Meet Philippe Horowicz | Founder & CEO

We had the good fortune of connecting with Philippe Horowicz and we’ve shared our conversation below.

Hi Philippe, how do you think about risk?
I personally love taking risk and it has gotten me where I am today. From a young age, I have always been the one going beyond the safe zone. Whether it was in sports, leaving my home town and friends to pursuit my goals, to start a business with no capital nor experience. I have always believed that the safe zone aka my comfort zone is where progress stops. Taking risk is where I found myself to learn the most about myself as well as my businesses. As a company, we advance our foresight with well calculated risk which are profoundly discussed. I would say that the United States is one of the countries that encourages entrepreneurship and outside the box thinking. We represent dozens of artists from all over the world and they trust our creative process.

Alright, so for those in our community who might not be familiar with your business, can you tell us more?
Let’s start from the beginning.

In 2019, from my wife and I’s apartment, I studied the art industry to familiarise myself with the basics of being a gallery owner. Since my wife and I already had a feel on how to properly curate,  I decided to focus on the business financials. A typical gallery operates with a 50% margin on art sales. For a higher chance of being acquired, the art needs to be properly exhibited either in a gallery setting or at an art fair. In addition to the high overhead, we have to calculate shipping, stretching/framing, handling, employees, marketing, taxes, etc. After the math, A gallery truly has a 10% profite margin on sales. The upside, galleries are able to exhibit most artworks under a consignment agreement of 6-12 months. Meaning, no true upfront investment is needed like typical retailers. If we find a way to cut most of these expenses and curate properly, the profit margin will be much higher.

After understanding these basic numbers, I briefly studied the real estate market targeting the South Florida region and found out that over 70% of staged properties sold faster and above market price. That’s when it hit me and my business model was born. I am going to market artworks by staging them in luxury properties… Sounds easy but not really…We need art and convince everyone that this service is beneficial… Additionally, we need to find good insurance and great art handlers.
For several months, I went door to door to some of the best galleries in Miami and pitched my service of marketing the art they are not currently exhibiting and stage them in luxury properties. We were able to get a nice curation under our belt and with the help of staging companies like Vesta Home, our business started. Since, Carousel Art Group has staged fine art in close to 500 million dollar worth of properties between Florida, New York & California.  We team up with realtors, real estate developers, property owners, interior designers & decorator to bring more life to a property and increase their value. The sales from stagings financed our first physical gallery, Carousel Fine Art, in the Miami Design District. CFA opened its doors in February 2021 and has since grew to three locations – Miami, Palm Beach & Saint-Tropez.

As a team, we constantly seek fresh works from inspiring studios and our mission is to connect collectors of all levels with art they will admire for generations. We are now known for disrupting traditional marketing standards, bringing art to the forefront of design, real estate and technology.

Any places to eat or things to do that you can share with our readers? If they have a friend visiting town, what are some spots they could take them to?
I have to say that my wife is much better at this than I am but let me give you my favorite.

I am European so French/italien style breakfast is my go to: Buena Vista Deli which is a few blocks away from my Miami gallery or IT in South Beach owned by my good friend Fabrizio. Both are great and my go to! More in the creative side, I did recently try Little Hen in Midtown which was really nice.

If my friend likes the beach, South Point is great or even better, rent a boat for the day. If the weather is not ideal, Miami is great for shopping : Miami Design District, Brickell or aventura / Bal Harbor

Wynwood is also a very cool place to visit if you’re into art and interesting foods. If you like cigars, I would bring you to a few spots in Little Havana where you can have a small taste of how Cuba feels like.

Night time : I enjoyed going clubbing in my teens (Liv, Story, etc) but now, I prefer drinking my old fashion in a much more chill environment. Gitano in the Faena District is great as well as happy hour on the terrace of Amara in Edgewater. Dinners, too many awesome restaurants to name but none beats my wife’s cooking.

Shoutout is all about shouting out others who you feel deserve additional recognition and exposure. Who would you like to shoutout?
I couldn’t agree more! A large part of who I’ve become comes from the people I have met along the way. From my mother raising two kids with her art and teaching me what true determination looks like to my wife who gave me the opportunity to find love and fight for a higher purpose than myself. We all need role models or people we can lean on when times get tough. I can say with much proudness that both my wife and mother have been my biggest supporters.

I will, however, dedicate this shoutout to a person who I respect more than most ; Pat Etcheberry. Pat was my coach for several years while training as an athlete and he showed me that our limits (mind & body) can always be pushed. I could have easily taken the safe route while in training and be like all the other kids. Instead, I pushed myself to the limit and became my best self. Pat indirectly gave me the confidence to pursuit anything I want in life and showed me that we are only as strong as we think we are. I am 30 years old and ready to conquer!

Website: https://nyc.carouselartgroup.com

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/carouselfineart/

Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/philippe-horowicz-60aa6596/

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/carouselfineart/

Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCFgN-Pv-tIpy-jhevvJAQ5A

Other: Additional Instagrams: Personal : @philippehorowicz Partner: @laura.curated Business: @carouselartgroup.com Business: @carolinedechamby

Image Credits
Philippe & Laura Horowicz