More from Ben Spaisman

I asked Ben Spaisman, president of the new online site Bond & Bowery, to show me the object he’s been most coveting on his site….readers, what’s yours?

Also, I asked him what trends he’s seeing (Hint: it’s all about the web now), and for more details on the Dallas, Houston and Austin acquisitions this summer.

Hi Rebecca,

Thank you so much for your gracious reply and for including us in your blog.
We are delighted to be part of this key Dallas news source. Our current
plans target the Dallas, Houston and Austin areas for acquisition efforts
this fall. We consider Texas a vibrant market that has been particularly
underserved with regard to the many excellent local antique and fine art
dealers being under represented on the web nationally. While our formal
recruitment efforts won’t begin until September we invite all interested
dealers to apply at any time and take advantage of our special promotional
offers.
In answer to your question, the biggest trend that we see going forward is
the major migration of the antique and fine arts business to the web. As
more and more design professionals and collectors are using the internet to
shop and find unique inventory pieces (regardless of price points), dealers
are flocking to web sites such as ours, to gain worldwide reach and
professional marketing for their products. All of this is done at a fraction
of the cost and time of traditional methods. Declining attendance and rising
costs for dealers to exhibit at antique shows serve to confirm this trend.

As for furnishings themselves, the luxury market remains strong with the
$2000-$3000+ accessory or accent furniture selling well, as are “investment
pieces”. This is fueled by the current trend of mixing a variety of periods
and styles together in a traditional environment to provide a seamless blend
of the old and new. For a more in depth description of this process please
feel free to take a look at the weekly column By George! written by one of
our principals George Evans on the www.Design2Share.com site. In it he
selects items from our site and describes their history and how they can be
used.

I will be happy to keep you posted on our upcoming Texas initiative and
would like to suggest that you register on our site to receive our weekly
“new listings” email. I urge all of your readers to visit our site as well
and see for themselves the unique pieces displayed by the finest dealers
nationally and around the world. Thank you again for taking the time to
visit our site and for your feedback.

Best

Ben Spaisman