November 10, 2021Drum roll, please. This month marks the debut of an additional way to shop the 1stDibs universe. We’re combining some of the sheer fun of the live auction with the ease of e-commerce.
Our new auction tool adds an extra fillip of excitement to the experience of shopping the world online for extraordinary furniture, art, jewelry and more. If instant gratification is your thing, you’ll still be able to “Buy It Now,” but you’ll also be able to bid on thousands of special items during weeklong auctions, and quite likely score some bargains in the process.
With more than 2,000 covetable treasures from vetted sellers worldwide on the auction block this first week, and 1stDibs dealers adding fresh material frequently, where will you begin? With Art Deco or mid-century furniture? Art prints or curious collectibles? Estate jewelry or iconic handbags?
To help you navigate the galaxy of offerings at the launch of 1stDibs Auctions, we asked two inimitable design gurus — potter and designer Jonathan Adler and his husband, author, window dresser and fashion commentator Simon Doonan — to laser in on a capsule collection of more than 100 pieces that jumped out at them. They took on the assignment with gusto, “happily scrolling through the cornucopia,” as Adler puts it, “to truffle out the unseen and surprising.”
Their curated selection has undeniable glam and sparkle. “I desperately want them all,” Adler says of his and Doonan’s choices, which were chiefly guided, in the latter’s words, by a “love of visual drama.” That’s evident in such items as a glittering 1960s chandelier, handcrafted by Germany’s Palwa lighting company from gilded brass rings encrusted with diamond crystals, and a super-stylish curvilinear Italian mid-century rosewood bar cabinet on splayed legs.
“I hope our choices will encourage people to pump up the volume on their decor,” Doonan says.
A uniquely shaped Hollywood Regency–style mohair slipper chair by Grosfeld House should do exactly that. “Chairs can just be a place to sit, or they can be incredibly expressive,” says Adler. “This one captures the essence of mid-century cinematic glamour with its scrolly lines and epic presence.” It’s waiting, he adds, “for the right starlet’s home.”
Adler zeroed in on another 1stDibs discovery — an octagonal French marquetry mirror crafted from burlwood by Jean Claude Mahey in 1970s orange — simply because, he says, “it tingles my chakras!”
Bidding on 1stDibs is simple. Go to the Auctions tab on our navigation bar to view all auction items at once, or find biddable pieces while browsing the site by keeping an eye out for special auction tags. If the seven-day timed window on an item has begun, you’ll see a countdown clock.
Some lots have reserves, others don’t. The long-established 1stDibs Buyer Protection policy applies to all auction items, so bid away with complete peace of mind. And no worries about that bane of old-school auctions: the buyer’s premium. You’ll pay only the final, knock-down price, plus any taxes and shipping. To smooth the process further, 1stDibs facilitates the shipping.
So place your bids, and check back often. As they said in the heyday of live auctions, Going . . . going . . . gone!
