From Parisian flea markets to the Upper East Side, the history of Cosulich Interiors & Antiques is as rich as that of the goods it offers.
“I am in this profession because of my passion,” says Fabienne Cosulich, who, with her husband Franco, runs the eponymous antiques business that has operated in multiple cities in both the U.S. and abroad. Born in Paris, to Italian parents, Cosulich says she has been connected to the world of antiques, “since day one of my life,” when her mother, the assistant to an American antiques dealer, would take her to the flea markets of Paris.
“I remember her dragging me around when I was small. I vowed at that time I didn’t want to have anything to do with antiques,” Cosulich says with a laugh. The young Cosulich found herself more attracted to the drawings and creations of her father, a designer and inventor, who worked on TVs, cars and more, particularly in the 1960s, a design period that remains a favorite of hers to this day.
Cosulich herself found her first career in teaching languages but, once she met Franco Cosulich, the antique dealer who would become her husband and business partner, it was clear the world she was born to was indeed her true calling. Over the decades, their eponymous business has brought them from Italy, where the business began in the antique haven of Arezzo, to England, where they would work for 15 years, participating each year in up to 35 antique shows, including the Battersea Decorative Arts & Textiles Fair.
“Many of the shows then, in the ‘90s, were very traditional and would not let you exhibit anything after 1900,” Cosulich says. “We specialized in Italian and French but we were already mixing styles and periods and that was why we liked Battersea; they allowed for that mix.”
From England they would cross the pond, setting up shop in Chicago where they would stay for three years before making their way to their current home in New York where they count celebrity designers, like Kelly Wearstler, among their dedicated clientele.
Since the beginning of their business, much has changed both in the way people buy and decorate with antique pieces. Advancements like the internet and a new, less formal way of living, have altered the business resulting in more thoughtful and informed clients.
“When we began in 1982, the internet was not there,” says Cosulich, whose assortment is available via 1stDibs.com. “It has brought much more accessibility and knowledge. In the beginning, people were having fun looking but now there’s so much available that there is a sophistication to the client. People absorb all that information and we see a refinement in their taste.”
As tastes have changed, so too has the assortment carried by Cosulich. Prior to coming to the states, the general desire in the marketplace was for more traditional style and so the business focused on antiques up to 1920s but gradually, and particularly following their relocation to the U.S., consumer preferences expanded to include a major interest in midcentury modern design.
“There is a trend now toward the extraordinary,” says Cosulich, noting she personally has a penchant for “moments in history where there has been great renovation. The Renaissance, the 1920s and ‘60s; I love them because they wanted to be different. It’s a position where the status quo wants to be shaken.”
As such, she is very excited to see such a strong market for design from the 1960s today. “It was such an experimental time,” she says of the era when her father’s designs first captivated her. “It’s why you have so many one-of-a-kind pieces from then. Plus, I lived that period and it was so exciting! You could feel the electricity in the air.”
Cosulich says the view of designers of the time was more that they were creating pieces of art, not simply something that could be useful in someone’s home. It’s an element of design she expects to see more of from modern day designer/makers in the coming years.
“I think there will be new ideas in furniture making that will dictate change in the marketplace,” she says. “Pieces will be made today but they will be very studied. They will again be more like sculpture or works of art.”
It’s a prediction that suits her style and business just fine.
“Pieces with a story to tell are simply much more interesting,” Cosulich says. “In a way, even the dealer with a story is more interesting.”
And that is certainly the case at Cosulich Interiors, where more than a lifetime of study and passion can be experienced through the goods they bring in.
“We go to such great lengths to find such special pieces and try always to have an inventory that is out of the ordinary,” Cosulich says. “We buy because we love each piece. The soul of the dealer is in the pieces.”
Article Courtesy of Gloria Nilson Real Estate Magazine.
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