Astoria residents now have a more unique way to shop for furniture and fashion.
That’s because Showplace — a luxury art, jewelry, fashion and furniture warehouse and auction house in Manhattan — has opened a new location in Astoria, Showplace Backstage.
Showplace offers its customers “accessible luxury” and vintage options in paintings, ceramics, lamps, furniture, jewelry, sculpture, clothing and handbags.
The new Queens location features a 24,000-square-foot showroom, which will offer more furniture items than Showplace’s smaller historic location. Owner Amos Balaish said the second location came about because Showplace was growing and needed to expand its physical space.
“We found this fantastic space in Astoria and thought it was the perfect expansion,” Balaish told BORO.
Additionally, the team not only thought the warehouse itself was perfect, but also felt the community was a good fit for the business.
“We fell in love with the neighborhood,” Balaish said. “It’s really fun, lively [place]. There are wonderful restaurants. There’s a lot going on and we’re close to all the studios, so a lot of really exciting things are happening in the neighborhood. And it’s a great proximity to Long Island City and the Long Island City-Astoria market is a growing, developing market and we think there’s a fantastic clientele of people who are going to be really happy to find out that we’re there.”
Customers will be able to come and shop through the showroom for pieces, but one of the most notable aspects of Showplace Backstage, which had its soft opening in July, is its monthly auctions.
Showplace Backstage buys “good estates” from all over the New York area and sells collections from them.
“We believe that everyone should have a beautifully designed home and apartment,” said Balaish. “We love it when people take fantastic pieces from us and bring them home and really elevate their spaces. And it’s going to be a great opportunity for the neighborhood to have a place to come and buy cool, cool stuff at a variety of price points to make their spaces look really, really stylish.”
Auctions allow customers to try to pick up homes from these lots at more affordable prices, with some opening bids starting at $25 to $50. While the sale price is not guaranteed to stay this low, there are times when antiques sell for under a few hundred dollars.
People can bid in person at the warehouse using the actual bid drives or over the phone. Customers can pick up their larger purchases from the warehouse’s loading dock—a convenience the Manhattan location lacks.
The next auctions at the Astoria location are on September 18 and October 16.
“With a little luck at auction and a good eye, you can really get value for your money,” Balaish said. “You can take a piece of Park Avenue and put it in your house in Queens and make it really, really luxurious.”
Backstage venue
36-01 St. 35, Astoria
212-633-6063
nyshowplace.com
