Snake AO15 final Paris dispatch: light week of auctions, what with Labor Day — because there are not as many this week I’ll send an email in a few days with some Chairish deals — good design, cheap/free shipping. Tell your friends.
For those new to the program, this email contains 10 items on LiveAuctioneers.com ending this week, undervalued and affordable—auctions ending soonest first. Instructions on using LA at end. Feedback is welcome—if you’re looking for a certain style or piece, hit me up.
Auctions:
Modular Burdick Group table for Herman Miller, CT, IHS: You can get this thing in Bridgeport, which is off Metro North, which is convenient. From the early 80s and modular, which here only includes an old school in/out tray, but can expand to another desk and more storage. One of the cooler HM pieces, one of the better desks I’ve seen on LA or anywhere (technically it’s a conference table, I believe), and very HEAT (1995) (which makes sense but I’m not going into it). Other Burdicks have gone anywhere between $600 and $2,200 (glass tops; wood slightly less), new they’re around $9,200. House also has a comparable Kipp Stewart table, that’s much cheaper. Still, a deal: $1,000
Sascha Lakic Roche Bobois BRIO chairs, CT IHS: Same auction as above, which also features a decent Ralph Lauren for Herendon sofa (Polo Bar style), Gucci clothes and accessories, and a cool cheap umbrella stand. This chair is newer, I think 2008, and has legs the same shape as ones on the stools they have in those upscale food courts with exposed brick walls. Which makes sense since Sasha Lakic, the designer (super young, under 60) designed the Eden Rock stool which is that whole aesthetic’s ideal. Lakic’s Arum chair is the one, but this model looks super cold, what with the leather and legs, and doesn’t feel like Roche Bobois. These haven’t sold on LA before. Great, simple chairs. $50
Larson DS66 for De Sede sofa, IHS CT: One of these Broyhill-looking couches, except with nicer material, since it’s De Sede, who are very luxurious. Not a lot out there on Carl Larsson, its designer; the last couple like this passed on LA, and they don’t seem to be available new. All of these factors drop this DS66’s price down to a couple of seafood towers at Balthazar (the big ones). The cushions are worn, so this might be better for the studio, but I think with enough good stuff in the room this couch could work. Everything else has to be right, though. $375
Coalesse for Steelcase lounge/office chair, IHS LA: A great office chair aesthetic: unholy and minimal, with very anti-business colors and shapes. This series is designed by Scott Wilson and is low energy, though not this green. Same house sold one of these earlier this year, and it passed twice before. Buyer probably didn’t pay, so don’t go much higher than opening, which is $200
Knoll 657 Pollock chair, NJ: Mistitled pair 657s by Charles Pollock (executive chair, many others) for Knoll. Similar to Kaare Klint’s safari, maybe the Wassily. Auction also has a Pearsall table, more decent Knoll chairs and lots of no-name MCM teak. Pollock isn’t in the auction listing, so this one might get overlooked; 657s sell around $1,000. I date the sticker to between ‘61 and ’69; never seen one in such new condition. Possibly dead stock?—rare! $425
Kagan dining table, Fl.: The new regency/Miami/the design movement typified in many ways by Vladimir Kagan is not what I buy generally, but looking at this perfect Kagan table, I may wonder if it’s because… it’s more of a challenge? There aren’t as many (to me) pieces in this style that hit the sweet spot of regal, gaudy and restrained, and the good ones are quite expensive. But this table is so perfect and overpowering it’s easy to understand why this aesthetic is so popular and dominant, and makes me wonder if I shouldn’t get one of these things for myself. It’s imposing and beautiful—who doesn’t want that? Same exact one sold for $1,400 this year, and tha 90% discount entitles it to the Snake Lock of the Week. What an honor for both Kagan and the auctioneer. $125
Milano Spiros Eleonore Peduzzi for Artemide sculpture, IHS, Calif.: One inch bigger than a personal pizza, and designed by Eleonore Peduzzi-Riva (did De Sede’s Snake sofa, an obvious favorite), this is the trinket you remember early and buy when your place is finally finished. Price is about accurate, with an identical one on eBay for about the same price, and one in white for less. Auction is strange collectibles (Buzz Aldrin’s Toyota helmet) and a cool deco racecar that reminds me of the Robert Grosvenor show at Karma a few years ago. $400
De Sede DS-450 sofa, contemporary, Fl.: Many of the auctions I highlight here are great items that are very underpriced, and advance my philosophy of liquid furniture accumulation: just buy it, even if you’re not in love with it, and then sell it for what you bought it for (or not much less) when you become sick of it or find something better. You can do this with auctioned items because they’re more unique and not overpriced. Sure, some of these items may not be in the bullseye of your personal taste, but they’re almost certainly improvements, and because they’re so affordable, and because good new furniture is insanely expensive, it’s worth rolling the dice on even a second-best option until you find your favorite favorite. This isn’t the way most people buy furniture: because it’s so expensive and such a pain in the ass, it’s usually easier to buy something, live with it for half a decade, and burn your money. There is a better way, and it takes a little bit of work. You have a couch, but you can freak it. But.
But….
Once in a while an auction pops up where there are no maybes, and it’s not about gradual improvement, and there’s no hand waving or adjustments. You see a piece of furniture and you need it. That happens, depending how far along in your accumulation and taste you are, either once a month, once a year, or in between. In these rare instances, the chemistry click piece of furniture that you immediately want in your crib is available for dirt cheap (or much less than something on a curated site’s Instagram or website). Because there are so many pieces of furniture out there, it’s not exactly something you can plan. But this one is that for me: a little jolt. It’s my favorite type of sofa, one with the guts exposed, and an industrial tint. It’s from an unfashionable period—De Sede, recent—and goes slightly against company type, half industrial, half luxurious, not really either. Nice and plain. New it sells for 10K or more; one sold on LA for over 3K. If an item like that hasn’t shown up yet in one of these emails, it will. It takes a while. You can’t plan for these things. There is literally tons of furniture out there, and I’m only highlighting about 1,000 pieces a year. $350
Odds and ends:
Stanley furniture teak hutch (big, mid-modern), $375 CT IHS (past xx)
Rosso Levanto dining table (marble top, Knolly), $150 CT IHS
Knoll Louver “bachelors chests” (bedside tables), $450, Fl
Paulin ribbon chair with ottoman (lime greenish, patterned), IHS LA $6,000
Roche Bobois huge leather couch (full corner), $425 Fl
Izzy modern sofa (knockoff Eames compact but 50s), LA $400
Herman Miller base accent table (a favorite, very old tag), $300
Baughman-style cube side tables, $50 Fl.
Thanks for reading.
Snake
Other work: https://docs.google.com/document/d/1-JLRt0Ec6gZBm50hATYCYmLctnF9GhVijoEbam50JSw/edit?overridemobile=true
How to bid: Sign up for Liveauctioneers with a credit card ahead of the auction, register for that auction on the item page — button/prompt’s on every auction pg — pre-bid. Registrations take a day or so.
Bidding is live in a pop-up window, most prices jump during auctions. Both app and website have good UX. Sometimes items go for a lot, sometimes they don’t. Sometimes lots of watchers means something; sometimes not. Not much different from eBay. Because of buyers’ premiums (~25%), and freight, expect to pay over these prices. When you win you have ~a week to get the item. Houses may recommend third party shippers; some ship themselves. If so, In-House Shipping is noted on the page. Picking it up yourself is cheapest.
As with anything, insane steals are rare, nice deals are occasional, and fair prices are frequent. Respond if more questions.