My Recent Trip to Vienna

This blogpost could have also been titled: "major changes in my life" but considering I´ve frequently announced that I´m turning a new leaf or going in a new direction and it hasn´t always panned out, I didn´t want to sound ridiculous. But the truth is, I am now starting a completely new adventure.


Last week , I went for the second time in the last few months for a visit to Vienna, Austria. It is an amazingly beautiful city, so different than the French cities I know so well. I´m going to have to switch my profile description from Francophile to Europhile because I feel the former is just too limiting at this point.


So what is the new direction? I am now the official "category manager" for "Fashion and Accessories" for the new online auction house Auctionata. Haven´t heard of it? You will. Just wait.
Now, you are probably wondering how I went from antiques and design to fashion and auctions. It is actually a very logical transition so here goes the explanation in a nutshell.


If you have been an avid follower of this blog, you have from time to time experienced my posts about a Chanel fashion show at the Grand Palais or shopping for vintage dresses from Les Merveilles de Babellou. You also know that for some time I have carried a vintage jewelry collection at Alhambra (Antiques). The auction world and the antiques world have always been very closely intertwined with many dealers buying solely through auctions or selling at auction. My experience with auction houses has been limited due the way our business was modeled, but I did attend an auction here and there in Paris or Lyon or New York. That world peaked my interest again when I read Seven Days in the Art World by Sarah Thornton, in which the opening chapter on auctioneers and the vital role the auction house plays in the art market candidly revealed many insider secrets long held sacred.
Every year at the annual Original Miami Beach Antiques Show, I seem to meet someone intriguing (John Mayer, Michael Bruno, etc), and 2011 was no exception. I was miserably ill but managed to man the booth the entire length of the show even being interviewed for the morning news and being featured in the Spanish version of the Miami Herald
but in the end it was a brief acquaintance with one of the founders of Auctionata that sealed my fate. I hope you enjoy the ride...in the meantime click over to www.auctionata.com and register to watch my inaugural Vintage Handbags auction on October 18th.

(All photos taken by me on location in Vienna.)