The chance to buy affordable Chinese antique furniture is diminishing as supplies dry up on the mainland.
Increasing demand among wealthy mainlanders is pushing prices up and reducing the number of items available.
Oriental Home owner Mary Lau says the shortage is because of the stronger mainland economy. 'Now it's a fashion or trend, and you have not just the older age-group of 50- to 60-year-olds buying antiques, as was the norm 20 years ago. They are also popular with 20- to 30-year-olds,' she says. 'Even if they are living in a 500 sqft place they want one standout piece, and that goes for local Hongkongers too.'
Another factor is the internet, which mainland villagers use to research their antiques. In the early days, there were stories of antique hunters giving gullible villagers plastic outdoor furniture in exchange for a valuable antique. 'They will look on the internet now and realise, 'oh, our cabinet is worth HK$10,000 on the market', so they will not sell if it for anything less than, say, HK$5,000.'
Lau says this has put pressure on the industry. In Horizon Plaza, where her store is located, Lau says two years ago there were half a dozen shops selling antiques and now there are only half that amount. She has expanded her search across the mainland to Fujian, Zhejiang, Shandong, Shanxi and Hebei.
She has also addressed the problem by supplying Tibetan and Mongolian furniture and venturing into reproduction pieces. Sourcing Tibetan furniture is easy for Lau as one of her family members is Tibetan.