On the edge aan het IJ
Doctor Decorum exhibited at the third edition of Design Icons, one of Europe’s largest trade fairs in vintage design, during the weekend of 7 and 8 February. Along with about sixty other exhibitors the Doctor showed his special collection to an interested and knowledgeable audience. This translated into good business and ditto conversations with fans. The ambiance was great. The Kromhouthal – a former marine engine factory in the North part of Amsterdam – is a great industrial setting right on the glorious waters of the IJ. The collection of Doctor Decorum was lit in a gorgeous manner with daylight flooding in both from the sky and from the water.
Exhibitors came from all over Europe. They provided just the right dose of international pazazz during the two days of the fair. Two booths away a French lady displayed her tasteful collection. A charming former beauty queen wrapped in a majestic fur coat that she kept on for two days. Her sales strategy: benignly smiling at passing visitors. Having lived in France for some time the Doctor addressed her in in his best and friendliest French. The fur coat said nothing, turned her head away and never gave the Doctor a second look.
A hip couple in their fifties, artistically dressed and hailing from Prague, didn’t sell as much as one would expect. The cause: not their assortment – which was wonderful – but their lack of communication skills. They spoke nothing but Czech.
The absolute gem among the exhibitors was the chain-smoking bird of paradise on high heels, who had driven to Amsterdam all the way from Italy with her marvellous objects. The non-smoking sign was completely ignored by her, just like the yellow tape marking her stand’s limits. Her collection was displayed halfway down the aisle and visitors lingered aprreciatively in front of her stand. The Italian lady clearly had a talent for display. And she instantly made the Dutch Doctor feel like a cheerless Calvinist, forever staying within the preordained lines. Starting to feel a little frivolous the Doctor decided to move the Big Tulip by Pierre Paulin halfway across the floor tape and, what the heck, pushed his Arne Jacobson Butterfly Chairs right up the aisle. From the corner of his eye he noticed his Polish and Belgian neighbours shove a floor lamp and a coffee table across the borders of their marked spot. Living on the edge!
