Since Monday, January 18, 2021, a new kid has appeared on the set of the show Deal concluded on France 2. Laurent Journo, a 46-year-old merchant, joins the fine team of buyers. He confided in Current wife on the welcome he received, on his great passion for vintage and on his family.
Current Woman: How were you recruited on Deal concluded ?
Laurent Journo: I have an exhibitor who exhibits in all my exhibitions, all over France. Her name is Alexandra Morel. She is one of the buyers ofDeal concluded. One day she said to me: "Listen, you have a great personality, it would be nice if I introduced you to the production of the show". It happened like that. My first contacts date back to the time of the first confinement, last March. After that, there was the period of confinement. Things took a long time.
How was your first day of shooting?
L. J .: My first day of filming goes back to last November. I was a little stressed because I didn't know the rules of the game, in the sense that I didn't know who was who. It's a great team. I was thrown into the deep end and learned to swim on my own. It's a real, very intense working day. You have to be very focused. There are a lot of parameters. First, a visual parameter. You have to pay attention to yourself, pay attention to your actions, which you don't do in life. Then pay attention to everything that is said of course. You can't just say anything about public service. Its important to me. There was this pressure with the other buyers and this show that I was discovering.
Did you know the show?
L. J .: I looked at her. What interests me most is furniture from the 50s to the 90s. As soon as there was anything on this subject, it interested me. To at least see the coast of the objects. This allows me to see if I am buying well as a professional. See if I'm good on price. After, for the rest, I must admit that I do not get too wet. It's not my cup of tea at all, it's not what I'm buying.
"Julien Cohen obviously wanted to test me"
What was your relationship with the show's buyers?
L. J .: I already knew Alexandra Morel. I get along very well with her. We have a good bond. With Julien Cohen, we had good affinities. He obviously wanted to test me. I had to show that I had a guarantor. François Cases Bardina and Marie du Sordet were super nice and pleasant. I ran into a first day with some pretty caring people.
Apart from Alexandra Morel, did you know the buyers before doing the show?
L. J .: I knew Julien Cohen a little because he had come to one of my salons in Paris, at the Carreau du Temple. In fact, he spoke about it on the show. He said : "Be careful, because when Laurent organizes exhibitions, there are many, many people"Otherwise, I didn't particularly know the other buyers. They are really caring people. Frankly, it kind of made me want to come back and do things with them. For example, I bought things from Julien as a professional following the show.
And with Sophie Davant?
L. J .: Very little. She was in her job at the level of expertise. Me, I was in the first day of filming. We saw each other very little in fact. A little on the set and also in the canteen that day.
"I set up the first Vintage Show in 2008"
Where does your taste for flea markets come from?
L. J .: I am a collector. In 2007, I was already interested in vintage. I wrote a book called Vintage passion (ed. La Martinière). I told myself that Paris, the fashion capital of the world, does not have its vintage salon. So, I rode one. The first Vintage Show took place in early 2008. It was a huge success. I've been developing it all over France and Luxembourg for 13 years. I make over 150,000 visitors a year. A little over a year ago, like I collect so much vintage, furniture in particular, that I thought it would be good if I opened my vintage shop. I opened it in the 2nd arrondissement of Paris. I offer a varied and heterogeneous choice of products. It goes from furniture, to decoration, vintage of course, more from the 60s, 70s and 80s. It's really my core business. But also fashion and fashion accessories signed by great couturiers. This is what I like to highlight in my shop.
How long have you been a collector?
L. J .: Since the early 2000s. It was an apprenticeship and it still is. We never stop learning. That is what is interesting.
"Not everything old is vintage"
The word vintage has become trendy. What is its definition?
L. J .: Vintage is a piece, an object, in good condition, which is at least twenty years old. It represents a period of design or the paw of a creator. This corresponds from the 50s to the 90s, the second part of the 20th century. Everything is not vintage. It doesn't mean old, out of the trash. Not everything that is old is vintage. These are really products that marked a period of design or the paw of a designer.
Does vintage necessarily mean expensive?
L. J .: Not at all. In my shop, we can find products at fifteen euros as we can find products at two or three thousand euros. See more. For example: a Tam Tam stool, a colored plastic object, costs twenty euros. Whatever happens. Ten million copies have been produced. It's a product that marks the 70s. When you see it, you immediately think of those years. The same goes for a formica table. It costs nothing, around a hundred euros. These are pieces that are marked by a period of design. But since they were produced in large quantities, they are of little value. Maybe in fifty years it will be very expensive because it will be difficult to find them in good condition. In fact, it's when you start to find signed pieces that it becomes expensive. It's normal. It is scarcity. But overall, vintage is not synonymous with expensive. I would say it's more a sign of differentiation. People who buy vintage want to differentiate themselves. Do not have the same standardized products that can be found in large retailers, either for furniture or clothing.
A pure Parisian
Where are you from ? How old are you ?
L. J .: I am 46 years old. I'm Parisian. I work and live in Paris.
Can you tell us about your background?
L. J .: I worked in the press, at Release, for years. I took care of major accounts. Then I was a magazine editor. I set up the first free women's magazine in France called the magazineTouch, I stayed there for three years. It was a beauty magazine. Afterwards, I decided to set up the Vintage Show.
Are you accompanied in life?
L. J .: I am in a relationship. Stephanie Bensimon, my partner, works in international finance.
Do you have children?
L. J .: I have two children. Charlotte, 10, and Simon, 5.
Items purchased on the show
What do you do with the items you buy during shows?
L. J .: I resell them in my shop. I have Pollock chairs. I have already sold one. I currently have a Jocelyne Trocmé wall light.
Do you already have an idea of the margin you can make when you buy an item?
L. J .: I take a look at what is being done on the market. I have in mind what I could resell but often I exceed the budgets I had set for myself, but that's not a big deal.
Do you set yourself a price that should not be exceeded on the show?
L. J .: No, I'm not setting a price target. On the other hand, I set myself the goal of buying everything that is design from the 50s to the 90s. That's the only goal I set for myself.
Read also : Clément Anger ("Case concluded"): his career, his wife, his profession of antique dealer … he confides – EXCLUDED