Showrooms vs Storerooms

Katya Kazakina of Bloomberg writes on how some dealers are handling the downturn in sales. In her articles, she states some dealers have closed their galleries, and instead are operating out of stroagre facilities.

Kazakina states In a windowless “showroom” delicate vases and goblets incongruously twinkle in glass cabinets, and book shelves hold stacks of volumes on Lalique, Tiffany and Venetian mosaics.

“We don't have to pay for a burglary alarm system,” said co-owner Sheldon Barr of the 500-square-foot space at Cirker Hayes. “We don't pay for the electricity. We don't need window washers.”

While Warhols and Hirsts go unsold at auction, Cirker Hayes and some of its competitors in the specialized field of art and antiques storage are benefiting from the recession.

“In an economy that's slowing, people are looking to save money,” Jack Guttman, president of Cirker Hayes, said. “We provide an alternative.”

In the past month, three more dealers have traded storefronts for storerooms at Cirker Hayes, which charges annual rents of $100 per square foot. And two private collectors pulled their multimillion-dollar artworks from consignment at local galleries they feared were financially unstable and chose to store them instead, his partner Peter Lewis said.

Being creative, that is what is takes to survive in poor economic times. To read the full artilce, clikc HERE.