So what brought you to Europe?
Over a decade ago my husband was transferred to Paris for a 2 month assignment - 12 years later we’re still in Europe! We’ve lived in Paris for 5 years, Amsterdam for 4 years and currently reside in Berlin. While living in Amsterdam I founded The Antiques Diva® & Co and we’re now an international company offering tours in 6 countries – France, England, Belgium, Italy, Holland and Germany working with 8 Diva Guides.
How did you come up with the idea to start Antiques Diva? And how long have you been "Chief Executive Diva"?
When we first lived in Paris I wasn’t legally allowed to work – having been denied my work visa – so I spent 5 glorious years living la diva loca, exploring my passions and hobbies. I took interior décor courses and art history classes. I learned to paint and becoming certified French picture framer. I studied cuisine at Le Cordon Bleu and Le Ritz Escoffier and took more wine tasting classes than I can remember! I like to call those 5 years living in Paris my finishing school.
When my husband was transferred from Paris to Amsterdam my visa status changed and I was allowed to work. In the USA before moving abroad I’d worked in advertising but realized I wanted a career change. I began looking at the various hobbies I’d pursued wondering if I could make any of those hobbies into a career. I realized that the one thing I’d been doing consistently during my time in Paris was antique shopping – for 5 years I’d antique shopped for myself, for my friends and even friends of friends! To test the waters I began blogging about European antique shopping and within a few months of blogging readers started emailing asking if they could take tours – at first I responded “no, sorry I don’t lead tours” and then one day I realized….I’ve been leading tours for years - Et voila, a business was born!
We started operating in 2008 and we’re now a member of the Berlin Chamber of Commerce. We lead antique shopping tours in 6 countries offering everything from 1 day to 2 week multi-country tours. All our tours are private shopping experiences – one on one customized for our clients shopping desires!
What cities do you offer tours in? Which is the most popular city for Antique shoppers?
Our most popular tour? Toujour Paris – though our England and Belgium tours come in a close second! In Belgium, we hit Antwerp and Brussels, but also Brugge and Tongeron – a lot of towns across the country doing customized tours. In England we shop from London to Bath to Brighton and beyond – from the Cotswold’s to the West Country we’ve got the UK covered and mamma mia, Italy was made for divas. Our focus at present is on our Tuscan Tours with tours offered in Florence, Arezzo and Lucca. Last but not least, we offer avant garde tours in Berlin, Amsterdam and The Hague! Coming in 2012 we’re planning to expand to the Loire Valley and Provence – stay tuned!
Why antique tours in Paris?
Everyone loves French antiques – it is as if one of the Louis’ put a spell upon the treasures of la republique so all future generations would be drawn helplessly to French décor! But the Paris flea market is intimidating – first off, it is located in a scary, crowded part of town! Often clients tell us that they’ve tried to go to the Paris flea market on their own but could never find it – instead only finding the tourist tack market that is located before the real puce de Paris! Our tours take clients by the hand past the tack weaving through the 13 districts, 2000+ vendors and 7 miles of antique filled alleyways – we know where to go and we show clients the ins & outs of the market. We start each tour by asking our clients their shopping desires and then we plan a route that guarantees they’ll see the vendors that are most likely to have products their interested in! And once the client finds what they’re looking for we negotiate on our clients behalf and help clients to organizing their international shipping so they are not limited by what fits in their luggage!
To whom do you focus your tours? Individuals? Retailers? What's the maximum group size? How long are the tours?
In fact – all our tours are PRIVATE. We never offer group tours – so our clients never have to shop with strangers. We want to give our clients 100% of our attention helping them to score the perfect souvenir. We offer everything from a ½ day (4 hour) or 1 day (8 hour) tour to a 2 week long – multi-country tour! The majority of our clients are tourists who are interested in antiques and interior décor and know that going with a guide helps them maximize their time & saves them money by having us negotiate in the local language on their behalf! While we specialize in making trade stops accessible to the public, we also work with antique dealers and interior designers from around the globe helping them shop for the clients or stock their stores!
How do you select your city guides?
I currently work with 8 Diva Guides – locally based guides who lead Antique Diva Tours in their home town. I’ve only chosen guides that I personally would want to shop with –I figure if I think the guide is fun my clients would think they are fun! My guides are not only employees – they’re also my friends! On our tours it’s really like shopping with your interior designer and best friend combined – so being fun & friendly is the first priority for finding a Diva Guide. Proficiency in the local language is another factor – as is a history in the working in the trade. Diva Guide Kim was an interior designer & antiques dealer in a past life, while Jennifer is the daughter of antique dealer and has spent her life buying abroad for her parent’s store. Meanwhile Susan, in Tuscany was an antiques buyer for Harrods department store in London years ago before working in an auction house and our English Diva Gail is actually the founder of National Antiques Week in the UK! Lucretia even has her Masters in the History of Fine Arts and ability to spot treasures buried in the dust! Our team of Diva Guides all have an eye for design and style – each one bringing a different skill set to the tour. When corresponding with potential clients – I often get a feel for the client and try to pair clients with the perfect Diva Guide for their tour!
What advise can you give other expats who wish to come and make it in Europe? Work, life love?
“You shouldn’t should on yourself.” Wherever we are in life – whether living in a new country or for that matter - living in our home town - we often think we “should do this” or we “should do that”. We spend our life thinking we should do certain things. When I first moved to Paris I remember thinking I was wasting an awful lot of time antique shopping – I thought, “I should be at the Louvre not at another flea market” Years later I realized that by doing something I didn’t think I should be doing – I had become me – The Antiques Diva®! When you move abroad give yourself time to explore not only the new country – but yourself – learning to become the you that you want to be!
If you had it all to do again would you? What would you change?
Honestly – nothing. Every mistake or regret has lead me on a path to something better. My original concept for The Antiques Diva® & Co it was not a tour company but a book – a guide to antique shopping in Europe. When a publishing opportunity fell through due to the recession I was so disappointed feeling like I failed - but because the book didn’t get published I started a blog which lead me to owning a The Antiques Diva® & Co - company that operates in 6 countries, working with 8 Diva Guides – a company that has been featured in Travel + Leisure, The New York Times and The Washington Post! I now speak internationally on antique shopping and I travel in a different country each month. I love my life and while someday I hope to have an entire series of Antiques Diva® books published I believe everything happens when it is supposed to. After all, timing is everything!
Thank you Toma for answering all our questions!
Visit the Antiques Diva & Co website and book your tour today. Stay tuned for our post on our visit to the Marché au Puces
Photo with the Mirrors: Photo Credit Angelica Arbulu
Photos marché au Puces: Yetunde Oshodi
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