Still collecting or downsizing?

you have lots of different pottery collections DD

I know Dan, I think it's a certifiable disease!
I haven't started on the French stuff yet.....

would you mind making a list for nosey potaholics such as myself?

Errrr sorry Dan, a list of what?

As I posted the other day, my sodding websites have disappeared, which had a
lot of my collections on.

a list of the different potteries you collect

Hmmm that would take some time. Of course there is a difference in "Collecting" and
"Having a collection of" whatever that may be.
A lot of stuff I put away years ago, just because it was cheap and available, still is,
like eg. Hartrox, so I don't bother much with that now.
Some has come good now, like eg. Ceramica di Milano, but been picking that up cheap
since the 80s, you don't see much around now.

Paid for a few bits, (1000+ for a piece of Langley), but most have cost me very
little, so when I eventually move them on I'll do ok.

I'm hearing lots of sob-stories from collectors who paid the "going rate" at the
time, and their collections are now worth a fraction of what they paid.

Yes, I paid good money for crap motto ware when I started collecting, not realising it was the poor relation of Brannam Pottery. Ended up giving most of it to the charity shop.

Still collecting or downsizing? The reality of the mass collecting mania of
10 or 20 years ago is starting to come home to roost now. When the fairs
had queues round the building, people had their building society
flotation "free" money to spend, no interweb to get an instant price, or
information, just a few books and price guides. You bought stuff you liked,
made friends with knowledgable dealers, amassed and enjoyed your
good collections, did your own research, joined some of the many collectors
societies etc. etc. But now what?

I'm hearing the same thing over and over again, from avid collectors with,
in some cases, museum-quality collections. What to do with it all?
"The kids have left home, and we're moving to a smaller house, nowhere to
put it all" Illnesses, going into care, and bereavement, are also leaving
collectors high and dry. "Our kids aren't the least bit interested in our pots,
and don't want them, any ideas how to dispose of them?"

Young people don't collect things in the same way now, if at all. It seems to
have just been a generational thing, which has maybe run it's course.

I think it's always been a perennial problem for anyone with much loved personal possessions. I know a lady who's children started sniffing around the family silver so she sold it all to the local antiques shop and went on a cruise. At the charity shop we get loads of boxes containing wedding gifts that have sat in boxes in garages and lofts for 30-40years. If all grist to the milk; what comes around goes around. My uncle and aunty had a collection of fairings (Victorian mercury silver glass). When they downsized they sent it to the local auction house and were shocked at how little they got for it.
Personally, I've told my mum I'll have back snyhing I've given her - she has collections of Bonzo and c.1800 china, and she's put that in the will. When I die I've told my family to send everything to auction and let the auction house sort the wheat from the chaff. Hopefully they'll get a good return on some of it.

I think 20th century studio pottery has a lot going for it as an investment; hand made, by identifiable craftsmen/artists, made in the uk, not really being made anymore (in the way it was), restricted supply, tendency to break reducing supply further, 'of its time', still quite affordable...

(Note the 'I think' at the start of the above statement is probably it's weakness )

Yes, It's one of the few things left that the amateur dealers/booters still don't fully
understand, so it can still be found cheaply, but as the dissemination of
specialist knowledge continues, those days are surely numbered.

I'm downsizing atm but the pottery I bought dates from the 60's and & 70's which is very popular right now so it's selling quite well.

That is a very good point. If someone sees a oil painting then they immediately think it may be worth something. While many will discount ceramic out of hand. Generally the public are aware of Clarice Cliff and the local pottery but nothing else.

I'm expanding! I think collecting is a middle aged thing and I'm middle aged. You need spare cash, lots of spare time and spare space for this hobby, none of which the youngsters have.

As for being left with a large collection that you can't sell - I think DD has it right - don't pay top dollar and don't put all your eggs in one basket. Collect what you like when you think it is is under priced. The market moves on. Personally I like the unknown, I want the stuff that no one knows about and there is no book or reference.

ARRRRGGG someone I know got a perfect, fully marked, Clarice Bizarre
candlestick on the boot this morning 50p !!!!!

I think the guy ahead of me at a fleamarket got a Lalique plaque yesterday

Very good point about spreading the risk and buying quality when you see it going at a bargain price. It's like stock and shares, spread the risk and buy at the bottom of the market. I don't think any of the studio pottery I've bought direct from the potters will recover the cost on resale in my lifetime.

I think the recession has affected the collectables market also, what do you do,
put food on the table, and heat the house, or buy another pot?
I'd rather starve and freeze if something good turned up, but honestly, most of my
stuff has cost pennies over the years, just going round picking up stuff that nobody
knew much about at the time, particularly post-war items, which are now hot.

the recession certainly had a HUGE effect on collectable pottery prices, I used to be a member of the online Poole collectors club and came across fierce competition when buying any good piece that hit the market but soon as the recession hit I was competing with just a handful of Poole collectors and all the rest were selling up.

Sometimes just one or two very keen collectors can skew the market. Like Seneshall cats. They reached a peak of £40-50 but now you can pick them up for £15-20. But dealers who stocked up at £30+ are stuck with them.

yes I saw one buyer completely change the cost of Carol Cutler decorated Delphis pottery by buying every piece that sold on ebay regardless of cost,
Within a few months prices rocketed

Things go in and out of fashion so quickly now, It may be hot for a month, usually if a
book comes out, or it's been on a telly games show, but then you can't give it away. 
Timing is crucial, sell when hot, buy when cheap. Some things come around again,
like eg. Whitefriars, but at the end of the day, it's a market, just like any other,
governed by supply and demand, it's what fuels that demand which is sometimes
unfathomable.

Oh well start packing for Swinderby tomorrow, see what's hot this week!

I agree Naomiabout studio pottery straight from the potter. You're very unlikely to get your money back. You're just doing them a favour really, but without them, no future pots and they've gotta make a living.

denbydump wrote:I think the recession has affected the collectables market also, what do you do,
put food on the table, and heat the house, or buy another pot?
I'd rather starve and freeze if something good turned up, but honestly, most of my
stuff has cost pennies over the years, just going round picking up stuff that nobody
knew much about at the time, particularly post-war items, which are now hot.

I've got a few of those pale green post war Langley/Lovatt/Denby vases. They're built like a brick outhouse and still in perfect condition. When are those going to come back in fashion,DD?

Errr they've never really been in fashion CB.
I can't get tenners for them round here!

Might be useful for the foundations of houses!

I think they have a certain austerity charm. Might post a pic or two to possibly generate some interest, with daffodils perhaps. Or not..

climberg64 wrote:I agree Naomiabout studio pottery straight from the potter. You're very unlikely to get your money back. You're just doing them a favour really, but without them, no future pots and they've gotta make a living.

not always the case, I buy directly from 2 potters and I always double my money, even if I sell the same week