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, pottery, lamps, furniture, jewelry, sculptures, clothing and handbags.
The new Queens location features a 24,000-square-foot showroom, which will offer more furniture items than Showplace’s smaller landmark 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 we thought that was the perfect extension,” Balaish told BORO.
Moreover, the team didn’t just think the warehouse itself was perfect, but also felt the community was the perfect fit for the business.
“We fell in love with the neighborhood,” Balaish said. “It’s a really fun, vibrant [place]. There’re amazing restaurants. There’s a lot happening and we’re right near all the studios, so lots 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, up-and-coming market, and we think there’s a fantastic clientele of folks who are going to be really happy to discover that we’re there.”
Customers will be able to come and shop around 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 “top estates” from around the New York area and sells the collections from them.
“We believe that everybody should have a beautifully designed home and apartment,” Balaish said. “We love it when people get fantastic pieces from us and bring them home and really elevate their spaces. And this is going to be a great opportunity for the neighborhood to have a place to come and buy fantastic, fantastic things at a range of price points to make their spaces look really, really chic.”
Auctions allow customers to try to take home pieces from these lots at more accessible prices, with some opening bids starting at as low as $25 to $50. While the selling price is not guaranteed to stay so low, there are times where antiques are sold for under a few hundred dollars.
People can bid in person at the warehouse using actual bidding paddles or through the phone. Customers can pick up their larger buys from the warehouse’s loading dock — an amenity that the Manhattan location does not have.
The next auctions at the Astoria location are on Sept. 18 and Oct. 16.
“With a little bit of luck at auction and a good eye, you can really, really get value for your money,” Balaish said. “You can take a piece of Park Avenue and put it in your home in Queens and make it really, really luxurious.”
Showplace Backstage
36-01 35th St., Astoria
212-633-6063
nyshowplace.com
