Hot off the presses! Austin Modern Interview

Recently we conducted an email interview with Glossy Magazine which was putting together an article to highlight the Blanton Museum Birth Of the Cool Exhibit.
Austin Modern (me) was asked to give a lecture on decorating with mid century design at DWR downtown Austin.
Doing the Event at DWR was unusual since we are proponents of vintage originals and do not promote repros and reissues, but it worked out fairly well. The Studio manager for DWR was lovely, the event was lovely and it was a very nice evening.

The interesting thing was this interview. It seemed like we were to be the focus of the story, but once it came out there were a few choppy snippets from the interview that didn't make sense when taken out of context. Parts of this email were in response to a prior telephone conversation we had before the interview questions were emailed to me.
So for the sake of historical accuracy (and noting that I'm not a total prat) I'm posting the "original" interview here.

Hello (deleted),
...
Here are some points I'll be touching on in my lecture and some requested "stream of consciousness thoughts", I hope the grab bag of will be of use! Your interview questions are answered below as well.
Thank you so much for contacting me, I'm excited to be included in Glossy again!
Best, Elle

I make clarifications and give definitions because I have a tendency to assume that everyone knows exactly what I'm talking about, which is not always the case.
I hope you'll excuse me if you do already know all of this.

(fyi MCM is short for Mid Century Modern and makes typing for us hunt and peck typists a lot easier)

With good modernist furniture pieces starting at close to $500. and going up over $100K for the REALLY neat and nifty pieces, it's not actually an entry level market.
Vintage is a good entry market and as a collectors taste is refined, they move into collecting MCM.

A word on the difference between Vintage and MCM:
Vintage and MCM are two similar markets but vintage is a good catchall description for anything from the 50s - 70s and MCM really relates to Modernist design only.
So a 50s toaster is vintage but it's not MCM, However an early Herman Miller fiberglass chair is vintage AND it's MCM. Hope that isn't confusing.

A few years ago Austin Monthly called me when they were writing an article on the anniversary on the Eames lounger. They wanted to know the price for "used" Eames chairs.
At the time Eames lounge chairs manufactured prior to 1970 were selling for any where between 4,500 and 6k while the new Licensed Re-Issues from DWR sold for 3,500. so the
best I could do was tell them about the Plycrafts which were made in the 70s and look like the Eames lounge but could be had for around 400. at any vintage store in Austin.

Because MCM is such a new field, some people still think of it as used or simply vintage. In Austin we're really lucky in that $150 and 15 minutes in any direction will get you an interesting piece of vintage furniture, but finding true MCM takes a little more searching.

I'm really pleased that this exhibit is going to encourage more people to see that Modernism is more than plastic flamingos and kitschy lamps... Though we need those too! We need a sense of fun and that's what Kitsch is all about!

A little background on me:
I started selling and restoring antiques at 19 which is very early, but my father was an art dealer and both my aunts were antiques dealers so I grew up with it.
Before moving to Austin in 1996, I had a business in Palm Beach specializing in American Art Deco, and while Deco is exceptionally hot in South Florida,
there isn't a huge call for it here in Austin and so I spent my first few years in Austin buying Deco here and sending it back to the coast for resale.

Austin Modern and Austinmodern.com has been in business for 6 years and we specialize in 20th C. Art, Furnishings, and Lighting.
Along with the retail business, I also work as a buying consultant for private collectors.

In regards to your earlier question: I was thinking about why other Austin stores were not included in the Blanton event and I believe that since this is a museum exhibit, the Blanton wanted a specialist.
I was told that my name came up most often as the one to call. Of course I'm honored and excited to be included in the Blanton line up of guest speakers!

What Modernism Isn't:
One of the more important things to remember is that Mid Mod is not just an era. Modernism was and is a departure from traditional design processes and materials.
Unfortunately because of the rise in popularity and resurrection of mcm over the last few decades, anything and everything it seems manufactured prior to 1980 is being called
mcm or eames era. While ceramic owls from the 70s are in fact vintage and totally adorable, they are not modernist design.

As far as being green goes and how it ties in to buying vintage:
Recycling becomes reusing and by reusing and refreshing older pieces we're keeping those same pieces out of the landfills.
Perhaps one of the driving forces behind the resurgence of interest in 'vintage in general' is the desire for better quality.
One of our mottos is: Rescue the Past and Save the Future!

Some big-box stores have items that are really neat looking, have great design and are really inexpensive. Unfortunately they're inexpensive for a reason.
It implies that quality can be had for pennies. I think we confuse great visuals with substance.
Really it's done us a disservice. If you don't have quality consistently available, how do you know it when you see it?
Contemporary furniture is a great example, vinyl is called leather, silver enamel is referred to as "chrome", it's crazy.

So if we can't look to a lot of retail stores for quality, we have to look to the past. I do think in terms of vintage, we're nearing an interesting stop point.

Usually the markets reach back 50-60 years. In the 70s and 80s everyone wanted Art Deco(1920 - 1940) , when that market became too hot and quality items became too difficult (i.e. too expensive) to find, modernism started heating up. My buyers of Art Deco in Palm Beach started including Modernist pieces in with their Deco purchases in the early 90s. By 2000, the cool thing was Danish Modern. My customers on the East and West coasts are now looking towards 70s High Design and Eclecticism.

