So the packages are on their way to the respective winners of my GIVEBACK...
I've hit a dry spell with posting... It happens once in a while to me...
Does this happen to you?
Anyway, I've been pondering a question and I'm putting it out there for some insight from all of you... Since I am in the biz of selling all things vintage, antique, junque de jour, whatever you call it, I am always interested in having what buyers are hot after... I was texting today with my pal TOT...Theresa from Time Worn Interiors who is at Brimfield selling her wares...And she said "WHITE" isn't selling...
I've been hearing rumors that this beloved look has fizzled... Bad news for moi as I'm all about the WHITE thing... So I want to know what you think...
Is the love of WHITE over?
Do you still buy it, sell it, covet it?
Is it a regional thing?
I know gray is all the rage, but I'm not quite ready to paint everything just yet and I'm not a trend follower at my house. I have what I love, and it just happens to be WHITE...
But, I am buying for the Fall show at Marburger and I am interested to know what's snagging the moolah these days. So please be frank, be stella (junque humor), but be honest about your thoughts on this. There's nothing worse than being stuck with a bunch of stuff you can't sell...
I will fess up and say that at Spring Marburger, my white stuff was not as popular as previously...
Give me your two cents please!!
Wednesday, May 12, 2010
I Want Your Two Cents...
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40 comments:
O.k.,
Here's my take on it, I don't own a B & M store, just one online, but I think white will always be popular!
However I have noticed a very recent trend with the shelter magazines touting COLOR in a big way, how not to be afraid of it, blah, blah, blah.
I'm a color person myself, love it, but I also love looking at everyone's white palette in their homes, just wouldn't work for me. I live in Oregon and color warms up my home....if I lived in CA. it may be a different story. And for me to buy a white accent here and there really doesn't "cut it" in my home, just looks sorta misplaced.
If I had a booth at a show, I would show a bit of everything, not just white....:).
Well, I think white is timeless, but that's just me.
In my booth, I'm selling tons of rusty garden art and anything industrial. Now that you mention it, the white never has moved all that well, hmmmm....
Hope you're having a great week!
Hugs,
Anne
Its all about the industrial right now.
I think everyone has the whites and is now mixing in the masculine side of things
just my two cents
I own Country Roads out here in Southern CA, and have about 85 dealers. We've always had a variety of stuff, and a variety of stuff that sells. Out here, the new hot thing is the industrial look, I'm seeing more and more of it sell. Whites though, are still selling too, maybe not as much as they use to. Maybe it is the time of year, but garden stuff is pretty hot right now, and as always, architectural elements always fly out of the store. I thing they are timeless! Good luck and hope this helps.
Take care, Sue
I have an antiques booth in Orlando Florida I do all of the white stuff, but have added some of the light blue. Even tough I hate it I started leaving some of my better finds in their original brown finish yuk, but it is selling. You know how everything goes thru cycles. What is selling right now is candle sconces that I have painted white and after a pretty slow market for years I have been selling tea cup set again. I always pick up mirror trays, but I have started spraying them white and viola they are selling really well. Just a few thoughts. I have some before and afters i have been selling on my blog. Hope this helps!
Hi,
I use to love everything white! I would paint everything and anything white. But eventually I craved some pieces that added a little color to my home, something to warm it up. So now I still have some white pieces that I love mixed with some dark woods, and some colored pieces. It makes my home a little more interesting. Don't get me wrong, If I find a spectacular piece that i love and it's white I'll buy it, but I don't limit myself to just white anymore. Also, anything white lately at flea markets and such is so overpriced, it's hard to find it at a decent price.
Just buy what you love and your customers will love it too. Besides, your style is fabulous!
Have a great day.
Sincerely,
Melinda
I LOVE white, especially antique peices. I think it makes a home feel fresh and clean and, when done correctly, warm and inviting. I've noticed a lot of magazines and catalogs using bold colors and, quite frankly, I hate it. Why does everything always have to change so quickly nowadays? Just when we get used to something and really fall in love with it, they want to change it up!! :) ~ Jo
I love white, and buy it sometimes. But, for me, even though I do really love those ethereal dreamy rooms, I seem to like a bit, more than a bit, of color. I do think that you have hugh talent, and do not need to follow every crazy trend, or fall into such and such is/isn't selling. Do what you love, are drawn to, and it will continue to be great. AND, I'm really new to selling, but things seem to sell up in Seattle, for example, that I cannot sell in the town of Centralia, so location may be a big part.
