In this episode of the Business of Antiques, Toma Clark Haines and guest Andrea Hysmith talk about the many dimensions of the antiques business addressing the critical necessity of transforming a passion for antiques into a lucrative enterprise.

The episode also extends to the significance of marketing and branding, presenting a clear narrative that the contemporary antique dealer must adapt to the evolving tastes and preferences of today's consumers. Furthermore, Toman and Andrea provide actionable sourcing tips that reflect their extensive experience within the industry, equipping you with essential tools to navigate the complexities of the antiques market. 

This episode serves as both an informative guide and an inspiring call to action for those looking to elevate their antiques business to new heights.

Tune in for invaluable insights on making your passion for antiques profitable!

Connect with Andrea at ashinteriorsanddesign.com.

Connect with Toma on Instagram and antiquesdiva.com.

In this episode of the Business of Antiques, host Toma Clark Haines dives deep into what happens during the Antique Dealer Training Program, scheduled for June 22 to June 27, 2025, in the picturesque English countryside.

This immersive workshop is designed to rejuvenate antique dealers, whether they are newcomers or seasoned professionals struggling to achieve their desired profit margins. Toma highlights the transformative potential of this program, which promises not only to impart essential business acumen but also to rekindle participants’ passion for their craft. We will explore the mechanics of social media, learning how to create engaging content that effectively converts casual observers into committed buyers. Furthermore, insights from industry luminaries will provide attendees with invaluable perspectives on navigating the current antiques landscape, particularly in relation to auction houses and the importance of compelling photography in marketing antiques. Through these myriad offerings, The Antiques Diva & Co is committed to fostering a vibrant community of antique professionals dedicated to mutual growth and success.

Tune in for invaluable insights on making your passion for antiques profitable!

RSVP for the Antique Dealer Training Program here.

In this episode of the Business of Antiques, host Toma Clark Haines welcomes Brian Gallop, a Global Brand Ambassador for Graff Faucets.

He talks about his role in educating architects and designers on the significance of selecting high-quality, aesthetically pleasing fixtures that can serve as heirloom pieces, akin to antiques. His insights reveal that the bathroom and kitchen, often considered mere utilitarian spaces, can be elevated to artistic realms through the careful selection of fixtures. Gallup also shares his experiences with ASID (American Society of Interior Designers), highlighting how membership in such organizations can foster networking and professional growth, ultimately benefiting antique dealers looking to establish meaningful relationships within the design community.

Brian and Toma advocate for antique dealers to remain cognizant of the resurgence of earthy tones and organic materials in contemporary design trends, understanding that the integration of antiques into modern decor can provide both visual appeal and emotional resonance for clients. The conversation concludes with practical advice on how antique dealers can position themselves effectively within the design ecosystem, encouraging them to seek out partnerships, participate in industry events, and continuously engage with the community to foster long-term success.

Tune in for invaluable insights on making your passion for antiques profitable!

Connect with Brian on Instagram and check out Graff Designs.

In this episode of the Business of Antiques, host Toma Clark Haines welcomes publicist Alice Roberton, a wearer of many hats related to the antiques business but mainly a magazine writer that covers everything from antiques to home tours.

Together, they discuss the various roles one can occupy within the antiques business, emphasizing that being an antiques dealer is not the only pathway to success. Alice, articulates her multifaceted involvement in the antiques industry as a stylist and writer, which serves as an example of how one can carve out a distinctive niche. This perspective challenges conventional notions of what it means to work in antiques encouraging listeners to consider alternative routes that align with their individual passions and skills.

Tune in for invaluable insights on making your passion for antiques profitable!

Connect with Alice on Instagram.

In this episode of the Business of Antiques, host Toma Clark Haines welcomes the incredible Leslie Carothers, a pioneer in the field of digital marketing for the home furnishings sector. Together, they explore Leslie's journey from a successful investment banker to a leading figure in social media and marketing strategies for interior designers and brands. Discover how Leslie has consistently reinvented herself, the importance of niche marketing, and the innovative ways to leverage social media in the antiques business.

Tune in for invaluable insights on making your passion for antiques profitable!

Connect with Leslie on Instagram (https://www.instagram.com/lesliemcarothers) and LinkedIn(https://www.linkedin.com/in/lesliecarothers/) and find out more at savourpartnership.com (https://www.savourpartnership.com/)

As we kick off Season 5 of The Business of Antiques, Toma Clark Haines chats with Gail Mcleod, VP of AD&CO and owner of Antique News & Fairs, as they dive into the details of the upcoming Antiques Diva Educational Retreat in England (UPDATE MARCH DATES SOLD OUT: NEXT DATES JUNE 1- 6, 2025)

This engaging conversation covers the importance of community in the antiques business and explains how the antique dealer training program retreat will provide invaluable learning experiences. From expert guest speakers to hands-on workshops, listeners will discover what to expect from this unique gathering set against the stunning backdrop of an Elizabethan Manor House. Join us for insights, inspiration, and the thrill of the hunt.

