And The Survey Says ...
The 50th anniversary of the lunar landing was one of the major influences on the Antique & Decorative Arts market last year, according to the annual survey of the Asheford Institute of Antiques.
The ever-popular mid-century modern category and the rapidly growing vintage clothing market also highlighted survey results by Asheford, which offers an internationally recognized and industry accredited instructional curriculum involving the study of antiques, vintage items, collectibles, estate sale liquidations and professional-level appraising services.
The Decorative Arts Trends survey, conducted from January 2019 to December 2019 by the research staff at the Asheford Institute, sampled more than 2,000 current students and past graduates actively employed or working with the antiques, collectibles and vintage marketplace within the U.S. and Canada.
The focus of the survey was directed toward interest in current market trends based on sales and requests for particular items/genre/periods from customers and clients. The survey was informal, and therefore did not employ any standardized or measurable scientific practices or criteria in obtaining results. Survey results were categorized by the age groups of the “proprietors,” indicating item/genre/period specific preferences most popular to each of these groupings. The survey established the following age groupings: 20-40, 40-60 and 60-80.
While the survey did not include specific geographic comparables, the terms North East (NE), South East (SE), North West (NW) and South West (SW), were used where applicable to indicate particularly strong interest in item/genre/periods. Listings without these abbreviated notations indicate positive interest in “all” geographic locations.
AGE 20-40
1. Textiles: Vintage clothing, to be more precise, has exploded all over the world. So much so, that even major clothing retailers are opening up their own vintage stores under their own brand name. Vintage jeans, sneakers and outwear are leading the pack, but high-end dresses and hand-bags are close behind. Dealers who are incorporating this into their stock with other vintage and antique items are reporting exceptionally strong sales. Other areas under this moniker include rugs, quilts, tapestries, etc.
NASA’s 50-year commemoration of the moon landing launched virtually every space-related collectible into orbit last summer. Many dealers reported massive mark-ups on selected items – especially those that had a direct connection to the actual and collectibles, and virtually all other forms of sci-fi memorabilia; especially items related to rocket ships. While this collectible category managed only second in this age group, it took the top spot in every other grouping, thereby making it the number one antique and vintage category for 2019.
