When Cindy Wong furnished her first rental home, she did what many design enthusiasts do: Brought in sleek, new pieces that ticked all the right aesthetic boxes. But something was missing.
Cindy Wong, Founder, Raw Bean Studio
“The space looked fine, but it lacked soul,” she recalls. It was too pristine, too polished, and was missing the lived-in warmth she craved. That moment sparked what would become Raw Bean Studio, an Instagram passion project turned business, which is rooted in collecting objects with quiet history: Earthy stoneware, patinated metals, objects with imperfect edges from another time.
Raw Bean Studio grew out of late-night scrolls, marketplace pickups, and a growing reverence for items with age and story. “I began collecting not just to decorate, but to feel more grounded. To create a space that didn’t just look good, but felt real.”
What began as a personal instinct quickly revealed itself to be part of a broader cultural moment. In a world fatigued by mass production and fast trends, more people are turning to second-hand luxury – items with provenance, charm, and emotional depth. And as a new generation of collectors emerges, they're doing so not just out of aesthetic appreciation, but with a keen eye on non-traditional investments that hold both financial and emotional value.
-
Spiral fruit basket in brushed stainless steel designed by Jacob Borch for Excel Denmark
-
Lupina Chair by Niko Kralj, Yugoslavia
-
Vintage French ice cream coupes
Click to next slide
Wong describes her approach as “thrifted luxury”: A term that captures both the humility and the richness of buying pre-loved. “It might be second-hand, but it often holds its value and even appreciates over time,” she says. “Plus, there’s something special about owning pieces with a story – the patina, the charm. You just don’t get that with brand new things.”
This shift in perspective isn’t happening in isolation. Across sectors, new avenues are surfacing to support this new wave of collecting. One of them is Art Again, a resale platform focused on second-hand art. It was born from an observation that echoes Wong’s own: A significant amount of art sits unseen, often in storage or forgotten in homes and offices, with no clear way to find a new audience. At the same time, a new generation of collectors was emerging – curious, emotionally engaged, but often priced out or overwhelmed by the traditional art world.
(Related: Luxury Rugs - an alternative form of investment)
Chingyi Chua and Milon Goh, Founders, Art Again
“Art Again was built to bridge that gap,” explains Milon Goh, Co-Founder and CEO of Art Again. “We’re making the art market more transparent, accessible, and inclusive – starting with the secondary market.” In many ways, they’re doing for visual art what platforms like The RealReal or Chrono24 did for fashion and watches: Building trust, context, and liquidity around second-hand ownership.
What makes these platforms work and what draws people in is not just price or potential upside, but meaning. Buyers today aren’t just acquiring objects; they’re collecting stories. “Sometimes it’s like spotting a fruit basket your grandparents used to have,” Wong says. “That emotional spark changes how people relate to these items. They become more than just décor. They become markers of memory.”
Art Again sees this too. Many of the works they handle come with rich provenance: Past exhibitions, notable collectors, or simply a well-documented history of where they’ve lived. “The backstory becomes part of the value,” Goh explains. “It turns a transaction into something more intimate and meaningful.”
(Related: Passionate Pursuits)
This mix of emotion, rarity, and resale potential is precisely what makes acquiring second-hand art and design so compelling as an alternative asset class. Unlike stocks or crypto, these investments live with you. They become part of your environment and your story. And increasingly, people want their investments to reflect their values: Sustainability, intentionality, and personal narrative.
Younger collectors, in particular, are driving this movement. Both Goh and Wong have observed a marked shift in how people, particularly millennials, engage with design and art. “They’re not just decorating anymore. They’re curating spaces that reflect who they are,” says Goh. Wong adds, “They’re way more intentional about what they bring into their homes. It’s not about hype. It’s about history and craft.”
(Related: Philanthropy in times of transition)
There’s also a quiet rebellion brewing. Many of these collectors are rejecting fast fashion and throwaway culture, choosing instead to live slowly, surround themselves with fewer, but better things, and invest in items that last. A handmade ceramic bowl, a Brutalist lamp from the ‘70s, or a painting by a lesser-known regional artist – all of these can hold personal and financial value, especially when they’re chosen with care.
Platforms like Art Again and independent curators like Wong are tapping into this mindset. They offer a curated, thoughtful alternative to mass-produced luxury, and their growing success suggests a deeper cultural shift: One where value is measured not only by price, but by resonance – how an object makes you feel, what it carries with it, and what it says about the person who chose it.
“In a way, I think we’re all craving connection,” Wong reflects. “To the past, to each other, to our own spaces. These pieces, whether they’re furniture or art, help us feel grounded in that.”
As the boundaries between lifestyle, investment, and storytelling continue to blur, second-hand luxury is carving out a space that feels both old and new. It’s not about collecting for collecting’s sake. It’s about collecting with purpose and finding beauty, meaning, and maybe a little bit of magic, in the process.
Back
