I have had an ongoing tradition of publishing an annual review of my personal observations and opinions with regards to the business of buying, collecting, selling, and preserving original pop culture artifacts used in film and television productions (see 2007 Year in Review, 2008 Year in Review, 2009 Year in Review, 2010 Year in Review, 2011 Year in Review, 2012 Year in Review, 2013 Year in Review, 2014 Year in Review, 2015 Year in Review, 2016 Year in Review, 2017 Year in Review, 2018 Year in Review). This will be the first year since launching the Original Prop Blog that I won’t be publishing such a review.
A lot of interesting events and developments had taken place over the course of the year. However, in 2019, I was so busy, I did not have time to keep up with it all and report back here… though I had every intention of doing so. For that, I apologize. In the future, my hope is to carve out some time to publish interesting content here again (whether in written or video form).
For anyone who is interested, I can share a little bit about my own personal and professional experiences in 2019, which funny enough directly pertain to this art market. It was a truly unbelievable year for me last year – one that I never could have imagined.
At the very start of the 2019, I began work on a docuseries for ABC Studios for Disney+ that is all about movie props and costumes. I’m not sure what I am authorized to say about this show prior to its release, so I will pretty much leave it at that, but it was a very interesting experience to be sure.
Once I completed my work on the show, I went on to begin a new career with Julien’s Auctions. I’d consulted to Julien’s for many, many years, but this was a major change for me, as I went on to work for the company full-time in a newly created position as the Director of Marketing, New Media, and Contemporary Pop Culture.
This was an amazing opportunity. I wish I could tell just some of the stories about experiences I had throughout the year. I was very involved with the company in many different capacities… and very, very busy! Hence the lack of updates on the Original Prop Blog since August.
We had a lot of amazing things up for sale and many auction events – which I would have loved to have promoted here on this site – but I was so pressed for time. I took the position that if I didn’t have time to cover ALL of the industry, I thought it appropriate to simply go silent while I was engaged with other things.
In any event, I very much look forward to 2020. This month, I’ve taken on a new role at Julien’s Auctions as Chief Operating Officer (COO), so I will be very centrally involved in managing all facets of the business.
I really do appreciate all of the contact that I’ve had with collectors and others in the industry throughout last year.
I did wear my “Original Prop Blog” hat with one-on-one interactions with hobbyists who reached out to me directly, and I hope that I have been able to at least provide some direct assistance with my efforts.
I have also referred many, many people to the Movie Props group on Facebook, which I feel is a tremendous resource for collectors. Though my participation has been limited, I am a big fan. Back when I helped to run the MPF forum years and years ago, my biggest gripe was that people could participate without using their real name. With this Facebook group, it is required by default. With around 30,000 members, it is just amazing and what I always hoped an online forum about this hobby could be. So I suppose if I had to pick my #1 favorite thing of 2019 as part of my annual list, it would be a big vote of support and admiration for that forum and those that make it happen.
I hope everyone has a wonderful 2020.
Jason DeBord