kirkerblog 4.0

Now that Inauguration Day is less than a week away, I suppose it's appropriate to post my own version of a State of the Union address: a commentary on the state of my own business. I'm not, for competitive reasons, going into elaborate detail, but I'll give you the basics and explain a couple of new initiatives we're undertaking to boost revenues.

First, I'll admit to a strategic error: even if we hadn't experienced the worst financial slump in 75 years a mere two weeks after our launch, it was a mistake to devote so much floor space in a not-cheap retail district to high-end vintage furniture that is out of reach for the average consumer. People coming in via general foot traffic are looking for moderately priced accessories, not $10,000 couches; that, in turn, negates our need to showcase such pieces on our showroom floor. While we've had interest from the trade in some pieces, the fact is that a significant share of modern-vintage sales take place online these days, in particular through sites affiliated with 1stdibs, essentially an online supermarket for high-end vintage dealers that allows one to search for highly specific pieces. Nearly every major interior designer uses it these days; it's much simpler than traipsing through myriad showrooms hunting for the perfect piece when you know you can punch in "Paul Evans credenza" and immediately find nearly every one presently available for sale throughout the U.S. and several cities in Europe. While we cannot yet get on 1stdibs on our own -- they cover a little over a dozen metropolitan areas with a high concentration of vintage & antiques dealers, and Austin is not on their radar just yet -- we've signed a consignment accord with another dealer that will allow us to sell our wares there.

Consequently, since none of our foot-traffic visitors are there to buy a five-figure couch, we're refocusing the showroom floor's product mix much more on affordable accessories and, in general, design within reach (yes, of *course* that was a dig at my competitor, in particular regarding the fact that most of its design these days isn't within reach of most). Since we'll have less furniture on the floor, we have much less floor-space needs, so I'm in the process of subdividing 1/3 of it towards another venture. While it is far too premature to discuss any details there, suffice it to say it's an interesting one that's proven successful elsewhere, particularly in New York, and an idea I've been pondering for quite some time (though it's admittedly a significant departure from my existing business). There are numerous variables that will have to gel to turn the idea into reality, but the early indicators are all good.

We're also slowly but surely developing a devoted clientele of local design aficionados who recognize that we're offering Austin a completely unique retail product. I even received the ultimate compliment today when one of the city's best and most respected modern architects described the place as a "mini-Moss."

At the same time, we're in the process of evaluating what is and isn't working, product-wise, in the current economy. I've already explained, at length, that the overall market for high-end vintage at auction has held firm, but introducing it to the Austin market at this juncture -- given that it's been a full seven years since Aqua, the last high-end vintage store in town, shut down -- has proven a challenge, hence our refocus (in-store, at least) on design-driven home accessories. Even that's presented challenges, too: the best new design these days is coming out of Europe, and while that's where we've been sourcing the majority of our small accessories, we've had the hurdle of the astoundingly high cost of overseas shipment to deal with (not to mention frequent gyrations in exchange rates, and unfortunately the future is not bright there; all indicators predict the euro strengthening considerably against the dollar now that the Fed has, in essence, announced it will print unlimited amounts of money to save the American economy).

Thus, we're specifically seeking out North American suppliers of quality design, and as it so happens, a promising one landed in my lap this week almost by mere happenstance. It's far too early to get into details there, but should things work out, we will be offering some of the most intriguing design I can recall seeing in recent memory, at price points that are genuinely significant bargains given their quality caliber. I'm also dispatching Stephani to next week's New York International Gift Show in the hopes of sourcing more homegrown accessory-product designers and manufactuers.

I hate to be so vague on so many of these topics, but it's simply far too early to comment on early-stage developments such as these, ones that could be impacted by myriad unpredictable obstacles. Just to provide one example, the subdivision of my space will require a) a lease revision, keeping in mind that my original lease took a solid six months to negotiate (as discussed on here back in '07) and AMLI, for reasons I'd just assume not discuss here, isn't exactly happy with me at present; b) securing building permits that do not require cost-prohibitive changes (e.g. the addition of a second bathroom) that could very well put the kibosh on the entire plan; and c) securing a license from a governmental bureaucracy notorious for its largely arbitrary decision-making process. I'm fortunate to have access to the thoughts of some of the city's brightest minds on these topics -- in addition to today's meeting with the aforementioned top architect, last week I solicited feedback from a restaurateur who can safely be described as "well-known" -- but I can't even begin to predict what will end up happening to Kirk over the course of even the next few months, let alone longer term. I do know we're not going under or anything like that, but we're still in largely uncharted waters on multiple fronts.