Two cents is just about all I got to spare so here goes. I think if it's original white paint, it's still desirable. I also think if your market is retail, it still sales, but for me and the vendors we sell to it's more about uniqueness which is not always the easiest thing to find, but you always have a unique look. I do think industrial is hot, but I feel like it will be over done and play out in a hurry. Myself...I'm looking more into a clean look...if that makes sense.
Debbie
What works for me best is industrial, junk, with seasonal color and accents!
I have to agree, I think people, especially those who embraced the white look, may be growing tired of it and not because it isn't beautiful, it is, but because it is done to excess now. White bedding, and accessories will always be loved but having nothing but white has lost its "muchness" to quote the Mad Hatter. I think some white things (in varying shades), like linen and lace will always be in style. As for industrial, it leaves me cold but I can see where younger or more modern leaning customers would like it.
I am still using a lot of white but am loving some the deeper, browner shades of linen to set off the whiter tones. I think that white is still great in the garden, though. Beautiful urns, trellises, plant stands, and furniture in white wicker or metal will always be classics.
Not sure Shelley. I will always love white especially if it is old and chippy paint. I know the industrial look is very hot over here right now. Also anything garden related seems to sell. I've got a couple shows this Summer and I noticed that I've got a lot of metal that has the faded chippy black paint. Didn't realize I had so much, but I must be drawn to it. We'll see how it sells. I guess if it doesn't I have a lot of it on my patio, but a girl only has room for so much. LOL!!
Good luck and hope you are doing well.
Kathleen
Hi Shelley
Well.. I am certainly a colour girl.. but having said that I love the white look too.. to be honest I prefer furniture and basics to be white, or grey.. and then introduce colour in the cushions art etc.. this way I can change it around as much as I like. which I do a lot.. hahaha... Love the industrial look too.. which goes well with grey.. but then.. i think anything goes with white... all about balance!! Have a great day.. xxx Julie
I read through all the comments and I found it so interesting. I do not sell, so I have no knowledge of that, but I have never been an all white person. I love browns and blacks and creams. I find the varied colors to have a richness...white is beautiful...but I think it still needs color.
Speaking as a consumer AND dealer, I'm really drawn to white, and find that in store and booth displays it will grab my attention. I love color, but find I'm only wanting it as an accent. I've lived with dark wood and black furniture for a long time and still love it, but I'm moving in to more "neutrals", maybe not all white, but more of the muted colors. Just bought a gray console table to replace a black piece. But I'm also seeing the cappucino and gray distressed that I really love. Living in the midwest we're always the last to get the trend. White is still good here in vintage, but I don't want my space to look like everyone else, so I really decorate seasonaly and with seasonal colors.
Gee, I think I've given more like 10 cents worth. Really good to explore this!
xo,
Debra
White is gorgous and elegant, it'll never go out (in my eyes), but there are trends! As you mentioned, silver is the trend, but I still think some white would be good!
Even our neighbor that has a garden center said the white flowers aren't selling as well. Now I know that's differnt, but it's all pretties for the ladies! :)
Shelley,
Hmmm...white. As a designer, when I look at your booth I dont see just "white". It's a very sophisticated French Country in a muted palette. It's gorgeous and timeless and I think it's so you.
I will say that I think the overall look of the cream painted furniture may be tiring a bit. It is so DONE by everyone these days and some dont do it very well. I am sad to say that with everyone trying to do it, it has become ordinary. People are just looking for something unusual, not necessarily different. When something becomes ordinary and everyone has it, people want something different.
I loved your booth this Spring. I loved that you introduced a bit of aqua to the palette. It was refreshing and gave the customer a way to introduce more color into her neutral palette. Very nicely done Shelley. I think you are on the right track with what you are doing and I think your customers love your look. So maybe adding some industrial pieces, some more aqua or brown would be all you need to do. I think your customers will love whatever you do because it's you!
hi, shelley:) it's nice to "connect" - it's been a while! i'll share my random and probably disorganized thoughts on this topic...for what they're worth:) i am not a dealer and have never been. but i am an avid customer, treasure hunter and i love all shades of white. this is what i *think* might be happening: there will always be the core group of people who love the timeless beauty of white; but i think there is also a subset who did all white as a trend. now the trend is shifting...as it always does. so the trick is to still buy what you like and could live with if it doesn't sell; yet keep your customers happy and buying, right? a fine line if you're one of the "classic whites forever" people. one idea would be to add bigger pieces in blacks, browns, (ie: neutrals); and still have white accents or "smalls" as you dealers call them:) i don't think it would be much fun to buy and try to sell things that you dislike; so don't! you already have a knack for industrial pieces, in my opinion...so that should blend beautifully with what you love. i have definitely been drawn to industrial pieces over the past year - but only smalls - like an old thermos as a vase; old gray filing cabinets; a metal time card holder. wow. i wrote a lot. i hope it makes sense to you:)
mary
Well it is really hard for me to say because I myself have just really gotten into the white but I am adding some color with it.Around here in Illinois the retro fifties is really going strong with alot of reds and turquoise.But like alot of your followers have said stay true to what catches your eye cause girl you have an eye for design.
