Luxury Lives: Despite Slow Economic Recovery, Market For Expensive Things Remains

Beauty is in the eye of the beholder, but sometimes there's not much to argue about.

The business of fine and beautiful (and often expensive) objects is alive and well in Central Massachusetts, despite challenges posed by the economy in recent years.

The goods: sleek, handmade guitars; antique furniture, art and myriad collectible objects; and fire-red Ferraris that make you feel like royalty, if only for a day or two.

The following three purveyors vary in size and niche. But each exists in a space where appealing to consumers' desires for high-end objects of beauty spells the difference between success and failure.

Though they differ in many ways, the owners of these companies have this in common: They love what they do.

Skinner Inc.

Marlborough-based Skinner Inc. has made a name for itself in the auction world.

Skinner has expanded its offerings over the past four decades from fine art and antiques — and now houses 20 specialty departments, each with its own appraisers. Skinner auctions art, fine wines — and a wide range of antique items, from automatons and clocks to cars, manuscripts, books and furniture.

What the items have in common, said Skinner's CEO Karen Keane, is they all have a history.

"I think that these objects tell a story, every one of them," she said in an interview at Skinner's 70,000-square-foot headquarters. "And that as well imbues them with a little more than just the material world. It informs us about our past, which I always thinks gives you a sense of where you might be headed as a culture."

The economy has interesting and unpredictable effects on what sorts of items become big sellers. Sometimes, certain objects just become "the flavor of the day." But other times, larger forces are at work.

With the international metals markets hot because of economic uncertainty, for example, Skinner's jewelry business has been booming. Asian artifacts are also seeing a resurgence, which Keane attributes to the rise of the Chinese middle class.

"These items are being sucked back out of New England," she said.

On the other hand, the Americana items that were so popular a decade ago have fallen off somewhat.

"I think that there is a little bit of a domestic malaise that people are not feeling so bullish on Americana," she said. "However, it's a great time to buy."

Keane bubbles with enthusiasm for her craft. She's a regular on the popular PBS program "Antiques Roadshow," where she has been appraising antiques for all 17 of the show's seasons. Other Skinner appraisers can also be spotted on the show.

The publicity has been good for the auction industry, she said, and it has brought awareness to consumers who might otherwise unknowingly sell valuable antiques at a yard sale.

"I never tire of looking at things and, in my mind, comparing them to things I've seen," Keane said.

The auction house has plenty to brag about. Record-setting sales in recent years include a Fitz Henry Lane painting that netted $5.5 million and a Stradivarius violin crafted in 1721 that sold for $1.4 million.

In the world of auctions, big numbers tend to stand out.

Keane is thrilled when her company can be a middleman for such big deals, but she feels some lament, too. For the auction business to survive into the future, it will need more than just wealthy collectors.

"We have this tendency to focus on our record prices and then everyone thinks 'Why bother going to Skinner? I can't afford anything at all,'" Keane said.

Kate De Bethune, Skinner's marketing director, chimed in: "The idea that it's only for collectors or that it's this rarified atmosphere is just not true," she said.

With that in mind, Skinner has made it a focus to offer more affordable items in its so-called discovery auctions, where sales are in the $200 to $1,000 range. It also offers bidding through its website, by telephone and in person.

Keane said catering to both the higher and lower ends of the market has been good business.

"You can't get the New York houses too excited about that level," she said.

Status Ride

Worcester native Michael Clark zooms up an Interstate 290 onramp in a 2008 Lamborghini Gallardo. It's a sunny day and the roof is down as the absurdly powerful car roars onto the highway.

For a guy who got his start in the IT business, this is the life.

Clark started his business IT services company, Cinch IT, in 2004 after he was laid off. Five years later, Cinch was doing well, Clark said, and he began forming an idea for a second business.

The self-described car fanatic wanted to rent an exotic car one day, but found that the closest rental agency offering such cars was in New Jersey. The price of delivering one of the cars over such a long distance was about half of the rental. Clark did some web research and discovered the New England market was pretty much untapped.