Last weekend The New York Times ran a piece called "Design Loves a Depression," one that took considerable aim at the shockingly expensive, oftentimes frivolous furniture sold under the auspices of "design art." Murray Moss -- the leading purveyor of said furniture -- subsequently volleyed a heated response on Design Observer. Sorry, but as much as I respect what Moss has done for the world of design, I'm with the Times on this one. When we've reached the point of selling $30,000 chairs made out of stuffed pandas, we've gone too far.

I also have to agree with the Times's writer's basic premise: design does love a depression. Case in point: Argentina's economic collapse in 2001-2002, one vastly worse for its citizens than America's current imbroglio. Almost literally overnight, the value of the Argentinian peso fell 75%. The result? A society that had grown fat and happy in its ways was forced by necessity to re-embrace creativity, and today Argentina has one of the most thriving artistic cultures anywhere in the world. Its youth emulated young New Yorkers of the '70s and '80s, acquiring vast warehouse-like spaces for pennies on the dollar and using them as factories for churning out all manner of creative ventures, from art to fashion to music to innovative restaurants and shops. They even coined one neighborhood "Palermo SoHo" in homage to its progenitor, and a later one (where a number of television and film studios have established as a base) "Palermo Hollywood."

And yes, in times like these people retreat from excesses like panda chairs to old-fashioned design tenets like solidity and true rarity. We have a pair of Milo Baughman settees on the floor right now, both circa-1968 and made out of solid Indonesian rosewood on three sides. Even the state's top interior designers have been rendered apoplectic at the sight of them; solid rosewood is a material that, for all intents and purposes, no longer exists, having been deforested to the brink of extinction. The settees have the type of clean, square lines that will never go out of "fashion" (unlike the world of design art, which as I've already said is pretty much screwed). THAT is the kind of thing we need to use for inspiration in difficult economic times.

Random rant: how long exactly does it take for Google to update its satellite images? Take a look at the one for my gallery (hit "satellite view"). A big dirt hole, as you can see, but even worse, the AMLI building in the original part of the 2nd St District is still shown as little more than the barest foundations, and they've been finished for nearly four years now! Clearly, these images date to around 2004.

Google went through an undoubtedly huge expense last year adding just about every street address in Austin (and most other cities) into its "Street View" feature; mine isn't a great angle in that the house is obscured by my front-yard trees from it, but at least it's recent. So how difficult, in contrast, it is to buy a set of satellite data more current than 2004?

Irony alert: 2nd St has been hit with a new string of break-ins the past couple of weeks, but I've been spared even though the gallery's been wide open for the past week. My cleaning lady left the rear door ajar last Thursday and failed to set the alarm -- and we've been closed for the week between Christmas Eve and New Year's -- so we could have been cleaned out without a trace at any point since. I suppose we were simply lucky that no nefarious characters noticed the ajar rear door, but still: I think I have to find a new cleaning lady, since this is the type of lapse that can't really be forgiven.

Now that it's 2009, I've been going over in my head the year that was 2008, and I think it can safely be described as memorable. Two trips to Paris for Maison, including one three days after major surgery to my wrist; side trips to Madrid and Mexico City for various art fairs; arteBA; costing someone $40,000 with a single mouse click; pulling off a gallery launch while on major opiate painkillers; defending the fact that the 20th-century design market hasn't collapsed like areas such as contemporary art have; hosting the launch party for Tyson Cole's new restaurant; and lots of interesting personal stuff I didn't get into since my blog's now focused on gallery-related matters, but just for starters, I beat a bona fide billionaire in an elaborate, many-hours-long game of dice last night, and you can let your imaginations run from there. I've also enjoyed some wonderful bonding time with my now 14-month-old baby brother Chase.

Cheers to a much-improved 2009, particularly in regards to the economy and America's global standing once Obama takes office.