Freelance reporter Erin Jones, writing for wowOwow, relates how she discovered a sudden affection for antiques after paying a visit to The American Antiques Show in New York last week.

Coming to her assignment with admitted indifference, even disdain, for antiques (which she categorized as "old things"), Jones was immediately struck by the way the event transported her to another time. "We live in an era when everything has to be new—better—improved... obsolete," she says. "Today’s furniture is mostly represented by rectangular-shaped plywood from Ikea, or textiles adorned with a 'Made in China' sticker stitched immaculately on machines. Standing in this exhibit can make one feel like they have just stumbled out of a time machine. Perhaps my original assessment of antiques merely as 'old things' was a bit myopic. My appreciation is growing by the moment for the art I see in front of me, and it’s amplified by the collective passion I feel in this exhibit."

Apparently lots of people under the age of 40 have a new-found appreciation for antiques. Antiques Week reports that young people are enrolling in large numbers in the Asheford Institute of Antiques' distance-learning program on antiques, collectibles and appraising. "We're beginning to see the inklings of a generational shift in taste," says Anthony Drew, spokesman for the school. "Trends obviously come and go, but for now, it appears that we might be seeing the inception of a new trend toward long term growth in the antique market as a whole."