DeTnk's Must Read Book of the Month
Collecting Design by Adam Lindemann
Published by Taschen Books, "Collecting Design" by Adam Lindemann is a great introduction to the design market. He focuses on what he calls the the five types of design market players: the designer, the collector, the dealer, the tastemaker, and the auction house expert.
Through interviews with various people he feels fit within these categories, Lindemann outlines his history of collecting design and the current climate of collectors. This book is a must for anyone interested in the design market.
Taschen writes:
Today's design market has its roots in the late eighteenth century: artists created porcelain pieces in editions that became in high demand. From Art Deco to the Wiener Werkstätte, Bauhaus to the Eameses, the French modernists, and a whole bunch of designers many haven’t heard of yet, this volume is the best guide to the collectability and overall desirability of design for connoisseurs and amateurs alike.
Collecting Design tells all about an addictive occupation, vintage pieces vs. limited editions, the big names and what to keep an eye on, all from the perspective of a passionate collector meeting market luminaries for in-depth conversations—his fellow collectors (Bruno Bischofberger, Michael Boyd, Peter M. Brant, Dennis Freedman, Dakis Joannou, Reed Krakoff, Ronald Lauder), the dealers (Anthony DeLorenzo, Suzanne Demisch, Ulrich Fiedler, Barry Friedman, Didier and Clémence Krzentowski, Zesty Meyers and Evan Snyderman, Murray Moss, Patrick Seguin, Alasdhair Willis), select tastemakers (Jacques Grange, Marc Jacobs, Karl Lagerfeld, Peter Marino, Robert Rubin, Ian Schrager, Axel Vervoordt), and auction experts (Gerti Draxler from Dorotheum, Vienna, Philippe Garner from Christie’s, Peter and Shannon Loughrey from LAMA, Los Angeles, Alexander Payne from Phillips de Pury, Richard Wright, James Zemaitis from Sotheby’s).
Lindemann writes: "Sitting down for hours with 32 experts, I can now discuss the finer points of Emile-Jacques Ruhlmann versus Eileen Gray, Carlo Mollino versus Gio Ponti, of Marc Newson versus Ron Arad, and so on. I hope you will enjoy and profit from this fascinating field as much as I have."
