Judging by the news, we've all been a tad morbidly obsessed with the market lately. As the poison is flushed out of the financial system we have been shaken up and forced to broadly reconsider worth and security. Confidence in this endeavor has been in short supply. Allow me to suggest a course to safe harbor; look beyond the temporary ups and downs of the market, at least momentarily, and focus your sights only on value, true value, enduring value, particularly as it relates to Historic Period Blenko and Empoli glass.

What is value? Money is perhaps only the most superficial - and volatile - tool for assigning value. I think of value first in terms of importance, relative merit, usefulness and desirability - the most convenient shorthand for which is $. Cash itself began only as shorthand for quantities of gold or other commodities, as a place-holder for actual goods.

As systems become more complex, more exotic (credit default swaps anyone?), they become less real, harder to quantify. Value becomes obscured through convoluted systems and symbols. A lot of things became wildly overvalued in the fog of the last few years, and to that class of items I say "Let It All Fall Down." Let's lift the veil, wipe the lipstick off the pig and get back to basics, to real value. Outrageously vapid gains are being quickly erased as we realize that many were little more than sand castles built on overextended promises, the mirage of value.

Conveniently, our current predicament has already been branded into a snazzy sound-bite; "global financial crisis." In the end it's actually a painful but necessary reality-check, AKA a correction. Fortunately not everything is broken and in need of correcting, only things that can't be traced back to real value.

Luxury items like contemporary art, for instance, became wildly overvalued during the credit bubble. I cite this example because I am intimately acquainted with it and because I believe it is the most galling example that a person without an MBA or forensic accounting degree can understand. Simply put, a lot of new money flooded the contemporary art market and fortunately for dealers the supply is unlimited. Aside from the fact that there is a continually self-replenishing pit of contemporary artists, they are each little factories, quite alive and still producing. That series sold well? Great, they'll make a similar one in a limited edition of 50. Damien Hirst knows this all too well. When countries print too much money inevitably their economy collapses. Why the art world thought it was immune to basic laws I'll never know but I suspect that, as always, greed and willful suspension of disbelief played big roles. It's no coincidence that many of the new art gamblers were the same actors who succeeded so well with packaging credit default swaps on Wall Street. I've always been a cynical fan of Hirst's and his recent comments give me faith in my belief in him; his skillful manipulation of this market is his art. Of course this offers the best value to those who don't buy his work!

The contemporary art market became a pyramid scheme with no grounding in reality, no value outside of its closed circle; its profits were only the result of growth in market share and did not represent underlying value. Anyone who watched Richard Prince's Nurse paintings go from $100,000 to $6,000,000 in six years and didn't see a problem is nuts. I don't care how good you think they are (and I don't) that is just not real value. I'd rather buy Florida swamp land.

As I recently pointed out to a former contemporary art collector client of mine, it's at moments like this when we look at the actual objects we collect and appreciate them for their non-monetary value. For some people this is a solace, for others it is a moment of bitterly cold truth. It is a moment of shock for collectors who turned out to just be "shoppers." If you look at your collection and only fear money lost, then you are not a collector, you are an investor, and probably only in it for the short term. It is a blessing to be able to look at objects freed of often discordant monetary values.

I remember another contemporary art collector client of mine laughing nervously three years ago as she said to me "What are collectors going to do when the market crashes? Trade our art amongst ourselves like baseball cards?" Apparently she saw collecting as a social activity to while away her time rather than an intellectual pursuit of discovering value, proving the significance of beautiful things that one considers important enough to want to shelter. Fortunately, when such people exit, a smaller and more cautious pool of collectors remains - and the good pieces quickly stand out while the rest sinks. When the deluge comes if you are standing on the highest ground you are safest. If you bought the best you will be safest. If you bought with your heart as well as your head you will be the surest and happiest.