I live outside the USA. The white has only recently hit my country and is now very popular and expensive. I just returned from Europe (Netherlands) and saw also there is a lot of white right now going on in interior stores. I myself love it as I can combine it with everything. I always loved white. I got my new kitchen in white installed 17 years ago and I still love it!
I love vintage whites! Our shop always has requests for more of it. I would stick with it and just add a few pieces of some of the current trends. Personally I like to see the newest of the oldest and may get a piece or two but am always happy with my whites!
Shelley,
This is going to be a long one, 1 I am on drugs from oral surgery, 2 Dawn & I spent an hour discussing this issue over the phone last night. I have loved the white since I saw it in Miss Rose Hicks home circa 1990's in ME Home Companion. I just posted her home from the mag last week & the response was overwhelming. Mainly, everything she did in that house is being done today. Classics never go away. Now, I know a lot of blogs are head over heels about the Nordic french thing. Everything grey, galvanized steel, burlap. I do love it, but I would not do it to my own home, I would get bored quickly. I think it's a trend. You might do your usual, but throw in some grey stuff too. I'm coming in the fall & I'll buy up the whites, you'll see! Sorry so long & filled with errors. It's the drugs. Lisa
Shell, I think everyone hit the nail on the head. White is great and I love it, but rust and industrial is popular right now. Now, throw in some brown and it's dreamy. You have a great look and like everyone says, just buy what you love, display it like you always do and it'll sell because they love your look. Like Deb said the more unique the better, even if it's white they'll buy it but it's finding the unique that is getting harder and harder to do.
Shelley, I'm a forever white person. I want to be more white, but somehow a bit of colour always seeps in (I guess I'm just not disciplined enough to be all-white :). However, I have noticed the big grey trend. And, the magazines are showing lots of colour. I really liked what you had in your booth at Marburger in the fall when I saw it - hits of colour, here and there, withinin a subdued palette with lots of metal and rust. p.s. I just loved those turquoise metal garden chairs!!!
Okay, I don't own a store or even an online one, but I shop often and am always looking for inspiration. I know industrial is good NOW but I don't think it'll be long-lived. I find myself going towards the more elegant. I am loving crystals on anything, carved legs and details, loving architectural always! I have found that white is getting a bit tired but not if it's got more of the soft colors infused like you'll find with Scandinavian piece, and, of course, greys. As previously mentioned, those soft colors work in certain parts of the country. Not in Tucson! You have to have color here. I am getting tired of the rustic. Hope that helps.
Good morning.....my two cents worth......Hmmmm.....well I love the White thing, but here in AZ we are more about color. It is funny .....you would think that here, because it is so hot, we would welcome an all white decor, but with the sun glaring white can be way toooooo much on the eyes. A little white/sepia is ok, but you need soft accent colors as well.
Hope this helps,
Jo
i have a little shoppe and was a vendor at 2 others previous- i think white or shades of white are always in- i agree the color is in the magazines-the greys- People like it and think they want it but always revert back to white- it goes with everything- i have whites- creams-blacks in my place- i think just accented with those other colors maybe-and a note on price tag- Everything Goes with WHite and as time and style changes- the piece would still be beautiful and you can change the accent colors.. Love YOUR blog- just became a follower.
Karryann
Great post Shelley! Design trends cycle and I think what you will see is a return (maybe already happening) to what I call honest wood. Like in the ‘80’s and 90’s I was always on the hunt for authentic pieces with traces of original paint and scrubbed pine. I feel the heavily handed white (DIY) painted furniture will be replaced with bleached and white washed woods. As a dealer you can see what the cool trends are but you need to be constantly reinventing those that you see to stay ahead of the game. I never thought I would embrace any of the Modern design trends but I am finding mixing just a bit in a room makes a huge statement. I do refuse to put a Zebra rug in my living room:)
My 2 cents goes like this:
Who really knows what the public wants unless you show them. I own a store and throw up my hands sometimes. No matter what I think they want, they show me!!!
I am not selling much white furniture and people seeem to be looking for outdoor furniture and lawn items in more natural colors. They still love bird cages, urns, and white linens and bedding.