If you are interested in learning more about the retreat or ready to sign up email [email protected].

Sign up deadline for June 2025 is April 15, 2025

To close out season 4 of The Business of Antiques, CEO of The Antiques Diva & Co Toma Clark Haines takes listeners on the road with her. Have you ever wondered what it would be like to be a fly on the wall on one of Toma´s antique buying tours? Well, that is exactly the experience you get in this episode - Guerilla Podcasting in Parma at Mercanteinfiera.  

“Guerrilla Marketing” is an advertising approach that uses guerrilla warfare tactics, or the element of surprise, to attract target audiences. This form of marketing is especially effective for driving publicity, in which an unconventional and inventive. In this “Guerilla Podcasting” episode, its podcasting in the trenches - on the ground at actual antiques fair. You will eavesdrop on real life conversations and hear first-hand the thoughts of clients on the experience of buying antiques in Europe.

Toma explains the ins and out of how to buy antiques at Mercanteinfiera and how to ship them home. Mercanteinfiera is Italy’s largest antiques fair - with over 1000 vendors and 3 halls of antiques. She offers the opportunity to apply to win a FREE TRIP TO EUROPE to buy antiques as a VIP with her in the Mercanteinfiera program and explains how you can shop the fair on your own. 

She jokes that her competitors won’t be happy because she painstakingly takes you through the details you need to know in order to write a purchase order for shipping antiques. And, she gives advice on how to CYA - Cover Your Antiques - for insurance purposes when buying and shipping internationally. She explains how to pay and the best way to get a bargain when buying antiques in Italy.

This is the last episode of Season 4 while Toma takes a short break to advance record some more episodes for season 5. If you have requests for topics to be covered, email Toma at [email protected] to tell her what lessons you would like to learn when she is back for Season 5 of The Business of Antiques! As always make sure to leave a 5 star review and share the podcast with a friend!

In today’s episode, Toma Clark Haines, CEO of The Antiques Diva & Co – the World´s Largest Antiques Touring Company – tells you how to shop for antiques at the Paris Flea Market and how to ship antiques from France.  

The first time Toma and her locally-based Paris team met with Jean-Cyrille Boutmy, owner of Marche Paul-Bert Serpette, he said, “The Antiques Diva & Co are Ambassadors. You make a bridge between the American buyers and the French vendors helping both sides do business.” The Antiques Diva & Co translates, negotiates, and liaises buyers with international shippers. As the Paris flea market has more than 3,000 vendors – it’s virtually impossible to scale in a single day unless you know where you are going. To book a Paris flea market antique buying tour email [email protected]

If you are going to the market on your own – the first thing you need to know is that the Market is NOT in Paris. It's in Saint Ouen, just outside the periphery to the north of Paris. You can take the metro line 4 to Porte de Clignancourt or if taking a taxi or uber beware that you MUST set the city location as Saint Ouen sur Seine or you might end up on the wrong side of Paris! Use Marche Biron address 85 Rue des Rosiers, 93400 Saint-Ouen-sur-Seine to get to the center of the flea market.

The market is open every weekend all year long Saturday & Sunday from 10am to 6pm. The market is open Fridays from 8am to 12 noon -– but NOT all vendors are open. Maybe 60% will be open on Fridays. Mondays have less than 40% open.  

There are 12 different permanent markets within the Paris flea market where you can buy anything from Art Deco leather club chairs to Louis 15th chest of drawers to sterling silver art de la table, paintings, vintage fashion and more. Some of my favorite markets are Marche Dauphine, Marche Biron, and, of course, Paul Bert Serpette. Marche Dauphine has a large number of artisans on site making contemporary art and artisan goods as well as vintage fashion in addition to traditional French antiques. Vernaisson in the front of the Rue de Rosier is actually the first original market, and it’s still one of my favorites because it’s so shopable with smalls and impulse purchase price items.

When it comes to making purchases at the puce de Paris, Toma shares a few practical hints and tips on shopping the fleas:

• No AmEx. Sorry we know you love to get your miles – but most vendors do not accept AmEx.
• For all other credit cards, make sure to tell your bank that you are traveling internationally.
• Cash is king.
• Yes, you can ask for a discount.
• The more you buy from 1 vendor, the more likely you are to get a discount on your purchases.
• If you don't speak the language you can use your calculator to ask for a discount. 10-20% can be expected.
• A cross body hand bag is ideal for preventing pickpocketing.
• Do NOT be a jerk and wear a backpack.
• It’s dangerous for breaking antiques and increases the odds of being targeted for pickpocketing.

