February 2009 ❖ Arlington Connection

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February 2009

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By David Schultz

Peter Groves has soldsafes to high-rankinggovernment officialsand to foreign heads

of state. He even once installedsafes in the vehicles of the Israeliintelligence service so they couldsecure their handguns.

But he also installs safes in thehomes of Northern Virginiaresidents. Groves is the owner ofFedLock, an Arlington-basedcompany that specializes inmaking safes for government,business and individual clients.

“People want to put them in

difficult places, with a lot ofweight and the floor won’t beable to take it,” he said. “Usually[we install] just a wall safe in acloset, tucked away behind theclothes. Lots of people like to usethat as camouflage.”

Groves said he first becameaware of the importance of safeswhen he was a graduate studentliving in Rosslyn and a burglarbroke into his home. “Everyresidence should have a safe,” hesaid. “Your valuable documents,your heirlooms, [they] don’thave a price.”

Groves said the majority oftheir business consists of servingclients who are from the govern-ment or clients who do businesswith the government.

But individuals also make up asizeable chunk of their clientele,

he said.Many people

want to keeptheir valuablesin their homesrather than in asafe deposit boxin a bank,Groves said. “Noone wants tohave to wait forthe bank toopen if they’reworking ontheir taxes, orthey’re workingon their will, orthey want toaccess a finepiece of jew-elry,” he said.“You can just goright to yoursafe and open it up and geteverything you need.”

He says that as the economyhas worsened, his businesshas boomed.

“Because the economygets worse, crime in-creases,” Groves said. “Thatalways happens. … Whenthe economy gets bad, thesecurity business getsbetter.”

Safe At Home

Safe Company Thrives In ArlingtonLocal companythrives by selling safesto security-minded.

“Every residenceshould have a safe.”

— Pete Groves,co-owner, FedLock

For antiquecollectors,FedLock has afew custom madesafes that exceedtoday’s fire andburglarystandards.

Electronic locks for entry doors and safes.

FedLock co-owner Michael Groves founded FedLock 20years ago in Arlington with his brother Pete.

Photos by

Louise Krafft

Connection

MoreFor more information on FedLock,visit its Web site at www.fedlock.com.

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Arlington C

onnection ❖ February 2009

5 HLS

By Marilyn Campbell

Julian Fore pur-chased his firstpiece of antiquefurniture in the

1970s when he was agraduate student at theUniversity of Virginia. Itwas a mahogany Englishbachelor’s chest that hefound at a shop inCharlottesville. He boughtit because he found itaffordable and wellmade, but he laterfound an historicaltreasure.

“Tucked inside one ofthe drawers was thefuneral program of oneof the prior owners,”said Fore, owner ofFore Consulting Inc., inMcLean.

For those who have apenchant for antiques,it is experiences likethis that often propelgreat collections.Today, Fore’s Arlingtonhome is a masterfulmix of 18th and 19th

century furniture,silver, porcelain, crystaland art. Each piece hasan intriguing storybehind it that evokes aspecial memory, butpurchasing such trea-sures can be risky

business unless you do your home-work. Learning the principlesbehind building a collection isn’teasy, so when Fore, offered to giveme a condensed lesson in antiqueacquisition, I accepted eagerly.

I met him at his home withauthor and noted scholar of 18th

and 19th century American decora-tive arts, Sumpter Priddy, whosays that whether you wish tofurnish an entire house or simplybuy a few pieces, it is important tostart by defining the style that

appeals to you, be it clean Chip-pendale lines or graceful QueenAnne curves. A variety of differentgoals or objectives influencesomeone’s choice of antiques.

“One is aesthetic and another isthe sorts of ties you have histori-cally, or regionally to the thingsthat you are buying,” said Priddy,who owns an antiques store in OldTown Alexandria and builds andrefines collections for clients thatrange from museums to privateresidents.

Fore’s keen tasteand penchant for 18th

and 19th century Mid-Atlantic furniture,particularly fromMaryland and Vir-ginia, are immedi-ately evident as a

visitor steps into his entry hall,greeted by a towering 30-hourgrandfather clock from the Harp-ers Ferry region of West Virginiamade of cherry wood and embel-lished with a floral dial and sturdy,rounded finials. This is a clockthat must be wound every 30hours – it is a less expensivemovement.

Across the small room sits acherry wood game-table with abookbinder’s edge that is flankedon both sides by late 18th centurymahogany chairs with intricateinlay designs and horsehair seats.

While Fore’s collection exhibitshis sense of style, he says hisambitions as a collector extendbeyond aesthetic value. “You’realso helping to protect history andculture,” said Fore. “It is nice to be

able to do that. Hopefully some ofthese things will go to a place likea museum where they will becared for a much longer period oftime.”