Austin is in it's own little bubble and for now Mid Century reigns supreme!



1. How would you define Austin's creative energy?

Young and experimental! What I mean by that is Austin is not constrained by rules that are taken for granted everywhere else, it's such a supportive community that rarely is anyone told their plan or project will not work here. And because of that I think Austinites whether they would classify themselves as Artists/"Creative Types" or not, have the freedom to be more expressive and to attempt things that others wouldn't try elsewhere.

2. Describe your store.

That is a little tough as we are in the middle of changing locations and are currently by Appointment and Online only! =o)

But I'll describe our old location, and what we hope to keep and incorporate at a future location.

We try to keep the vibe as casual as possible, having the store well lit is a big one for us, you'd be surprised how many stores are lacking good lighting!
I try to keep in mind how I like to shop. I like the ability to turn a piece over and really look at it and how it's made. Lack of light or clutter can make that difficult.

It's important to me to share information on pieces with my customers. Not everyone will care who an item is made by, but when talking about Mid Mod
the designers name can make quite a difference especially for collectors.
Because of that, we're big fans of very detailed tags that include a lot of information.

We also try to keep it as minimalist as possible, the focus is on the design of the furniture, art and lighting.
We're hyper focused on Modernist furnishings, so we don't sell vintage clothing, books, kitchenware or "retro style" new items.
It's what I do and I hope it's why my customers seek me out. We're purists! ;o)

3. Describe the sort of shoppers your store attracts.
It takes all kinds! We have customers that are still in school, doctors, writers, young families,
interior designers, set decorators, advertising photographers, actors, musicians...
The one connecting thread is that they are all creative in one way or another, collectors always have an artistic side to their personality.

4. Why do you suppose this sort of person is interested in Mid Century
Modern?

There are as many reasons for collecting as there are stars in the sky. There are more reasons
than I could possibly list. A desire for traditional quality or a desire for something out of the ordinary that can't be found just anywhere are just two examples.
We talk about "soul" a lot at Austin Modern. We like to think that pieces from the past have a little soul to them. They've lived a life, maybe aren't perfect, but they have a little something extra that isn't available in newer pieces. We think of it as a little bit of soul.

5. Mid Century Modern is a retro form of chic, and yet it is timeless and
perpetually cool. How would you connect the vibe in Austin to that of the
Mid Century Modern movement? to the philosophy and the designs, the music
and painting?
Whoa! That's a lot of connections! =o)
Mid Century Modern and the Modernist movement came out of the depression. There was a
yearning and a desire for something completely fresh and new. A War had just ended and we had a whole generation of young people who had perhaps spent their entire lives
mending and making do. Post WWII America was a brave new world so to speak.
Possibilities were endless, and people were looking to new ideas and ideals.
Bebop and Jazz were certainly new and even though it's old hat now, Coltrane and Davis
have an energy that I don't know has been replicated yet.

To live in Austin is to be very lucky. We have gorgeous weather, several universities, numerous art collectives and museums, and of course more live music venues than any other city
of this size! All of those elements combine to create the perfect environment for new ideas,
our most important job as Austinites is to support those ideas and the creativity behind them!
We need to celebrate out local artists and musicians more and try to keep our creative talent here in Austin.

6. Why is Mid Century Modern particularly fashionable now?

MCM has been popular with collectors for almost 2 decades. A lot of Art Deco collectors started turning to MCM to fill in the gaps once the Deco market became so overheated that finding quality Deco that wasn't priced in the stratosphere became almost impossible.
There are a lot of similarities between early quality Deco and quality Modernism which made the transition from one to another quite simple.
They blend very well together.

Also it's very useable. We all had a Gran who collected something that you couldn't touch or sit on or even look at and that's nice, but Modern pieces are made to be used. They're decorative sure, but these are things you are supposed to sit on, and look at, or play with. It's more approachable.

Some collectors think it's representative of an era that seems more harmonious than the world we live in today. Sort of like watching the Donna Reed show and thinking
"gee I wish things were that simple..."


7 What is your best selling Mid Century Modern (reproduction or influenced) piece?

We deal in Mid Century original pieces only, so no repros or knock-offs.

We're in transition now, but our best selling case piece was the Florence Knoll 4 door credenza. A minimalist environment is easily disrupted
by a tangle of electronics cords and the variety of boxes and gizmos we need for home entertainment today. The vintage Knoll credenzas do a crackerjack job of hiding that mess!
In Austin: Knoll, Early Herman Miller, Baker and Dunbar are especially popular.
Our customers on the East and West coasts are trending towards Milo Baughman and 60s Eastern influenced design, and our Japanese customers, who used to be our biggest MCM supporters, are now buying Early 20th C. American Industrial.
Right now trends are heading in several different directions, so it will be interesting to see where we go.

8. When you sell MCM, what are you selling?

Again, it's a lot of things to a lot of people. To one person, it might simply be a crazy looking chair. To someone else it might be a symbol of what they look back on fondly as a great time in their lives. Hopefully I'm selling great design that will be a much loved member of its new family!


9. How do you think this design makes people feel and why does it work in
Austin?

Modernism truly is timeless and classic. Austin is heavily focused on design right now, especially in the housing sector. This is the one type of furnishing that can fit in any home or business environment and work beautifully.
Kind of like Austinites themselves, take them anywhere and they'll find a way to fit right in and join the party!