Thursday, December 10, 2015

My Word - Christmas 2015

Closing another year - my 41st in business - is in some ways a good thing. 2015 saw increased government intervention in our business with the promise of more to come. Somehow terrorism, appropriately I might add, supersedes in most cases our desire to maintain our individual rights. Having lived in the Middle East for four years I feel certain there is no end in sight especially in light of our government's unfocused policies in this area. But we have much to be thankful for during the past 12 months. We have had some success in predicting a very unpredictable art market which continues to offer opportunities to both succeed and fail dramatically. The gallery has had two more great interns in Codie and Carolyn. Most of my friends are still upright and talking. And now after almost 40 years since my brother's Christmas Day auto accident, he continues to do well spending most of the time surfing the Internet. During this year it was an honor to work with the great people in Chicago on the Nancy Florsheim appraisal. This comprehensive Southwest pottery collection should be seen soon at auction. The Newsletter will follow this closely.

I had a great time this summer completing my 20th year on the Roadshow. I love the crew, staff and all my appraisal colleagues and will continue doing the show until they kick me out. Thank you again to my social media guru Jessica Tomberlin and MontageMedia. And thanks again to my "guest road intern" Emma Mooney (Beloit College) who made Charleston more fun. It would be a major failing to not also recognize the major contribution of Kim Kolker who has been my right hand for almost a decade.

Thank you to our readers of the Newsletter and followers of the blog. If you see ways that we can improve, let us know.From Barbara, Kim, and me.. Best wishes for a great Christmas and New Year 2016. JB

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