooking things are hot. I think that’s about nostalgia. As far as we are concerned, people are buying a little differently today, but they are still spending. Knock on wood. |