In today's episode, Toma Clark Haines, CEO of The Antiques Diva & Co and founder of The Republic of Toma, speaks with a mother-daughter team based out of Florida: Kelly and Blair McGee of Three Graces Antiques. With a legacy of antiques collecting and sourcing spanning three generations, their passion for the trade has become an inseparable part of their lives. They offer a range of unique pieces, meticulously curated over the decades, and today's episode is the epitome of what generations of antiques collecting and selling looks like. 

Kelly's parents moved to London when Kelly was in high school and started collecting, utilizing young Kelly as their "spotter". This passion soon grew into a business. Jump forward and young Kelly, now grown and recently married, finds herself, along with her husband, attracted to starting their own antiques business so they started by "throwing some things on the dining room table to see if anyone likes it." Spoiler alert: they did. For years, the couple found themselves being jet-setting gypsies, going over to England and buying glorious items that they brought back to sell at shows all across the U.S. And so, they grew and grew, and twenty years later were one of the top five dealers in English Antiques in the entire United States show circuit. 

Of course, no fairy tale is without its villain, and this is where their story transitions into a cautionary one. Recession hits, and, miraculously, Kelly and her husband recalibrate, changing up their business plan. They transition into more decorative items, and, working alongside designers, they have their most successful show ever in Palm Beach. Victory! They go to bed that night reveling in their success only to wake up the next morning to find that their sixteen foot cargo trailer full of around a million retail dollars in inventory has been stolen from the hotel parking lot in the night. 

Listen and learn as this episode features the worst of humanity, taking you through not only a major art theft adventure, including FBI encounters, insurance fraud investigations, fine antiques found in Florida canals, and tragically underinsured discoveries. But it also showcases the best of humanity with stories of clients showing incredible acts of kindness to them. Ultimately, they closed their doors and Kelly entered into a season of careers in veterinary medicine, health care, and corporate jobs for both Kelly and later, her daughter Blair. How this mother daughter duo fight to get their passion back exemplifies the definition of bravery as they begin again years later in this new venture as Three Graces Antiques. This episode holds so much wisdom and insight into the industry both past and present, the changes, the lessons both learned and learning – it offers up to you, the listener, a rare opportunity to glean from their broad range of experiences. It is not an episode to miss.  

You can learn more about Three Graces Antiques at www.threegracesantiques.com and follow their Instagram @3graces.antiques.

In this episode of The Business of Antiques Podcast, Toma Clark Haines, Founder and CEO of The Antiques Diva & Co and The Republic of Toma, sits down with industry legend, Veronika Miller. Veronika's influence, guidance, and friendship have been instrumental in Toma's career. Toma describes her best as a trailblazer, fearlessly creating paths for others to follow both in the industries of marketing and design. Toma and Veronika have both learned that being ahead of the pack can be scary but worth it. Veronika shares, "I believe firmly that life is lived best on the precipice between the safe broad path and the cliff, and there's this fine line and sometimes you look down and go 'Oooooh, I didn't see that coming. That's a little high.' And so you lose a lot of sleep but I love living there because I'm just a big believer philosophically that that is where life takes place in every regard."

Veronika is the CEO and Founder of Designhounds Influencer Network Group and Managing Director of the M2 Consulting Group, and her mission is to help brands define actionable goals and build creative campaigns and programs – digitally and in real life. Veronika has her finger on the pulse of the design world, and society in general, and has a unique ability to distill big ideas – the big trends and the big obstacles – down to their very essence which is why she is one of the leading minds in our industry. To be able to sit down with her now, especially in this time that is precarious yet filled with possibility, and see clearly what we need to take away from this moment is an incredible gift and one we do not take for granted. Toma and Veronika take a deep dive into the current state of the industry, the importance of remembering why we are designing or selling antiques in the first place, the advantages of going back to our roots, thinking of the why's and our need for a provenance and a storytelling, understanding our value without falling into the trap of design as a transactional process, fostering an understanding of the "specialness" of our vision, and of the prominence of what we curate to sell – and how whether it's a piece of art or an antique – what we do creates special moments in every minute of every day of our clients’ lives.  

Veronika's personal stories, from her unusual backstory as the daughter of Europe's first McDonald's franchise owners, growing up doing her homework in the employees break room listening to training videos and learning the importance of customer service, communication, and a smile, to her recent struggles through the illness and loss of her husband will leave you inspired and empowered to move forward in your own endeavors. Her work as a serial entrepreneur, creating and building successful businesses is exactly the kind of inspirational education this podcast has become known for and is perfect material for growing your best business and your best life as we kick off 2024 in style – Veronika Miller style!