"There was a ton of demand," he said.

So he approached banks for financing.

"They laughed at me," he said.

To get things rolling, Clark convinced friends and family members to invest. The company now has one of the larger fleets in New England, including a Porsche, a Lamborghini, a Ferrari and a number of luxury vehicles.

Status Ride delivers its rental vehicles all over New England. Many times, deliveries go to mansions in Newport, R.I., or to expensive hotels in Boston, Clark said. The concierge services all have his number.

Clark said Middle Eastern royalty, movie stars and directors have all rented vehicles from Status, sometimes for weeks or months at a time. Past customers have also included hedge fund managers and corporate executives.

"A lot of my customers are recession proof," Clark said.

But not all are wealthy. He said people with blue- or white-collar jobs rent the cars too, usually for special occasions.

What Status Ride is offering is a status symbol, temporary though it may be.

Nothing on the cars gives away that they're rentals. There are no stickers, decals or unusual license plates.

"It really is your car for the day," he said.

Status has to turn away about one in four prospective renters because of poor driving records or lack of credit, Clark said.

That helps keep his insurance costs lower. And coincidence or not, the company has not had to claim a single incident to its insurer in three years.

Girouard Guitars

Paul Girouard has been a cabinet and furniture maker most of his life.

Girouard, who owns Fine Lines Wood Furnishings in Sturbridge, has also been a guitarist since he was a child. But it wasn't until about three years ago when the expert woodworker made his first foray into building the instruments.

Now that experiment has flourished into a new division for Girouard's business.

The guitars and basses displayed in his showroom just off Route 148 are all solid-body electrics. They vary in shape and style. Some have elaborate paintings on them. Others have unique headstocks or are built from wood with unusual features, such as a knot hole all the way through the body.

"When I see a piece of wood that has some unique character in it, right away I start thinking about how I'm going to use it," he said. "It's really art. Music is art and so are our guitars."

The instruments sell for more than $2,000.

One thing that isn't quickly apparent when you see Girouard's creations is who built them.

Girouard puts a small signature and stamp on the backs of the guitars, but the headstocks bear no logo or name, unlike most guitars you'd find in a shop.

It's mysterious, and he kind of likes it that way.

"Anyone can go to a guitar store and buy a guitar. But when you can get a guitar that looks unique and it's something no one else has, it just adds a natural element," he said.

So if he's not willing to advertise on his headstocks, how does Girouard market his brand?

To get his name out into the music world, Girouard has signed on a handful of touring bands to promote his guitars.

They hang banners at concerts and some have done promotional videos. In exchange, they get to play a custom instrument.

And Girouard is a big believer in Facebook. He says the social networking website has done wonders for getting his name out. He particularly enjoys conversing with musicians about what sort of shapes and features they might like to see in a guitar.

Girouard has made his living in cabinetry, but he admits he wouldn't mind if his instrument-making business really took off. Lugging 200-pound furniture up stairs can get a little taxing sometimes, after all.

There's a lot in common between building guitars and building cabinets, but there are differences. Cabinetmaking requires plenty of precision, but guitar-making takes it to another level, Girouard said.

"Precision is everything really," he said. "If things are a little bit off, then it's not going to play right it's not going to sound right."

Another big difference has been the clientele.

Girouard is used to building cabinets, mantles and other furniture items for people with nice homes. He also built the bars at a number of Sturbridge restaurants, including the revamped Cedar Street Grille and Avellino, which now occupies the space where the Whistling Swan operated for many years.

"You've got those people that come in driving their fancy cars and live in big, beautiful houses," he said.

But guitarists, even those who have several thousand dollars to spend on a custom instrument, are a different breed.

"Then the other side of our clientele is people who come in and sit on the floor and they've got cutoffs on and they play guitar," he said with a laugh.

The fun part for Girouard is that most guitarists willing to part with that kind of cash are talented players.

"I sit there and watch and my jaw drops," he said. n

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