Barnebys.com Design Report: 15 Designers Dominate Demand for Vintage Furniture

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May 31, 2017, 16:44 ET

NEW YORK, May 31, 2017 /PRNewswire/ -- Vintage furniture now rivals art as a collectible investment, no matter what the price range, according to a new Online Auction Report from Barnebys.com the leading search service for arts, antiques and collectibles.

Strong interest and increased online access have led to massive growth in the furniture design market since the 2008 financial crisis. From 2009 through 2016, 15 trending designers' works saw nearly 330% turnover – valued at $42 million – in the international auction market.

The Barnebys.com report on vintage furniture design at auction features (clockwise from top left): Mahogany cabinet with floral chintz fabric ‘Fatima’ by Josef Frank of Sweden, circa 1937 (sold for $39,000); ‘Egg chair’ by Arne Jacobsen of Denmark for Fritz Hansen 1963 (sold for $5,584); ‘Bibliotheque Maison du Mexique’ by Charlotte Perriand of France, 1953 (sold for $314,557); and& ‘The Goodyear Table’, for A. Conger Goodyear, by Isamu Noguchi in the United States, 1939 (sold for $4.5 million).

"Collectors are paying considerable attention to design," said Pontus Silfverstolpe, co-founder of Barnebys.com, an international online service that helps people search for, compare and buy items from dealers and auction houses around the world. "Meanwhile, the mass market is exploding. Increased access means anyone anywhere can get their hands on iconic design pieces at any price point."

15 Vintage Furniture Designers Dominating Demand and Dollars

Based on search data, Barnebys.com has singled out three in-demand designers from each of the five most important furniture design markets:

Denmark: Arne Jacobsen, Finn Juhl, Hans J. Wegner
Danish design is widely known for its combination of excellent style and craftsmanship. Many designers were trained architects, with great understanding of an object's function as well as its form. To fulfill the vision of a modernist way of life, they not only designed a building's exterior and structure, but also its interior.

Sweden: Josef Frank, Axel-Einar Hjorth, Märta Måås-Fjetterström
The democratization of well-designed living has long been a part of the Swedish character. With expressions such as 'a good living for all' and 'more beautiful everyday items' leading the way for the design community, it is a tradition that has left this small nation with a rich heritage of design treasures, especially from the 20th century.

Finland: Alvar Aalto, Eero Saarinen, Paavo Tynell
Design from Finland is known for the purity and authenticity of its materials and its clear inspiration from surrounding nature. Led by national icon and 'starchitect' Alvar Aalto, Finnish designers developed a humanistic approach to modernism. They emphasized the significance of everyday life and the synthesis of art, architecture and design.

France: Jean Royère, Pierre Jeanneret, Charlotte Perriand
French warm minimalism refers to the scaled back and refined yet inviting interiors advocated by leading interior designers such as Joseph Dirand. With a mix of sculptural, organic shaped pieces and light colors, natural materials and contrasts, the style is a minimal and well-curated blend of industrial with the finest carpentry. These chic interiors make an ideal setting for displaying contemporary art and photography.

United States: Harry Bertoia, Vladimir Kagan, Isamu Noguchi
With its strong influence on popular culture and the arts, American design acquires worldwide fame through its spread in movies, television series and magazines. A nation built on immigration, it is perhaps no surprise that the designers in this section are all foreign descent. The differences in cultural backgrounds and the individual designers' experiences brings a unique diversity to the American design heritage.

Barnebys Online Auction Report 15: Designated Designers - Trends and Insights is based on Barnebys realized price bank which consists of 32 million realized auction prices from 315 auction houses from 29 countries.

Images available for download: https://www.dropbox.com/sh/azxi31dyef2bw8j/AADMflfU6kHnYGW2AaQFTyOya?dl=0

Barnebys.com (http://www.barnebys.com) is the world's leading aggregator for design and vintage items, as well as for arts, antiques, and collectibles. It offers access to items from 2,000 auction houses and dealers and has about 700,000 searchable lots available to its users every day. Barnebys also brings unprecedented transparency to the auctions market by providing buyers and sellers a free, online realized-price database documenting the final selling prices of 32 million items.

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SOURCE Barnebys.com