Business
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September 2, 2008
FREQUENT FLIER
When the Cabin Becomes a Sales Floor
by Jan David Winitz as told to Joan Raymond.
As
the president of an internationally known antique Oriental carpet
company, my clientele is elite and sometimes too busy to choose their
carpets at my stores. So for almost 30 years, I have been flying to
them to make my presentations.
I usually travel with three or four really strong
young men. Their goal, once we get to our destination, is to maneuver
sometimes as many as 45 bales of rugs out of the airport, into a truck
and then on to our client presentations. A bale is simply a group of
rugs wrapped together. The kicker is that each of them weighs 120
pounds or more.
Jan David Winitz is president and founder of the Claremont Rug Company, in Oakland, Calif., and takes rugs to customers.
Q&A
Q. How often do you fly?
A. Typically, every 7 to 10 days.
Q. What's your favorite airport?
A. Santa Barbara, because it's so tiny that it makes me feel like I'm in an old-fashioned train station.
Q. Of all the places you've traveled, what's the best?
A. I'm from New York. The familiar accents, bustle and intensity get me every time I go back.
Q. Do you have a secret airport vice?
A. I generally prefer organic foods. But when I travel, I love to feast
on regional cuisine like clam chowder in a sourdough bread bowl at
Logan International Airport in Boston, or biscuits and gravy at Douglas
International in Charlotte.
It can be backbreaking work, and the days are long
gone when I actually hauled those rugs into a truck. I am very thankful
for those powerful, efficient guys who work with me.
When I’m not supervising the hauling of my wares, I
use downtime on the plane and in the airport to catch up on paperwork
and e-mail messages.
I also use this time to review and edit appraisals
for rugs we’ve sold. When editing, I always have striking 8 by 10
photos of the rugs. These photographs invariably tempt my seatmates,
flight attendants and strolling passengers, many of whom want to talk
about antiques and art.
There seems to be something about airports that brings out the inner art collector in people.
This year, at the American Airlines Admiral’s Club
at Washington Dulles, I was reviewing photos of several rugs for an
appointment that day in Chicago.
A gentleman who was sitting near me asked to see
the photos. He looked at several shots and then stopped at a photograph
of a mid-19th century Caucasian Lori Pambak Kazak, a rare tribal rug
woven in the rugged Caucasus Mountains of Georgia.
He asked if it was already sold. I said no. And the
next thing I knew, he was offering to buy it straight from the photo.
Apparently, he was a budding collector who had been looking for a rug
of this type.
I like talking about the rugs, but I must say it’s
highly unusual for a stranger to buy a collectible 19th-century rug
simply from a picture.
I have even made a sale in a parking lot of the
private terminal at Oakland International when a client, who was on his
way to Hawaii, stopped in his private jet to see our pieces — and then
bought two of our rugs.
But you don’t have to be on airport grounds to make a sale. Sometimes my seatmates feel the urge to make a purchase, too.
On one trip, I ended up sitting next to a gentleman who had been thinking about purchasing antique carpets for his new home.
He described his spaces, and I helped him identify the styles he liked from the photos and catalogs I had in my carry-on.
The next morning, on my voice mail was a message
from this gentleman sent at 2 a.m. He said he’d been on the Web site
for hours and wanted to speak about furnishing not one, but two homes.
A week later, we flew to his home with 50 rugs. He
wound up buying 18 during our 15-hour meeting, which began at 10 a.m.
and didn’t end until 1 the following morning.
Many of my rugs were created by nomads 100 to 200
years ago. I often think these weavers would have gotten a kick out of
how their artworks are now transported.
But sometimes I do think those nomadic weavers had
it a bit easier. No security lines, flight delays or cancellations.
Just an artist, his wares and a few good camels.
In my own way, I hope I’m carrying on the tradition.
Also
see:
FINANCIAL TIMES - "Treasures You Purchase to Hold on to" (3/29/08)
Download printable version 
MARKET WATCH / THE WALL STREET JOURNAL - "Domestic and International Connoisseurs Embrace Antique Rug Sales Event in “Next Frontier of Art Investing” " (6/2/08)
Download printable version
THE MERCURY NEWS - "Rare rugs" (5/30/08)
Download printable version
YAHOO FINANCE - "Claremont Rug Company Announces Additional Hudson River Valley Collection " (4/30/08)
Download printable version
REUTERS.COM - "Claremont Rug Company Holds Globally Significant Exhibition… Rare, 19th Century Caucasus Rugs" (12/17/07)
Download printable version
FORBES.COM - "Claremont Rug Company Acquires “Mother Lode” Collection of 19th Century Art Carpets" (2/12/08)
Download printable version
FORBES.COM - "Increasingly Savvy Clients and Decreasing Availability Combine with Internet To Create Perfect Storm in Rare Rug Market" (10/24/07)
Download printable version
MORNINGSTAR.COM - "Demand for Antique Carpets and Rugs Expands While Availability is Reduced" (9/16/07)
Download printable version
FORBES.COM - "Leading Antique Carpet Dealer Cites Boom in Internet Sales" (9/5/07)
Download printable version
WORTH MAGAZINE - "Masterpieces Underfoot "
Download printable version
CALIFORNIA CEO - "Putting
Out the Red Carpet: The Claremont Rug Company has woven a close
relationship with its customers thanks to a wise use of the Web."
Download printable version
CIO Magazine
- "Carpetbaggers: The Claremont Rug Co., purveyor of antique carpets
made centuries ago by Southwest Asian nomads, has benefited doubly from
the great leap forward to the Internet."
FINANCIAL TIMES - "How
To Spend It: East bay passions. The sit-ins are long since over, says
Holly Finn, but Berkeley has plenty to shout about...The Claremont Rug
Company - one of the world's best sources of antique carpets - is here."
Download printable version
SAN FRANCISCO CHRONICLE - "Art At Your Feet: Antique or copied oriental rugs express their weavers' inspirations"
Download printable version
OAKLAND TRIBUNE - "Web Helps Rug Store Clinch Sales"
BEL AIR ARTICLE - "What Hotel Bel Air (Beverly Hills, CA) says about Claremont Rug" |
