Collecting Design

Confessions of a connoisseur

Insiders' tips: discover the world of design with the help of thirty-two international experts and learn why the most valuable furniture is not what you think it is

Adam Lindemann’s second volume is the follow-up to Collecting Contemporary, an unprecedented success, introducing the lay reader to collecting contemporary art, with tell-all interviews by the biggest players in the global art market. The idea for this volume came when he was furnishing his new house. "Art collectors like myself who hung beautiful contemporary paintings on their walls suddenly saw their furniture look sad and tired," Lindemann writes in his preface, relating how hobby became passion and an overwhelming desire to know everything. Which is how this latest volume manages to give such a perfect introduction into collectible design: it follows the path its author took.

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."

The author:
Adam Lindemann is a private investor and influential collector of contemporary art and design. In partnership with designer Marc Newson, he re-launched Ikepod, a Swiss watch design company. He also writes a monthly column on collecting for The New York Observer.