» Clinton Howell

Clinton Howell, President

Clinton Howell Antiques

The Home Trust International (HTI): What first compelled you to enter your business field?

Clinton Howell (CH): I went to London in September of 1971 and got interested in antiques in a number of different situations—I watched an on-sit upholstery job and was amazed by the facility of the upholsterer, I went to an opening of an antiques hypermarket in South Kensington and was entranced by the romance of the old which was augmented by (many) visits to Portobello Rd. antique shops. I found the London College of Furniture thereby and enrolled in the fall of 1972.

HTI: Who has been the strongest influence on your career and why?

CH: David Kenrick, a dealer in Fulham Rd. He emphasized the value of color in furniture. He also looked to buy items of quality that might have been overlooked, possibly because they weren’t a pair or a complete set.

HTI: If you could have told your 20 year old self one thing, what would it have been?

CH: Get experience from someone who has been in the trade for more than 15 years.

HTI: Please tell us about your family and your personal life.

CH: I am divorced with two grown children. My son lives in London, is married with a two-year-old son. My daughter lives in Austin and looks after the travel and entertainment for the company she works at. My son recruits hedge fund managers for several hedge funds in the US and UK.

HTI: What is the best advice you have received and who was it from?

CH: My father who said that if you enjoy what you do, the work you do will never get boring.

HTI: Is there a common thread that runs through all great products?

CH: Quality of manufacture is elusive to comprehend in any market, particularly in niche markets. Getting clients to recognize this is the first step in gaining trust, but it isn’t easy as you need their full attention which is difficult to grasp.

HTI: What’s on your wish list?

CH: Just to find great pieces of English furniture and find the clients to sell them to.

HTI: What recent project or transaction are you most proud of?

CH: My business life is always a roller coaster so there are none—high points come and go, that is the way it is.

HTI: What has evolved and what hasn’t over the years?

CH: My writing skills are very good.

HTI: The one thing I’ve had forever is

CH: I sell anything.

HTI: What do you miss the most?

CH: Inexpensive or at least reasonable rents for retail shops in NYC.

HTI: What is your favorite object that reflects extraordinary design?

CH: Greatness comes in many forms.

HTI: What makes a room sing?

CH: Good proportions.

HTI: What place most inspires you?

CH: My imagination.

HTI: Do you have a favorite…:

CH: Museum: I have visited museums around the world and there are no favorites.

Artists: Nor do I have a favorite artist although I might be more interested in seeing an exhibition of Winslow Homer (Monet, Van Gogh, Rembrandt, Rodin, Picasso, Goya, Turner, etc.) than any modernist.

Author: No favorite authors either—love the Russians, love 19th century English and French writers, Kafka intrigues me, Shakespeare is stunning, the Restoration Poets are intriguing, Dante’s Inferno is sublime. Of recent I have been reading history, mostly English from 1500 to 1800.

City or Place: No city outdoes another city. When I am in a foreign city, I want to learn about it through walking. Barcelona was fascinating, Athens just breathtaking, Paris incredible, London an endless stream of exhibitions, etc.

Food: Food is best shared. When I dine alone, I don’t dine, I pick. When I dine, a good meal can be as mundane as a burrito from a food stand.

HTI: What is your favorite brand or product and why?

CH: Apple—I don’t like Apple because of the planned obsolescence of their product, but it is an amazing product.

HTI: When you’re not working where are you most likely to be found?

CH: I work at all times—mostly in traveling to visit museums or places I haven’t been to before.

HTI: What makes a great organization?

CH: I would guess that it is one that offers a unified and purposeful philosophy.

HTI: If you could be granted one wish.

CH: To live in a world of pragmatism and common sense.

HTI: If you weren’t in your current field, what would you be doing?

CH: Sculpting or writing.

HTI: Who is on your personal ‘Board of Directors?’

CH: Me, myself and I.

HTI: What is your personal luxury?

CH: Being warm when it’s cold and cool when it’s hot.

HTI: Anything else you’d like to share with us?

CH: I asked a question of my seat mates a couple of times when I was in Newport and no one answered it well. What do you do for fun? Fun for me is knowing more, advancing and expanding my brain and my imagination. It’s why I really don’t like to drink much although I do.

Clinton Howell

Clinton Howell has been learning about, restoring, and conserving English antique furniture for over fifty years. He is also President of the Art and Antique Dealers League of America (AADLA) for 15+ years as well as President of CINOA for 6 years. CINOA is a French Language acronym for a federation of dealer associations in the UK, Europe, the U.S., as well as Australia. He believes strongly in free trade of legitimately sourced cultural goods and works towards that end. His prime passion is, however, English furniture and understanding how social advancements in the 18th century affected the furniture-making trade. He currently lives and works in New York City