Studio Antiques
After almost four decades, Studio Antiques and Fine Art is closing its bricks and mortar store at 524 N. Washington Street in Old Town Alexandria.
"Reasons for closing our shop are several," said Richard Totoiu, who owns the store along with Lois Boyles. "With our website, we see fewer and fewer customers in our shop."
"Old clients, who used to stop in twice a month or twice a year, are only coming in to see something they have already viewed online," he said. "Our best client, for the past three years, lives up in New York and we've never met him or even talked to him on the phone!"
The store will hold a closing sale mid-September, lasting until the end of the year with discounts on all merchandise. The website is at www.studioantiques.net.
Since 1982, Studio Antiques has been providing Alexandria and the DC metro region with 18th- and 19th-century furniture, paintings and accessories. The turn-of-the-century building, located in Old Town, has three floors filled with antiques and paintings displayed in room settings. Studio Antiques' collection of 19th-century to Modern American and European oil paintings is one of the most extensive in the area with more than 400 paintings on view.
"Also, the interest in antique furniture has waned — at least for now — so we don't need to have this much space devoted to it," he said. "We will continue dealing online with paintings and accessories which can be more easily shipped. And we have been in the business most of our lives (we worked for other dealers before we opened our own shop). What we will miss most are the face-to-face interactions with interesting people."
Clients include first-time buyers with limited budgets, experienced collectors, interior designers and museums such as the National Gallery of Art. The antique store's collection of 18th- and 19th-century furniture is primarily English and American, but the paintings include European artists as well in a broad range of subjects and styles. Among the selection of antique accessories are chandeliers, lamps, and walking sticks with a major focus on tea caddies and other boxes.
