Thinking of starting your own art collection? Design Miami CEO Jen Roberts has some tips for you
The CEO behind the world’s premier collectable-design platform shares her insights on the future of the market, and collecting for the love of art rather than as an investment.
Design Miami, the world’s leading platform for collectable design, marked its 20th anniversary last year and has never been busier. It will hold an exhibition in Seoul in September and its fourth Paris edition in October, while a new Dubai show is planned for 2027. Monocle sat down with its CEO, Jen Roberts, to find out how purchasing habits are evolving and what advice she has for prospective buyers.
How does buying collectable design differ from acquiring an artwork?
I’m not sure that there’s really much of a difference. For the fairs, it’s simply a question of scale. Design Miami has a welcoming spirit that you might not encounter at one of the big art events. The best thing to do is to look at what appeals to you, then start asking questions.
What distinguishes the European and US markets?
There’s a deeper understanding of the history of design here in Paris but there’s more awe and delight in Miami. The majority of the show is contemporary design in the US show, whereas here it’s the haute couture of the design world and mostly historical.
Should people approach collectable design as an investment?
When I started out in the business decades ago, it was frowned upon to talk about collecting as an investment. Things have changed since then but you still have to buy a piece because you love it. Maybe it will retain its value or go up – but it might not.
Why is collectable design becoming increasingly popular among younger people today?
They want to express their unique ways of living and the easiest means of conveying that is with what they put in their homes. Also, during the coronavirus pandemic, everyone spent so much time at home and the design market boomed. The effect hasn’t gone away.
In what other ways have habits changed?
Designers are coming from regions that were not in the spotlight in the past. We did our first show in South Korea last year, a country that has an incredible history of craft, and there’s a lot of young talent there now. We’re seeing more designers and curators from the Middle East too.
Jen Roberts on whose work to buy:
1.
Emerging designers
“French designer duo Marie & Alexandre will be fun to follow.”
2.
An overlooked designer
“It’s well worth investigating the work of people such as Italian architect and designer Gae Aulenti, who died in 2012. We don’t hear much about her.”
3.
Japanese designers from the 1960s and 1970s
“Laffanour Galerie in Paris and Barcelona’s Side Gallery are good places to look.”
Further reading:
What Design Miami’s Dubai debut means for the Gulf’s creative economy
