2021 is a new year like no other and it started unlike many others, at home. Good thing, then, that online retail is an option, with a range of ways to buy art and antiques through a variety of platforms, including our own, at nicholaswells.com Did you know that 82 % of new art collectors bought online in 2020, up from just 36 % in 2019.
At Nichols Wells Antiques, we have also been busy online, highlighting our key pieces for our art and antiques hot monthly picks. Last month we highlighted our Murano Chandelier. This month, we are continuing on our glass theme, and have chosen some special glass for you from our latest finds.
The Val St Lambert cased Ruby over uranium palacio glass vase is a key piece for us here at Nicholas Wells Antiques (NWA). Not only does it look perfect on the ‘gram, but it’s provenance from the 1930’s and Belgian origins add to its allure. Which countries did it travel through to reach the British isles, we wonder? If only antiques could talk! This bright and sparkly piece is small and practical enough at 17 cm high and 17 cm in diameter, to be displayed in any home, with minimal care and attention needed.
We’ve also been speaking to specialists in the art and antiques industry, and have some great tips for trends in 2021 to look out for. Key trends for 2021 show that the focus on grey as a key colour theme will continue. Think Kim Kardashian - West’s collaboration with Axel Vervoordt. Light interior woods are also popular, as well as sustainable design and ‘modern rustic’ – a blend of the old with the new, which is what we love over here at NWA. Want a state of the art stainless steel kitchen station? No problem. Team it up with an antique sculpture or bust such as our Augustus Ceasar marble piece.
Statement pieces are also a great trend for 2021, and that’s definitely where we come in to the fore. With the focus on light and grey, make sure that you add splashes of colour to your home with something like our Ruby Val St Lambert glass vase.
Global Sales consultant Laura Harris spoke with CEO Scott Diament, of Palm Beach Show Group, to see what he thinks about trends for the year ahead. Regarding colour palettes, Diament also has noticed a trend for ‘White, light and airy’. However,’customers still want something interesting in their room’. Diament has sold across the board at his fairs, from bronzes, things made of wood and glass.
Diament says: ‘Because more people are buying online, signed pieces are a trend now and people are buying in a different way as there are less events. Signed pieces are even more valuable, it allows people to say ‘that’s an X, it denotes a certain quality level without actually being in front of it.’ This allows customers to make sure that a piece is authentic, without having to check it in person. ‘It’s hard to get size, scale and texture online. It can’t currently do everything and some things, it’s really bad at. We are in the luxury field, not the cookie cutter field.’
Regarding the limitations of online luxury retail, Diament says: ‘Online isn’t that conducive for finding things that you are not looking for. It’s great to find things that you are looking for. One show I went to, I bought gigantic antique French scales. I would never usually look for that, ever!’.
The lack of spontaneity in online purchasing behaviour is certainly very apparent. He also noticed the trend for more utlilitarian types of objects are selling well, and fine art and antiques that are esoteric, less so. At NWA we have a range of functional items, such as our mirrors which we think are perfect for trends in 2021. Functional, utlilitarian and never go out of fashion!