Collecting
 Valerie:
Now Liz Isaac is going to tell me about collecting. Is it still
a huge thing, do you still see the same number of collectors?
Liz Isaac: No, the market has changed completely. What we’re seeing
is so many people between the ages of 50 and 75 are downsizing,
moving into condos, senior citizens’ complexes so their items
are coming out in the market. But then we’ve got a generation
of 30 to 50-year-olds who just don’t want the items anymore,
they don’t want the stuff. They want to simplify their lives,
they’re watching decorating programs and they’re seeing
people tell them that you want three vases, you want a very simple
sofa, minimalism is the way to go. So they’re not collecting.
So the middle and bottom markets have absolutely gone into a nose
dive and the only thing that’s selling really well is the
best of the high end.
 Valerie:
But it can be the best of anything from a little Doulton figurine
to Georgian silver.
Liz Isaac: Absolutely, as long it’s the best of that particular
area. Art, furniture, Georgian silver as you mentioned, but when
it comes to that middle market, or bottom market, it has totally
disappeared at the moment. Now we’ve seen this before, those
of us who have been in the business for thirty-odd years, we’ve
seen the dips and the gullies, this one, I think, is going to last
for a lot longer just because we don’t see those new collectors
coming along. We don’t…
Valerie:
But people aren’t living the same way I guess, they don’t
have great collections of china, they’re not entertaining
at home, life seems to have changed… but I guess you could
never say permanently.
Liz Isaac: But it has changed. People, now, there’s simple appetizers,
tapas, they go out to eat. Two people are working, high profile
jobs, they don’t have time for that kind entertaining.
Valerie:
There’s no one to polish the silver (laughs).
Liz Isaac: That’s it, exactly.
 Valerie:
There’s no one to dust the knick-knacks. Even the word “knick-knacks”
and such, it’s, you know…
Liz Isaac: It’s gone. Completely. And that’s reflected in
the market. And so we’re seeing that type of thing sort of
disappear at the auctions now, you’ll see records broken for
the top and you’ll see that middle-lower end disappear, now,
other than that…
Valerie:
Well, it hasn’t disappeared completely because a lot of it
shows up here (laughs).
Liz Isaac: Definitely. We’ve seen it today (laughs).
Valerie:
Yes, we have. We always did.
Liz Isaac: It, well… it’s always interesting.
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