For sure I try to have an assortment of different styles and colors plus naturals, that is the only way I can stay in business. We mostly cater to traveler's so you cannot stick to a regional or area style. The local people buy mostly light colored woods. The economy has hurt us worse than a change in style and color.
And I would like to say that you who do the shows show the public what is hot and what is not. Keep at it as I think you are doing great.
Lois
i still love the white,but then i am alate bloomer. i also, collect what grabs me. none of my furniture is painted white and each piece is unmatching,but i like the things i like to surround me. that gray is wonderful also. i seldom if never go with what is in. budget wise is what i can afford to buy and what i have collected is over a stretch of time. maybe this is three cents worth. Bestest,Denise
Hi, I live in Michigan and white is not popular due to our season changes. I am seeing more industrial looking and retro. If orange, yellow, bright blue, red, and lime green is your thing, then you are in! That's my two cents worth!
I can't do the grey thing but yes I hoit lots of days when I can't clog wither, but hang int here and keep up the good work :)
Hi, I am a shopper, not a shop owner and in Australia to boot - but my 2 cents worth are:
I prefer original finishes - I will pass up recently painted every time - no matter how well done it is - I want old colour, complete with knocks and marks - whatevery colour. I have the best, original finish red bench - crackled and old. I prefer rusty, worn, old to cleaned up and renovated. I hope that helps!!
I have never loved the pure white items. I love and am drawn to off white and cream items that are chippy and aged. I love to pair these with industrial pieces and rusty graden items. I like to throw in a few pieces of brown, light teal or gray but they need to be worn and chippy. I think right now the rustier the better and the chippier the better.
Hi! White it is in my part of town, which happens to be Central Texas. I have friends with very successful shops and we all have some of the same, some very different. When I started to paint all my furniture 13 years ago everybody freak out but very soon started to embrace the look. I don't think shabby chic or cottage will ever go out of style. I can't say the same about the industrial look. There is some amazing looking stuff other and some stuff that I will not have around me even if they pay me. I do love the creams and whites with the sepia and browns. It have proven timeless, check Victoria, HC and magazines from the 90s. Timeless beauty, uniqueness and amazing bones will never be out.Blessings, Marta
Well Shelly I can only speak to what i like. I LIKE white. I can't even stand the thought of it going out of style. If it does I will be hopelessly passe. I can't grasp the gray and industrial look. I know me. and I would tire of them too quickly. However I do know that things change and fads come and go. I just have to live with what I love and hope that someone out there still sells it somewhere. You do it so well Shelly and I know you choose what will do the best for you. White will always be back even if it is slowing right now in some areas.
hugs
Hi Shelly,
My package arrived safely and I LOVE it all...especially that little butter pat!
As far as your question goes...as a dealer...(I'm in a rural area that is always a little behind the times) my white furniture has always sold in waves and that seems to continue...a lot of my painted smalls I just took in for my new booth sold very quickly.
As a home decorator-I still love my white...like the others said what I'm changing is *how and what* I do with white...to me it is classic farmhouse style...I've loved it since the 90's.I used to do matchy-matchy white, cutesy pink roses everywhere. I'm adding in more original chippy white, rusty accents, and shades of warmer whites, and some brown too.
I love your look...it has inspired me *a lot*...I hope it is not going out...
What I see *out there* it that there is a warmer white trend and then there is a cool white (nordic and industrial) trend...you asked and you got my opinion:)
Rene'
I used to do a lot of white and paint a lot of things white from the end of the 90's to the early to mid 2000's.
Then I moved more toward liking a lot more things in black. I pick a lot of accessories in black. I love black books and painted black furniture and black in the wall art, like subway signs and signage of all types. I like the contrast between the black and old white.
Like CeeKay, I like black, brown and cream.
To sum it up, I tend to mix black and white a lot, with the emphasis on black.
I saw a drop off in the white a few months ago, and am now sticking with natural finishes (even if that means chippy paint). I haven't personally painted anything in probably 9 months. Then again, the 1/2 of the shop next to me is devoted to white and it all just flies! What's NOT selling is big ugly brown traditional antiques. What is selling is the UNIQUE. And anything with curvy legs!
Fabulous topic Shelley! In my opinion, I don't think white is going out. I agree with Anne, it's timeless. White has rocked right through the pink/white shabby craze, then into the neutrals craze, and is still hanging in there. It's one of those few colors that can blend with anything, formal/informal, dark/bright colors, you can use it in almost any setting. So, I don't think it will will go out, although it may be scaled back. However, I think what will change is what we mix it with, and definitely agree that buyers are seeking original white over DIY painted white. Great post!
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