Some markets are less vulnerable to speculation and fluctuation than others. Traditionally, the more established markets, ones with a limited supply (old material, dead artists) perform better in difficult times. To demonstrate this here is an excerpt from Sotheby's very positive spin on this fall's art auctions that were widely viewed as a sure sign of the collapse of art prices - yet completely expected:

(full report at this link)

As hinted at in Sotheby's last paragraph above, another example of more stable markets are those that are more obscure, niche markets with comparably lower and more attainable prices (Day Sale material) but again with limited supply (this is key). For example, still in the art world, we have a report (sorry the original article is behind a firewall) on a Canadian art auction; exceptionally strong sales accross the board, even record breaking results in the middle of a massive downturn. Why? It's a small market, very few buyers, all committed, no speculators, very little work is ever available, and importantly, the top prices in this specialty category are a bargain compared to top prices in the broader market. Such a small market is relatively easily sheltered; if there is a downturn, owners simply don't sell their work - which they did not buy speculatively, which they bought with truly disposable income.

Historic Period Blenko and Empoli glass are other examples of a comparatively stable niche market. Not only are the prices eminently accessible compared to the high end ($100K Tiffany vase anyone), but like me you are probably very much actively getting enjoyment from your collection on a daily basis. It has intrinsic value that is tangible to you. Your first consideration in buying was not "I can sell this for a lot more money soon." Instead you thought "I can put this on my shelf, enjoy looking at it every day and even put flowers in it. When guest come over and see this beautiful and unusual piece I have a story to tell them about American history and culture."

Fortunately even in the most difficult market there will always be bright spots; when someone is losing money, someone else is profiting. Some collectors choose to divest in tough times. I don't see good logic in it but then again, sometimes one needs to divest rather than chooses to - it is not unheard of for a collector to overreach. Some also sell defensively in fear that values will decline. So in leaner times it is often quite possible to buy very well as great items that owners would normally refuse to sell come to market. To those, let it be known that I will gladly buy at a fair price so that I may place the beloved items in a new home. To those who are buying I'll forewarn you that in my experience this does not mean that people sell at lower prices (other than in exceptional circumstances people refuse to sell below market or at a loss), the benefit is not in price, it is in availability of hard to find material. However, we are a year into our predicament and I have not even yet seen increased availability - quite the oposite in fact; collectors are holding very tight!

As collectors we buy things we love because they reassure us, they enlighten us, they bring us joy through the beauty and ideas they embody. It is true collectors who build monetary "value" by revealing and protecting cultural and intellectual "value." With my many articles on Historic Period Blenko glass I have done my bit to expose the wonderful and unusual importance of this historic material. Collectors such as yourselves enable me to do that work and and you do your own part too by making your collections into a material testament to these wonderful objects, one that you share with your family, friends and guests.

At the risk of repeating Newsletter No.7, where this time last year I happily stated that "2007 was the most successful year ever for Vintage Modern glasshouse," 2008 has been another record breaking year, with my two highest grossing months ever (by a huge margin) being April and October, with May and November following swiftly behind. Sales have been 50% higher and with the greatest growth at the top end of the market to boot. I am also happy to report a very healthy mix of new customers ranging from introductory to advanced and the continued patronage of good customers going back six years!

This time last year I was concerned about where business was headed and expected the worst. Despite a much more challenging environment than expected, my fears did not materialize, quite possibly because I worked harder and quite possibly because of the exceptional quality of material that I was happily able to offer you. And yet still, because I am human and live on the same planet as everyone else, I am cautious and working harder yet again to provide you with the best possible. But in the intervening year I have learned something beyond a doubt; we all respond favorably to value, particularly when things get tight. We don't stop spending money completely, it's just not possible, but we do focus increasingly on things with demonstrable value. I believe in the high quality of the items I am very selectively offering you and it is clear to me from your ever increasing patronage that YOU see for yourselves that these are objects of importance, relative merit, usefulness and desirability. As always, thank you!

Damon Crain

Please email me with your comments!