After you determine your tasteand goals, take a look at yourbudget. “If you have deep pocketsyou might want to focus on thereally specialized, high-end deal-ers,” said Priddy. “If you have amore modest capacity, you stillwant to find people who specializein what you like, but maybe youcan find them locally rather thanhaving to go a great distance.”

Once you figure out what youwant and what you can afford, thenext step is to educate yourself.“Learn something about what youare purchasing,” said Fore, a realestate consultant. “Read, visit

museums and find areputable dealer. Yourdealer not onlyguides your collec-tion, but he alsoeducates you at thesame time. Now I cango into a shop andjust identify thingslike the period andwhere it most likelywas made. A relation-ship with a gooddealer is very impor-tant.”

Professional antiquedealers associationssuch as the AntiquesCouncil and Antiques

Collecting Antiques

Detail from a dressing table in the antique shop of SumpterPriddy in Alexandria.New England Maplewood highboy18 century walnut Chippendale cellaretJulian Fore at his home in Arlington.

Author and noted scholar of 18th and 19th century American decorative arts,Sumpter Priddy and Julian Fore in Fore’s Arlington home.

18th century cherry grandfather clock inJulian Fore’s Arlington home.

Collec

tions

“I don’t have the kinds of furniture orpieces that you just can’t use at all.”

—Julian Fore

Photos by Louise Krafft/Connection

Dealers Association of America(ADAA), of which Priddy is amember, are good resources forlocating reputable merchants.

PROVENANCE is another consid-eration that Priddy and Forestress. Both say obtaining docu-mentation about a piece’s past isparamount.

“When you purchase some-thing,” said Fore, “it is importantto have information about itscontext – who may have owned itand interesting details about thepeople who might have beenassociated with it over the years.Not only does that make the pieceintrinsically more valuable, itmakes the story better.”

Fore has been able to determinethe historical significance of manyof the items in his collection,including a sideboard fromEppington in Chesterfield, Vir-ginia. He said the piece was in thehouse when Thomas Jefferson’sdaughter lived there in the early1800s.

An experienceddealer should be ableto provide historicdetails. “The peopleyou deal with shouldstand behind theirmerchandise and putin writing whatyou’re buying fromthem, where it wasmade, when it wasmade, the condition

and any restorations,” said Priddy.“That is time consuming stuff, butit is somewhat of an insurancepolicy.”

Among the parts of his collectionthat give Fore the most pleasureare an 18th century, walnut, Chip-pendale cellaret that he keeps inhis dining room, and a statelymid-18th century cherry woodgrandfather clock that sits beneaththe cathedral ceiling in his bed-room. “Things should nurture usor reinforce us and make us com-fortable in our homes,” saidPriddy. “It doesn’t make sense tospend a whole lot of money unlessyou are comfortable.”

“There are good bargains now in 18th and19th Century American furniture. Tables thatsold for $10,000 five years ago might beselling for $6,500 now.”

— Lincoln Sander, Executive Director, ADAA

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Sold: Million-dollar Homes

During October, November and December190 homes in the area sold for $1million or more,

34 of them in Arlington.

Arlington❖ 1111 19th St N #2602 (a 2 BR, 2 FB, 1 HB Hi-Rise 9+ Floors in Waterview

sold for $2,000,000 on Oct. 10, 2008.❖ 3415 Vermont St N (a 6 BR, 4 FB, 1 HB SF Home on 0.23 ac) in Country

Club Hills/Broyhill sold for $2,000,000 on Dec. 16, 2008.❖ 4607 38th St N (a 6 BR, 6 FB, 1 HB SF Home on 0.28 ac) in Country Club

Hills/Arlingwood sold for $1,995,000 on Oct. 16, 2008.❖ 1421 Nash St N (a 3 BR, 4 FB, 2 HB Townhouse on 0.02 ac) in Bromptons

At Monument Pl sold for $1,775,000 on Dec. 05, 2008.❖ 2357 Fillmore St N (a 5 BR, 4 FB, 1 HB SF Home on 0.22 ac) in Woodmont

sold for $1,685,000 on Dec. 23, 2008.❖ 5340 27th St N (a 5 BR, 5 FB, 1 HB SF Home on 0.35 ac) in Country Club

Estates sold for $1,679,713 on Nov. 05, 2008.❖ 6606 29th St N (a 5 BR, 4 FB, 1 HB SF Home on 0.23 ac) in Berkshire

Oakwood sold for $1,659,900 on Oct. 08, 2008.❖ 1401 Oak St N #910 (a 3 BR, 2 FB, 1 HB Mid-Rise 5-8 Floors in The Weslie

sold for $1,650,000 on Dec. 30, 2008.❖ 5330 27th St N (a 6 BR, 6 FB, 1 HB SF Home on 0.34 ac) in Country Club

sold for $1,580,250 on Dec. 31, 2008.❖ 2632 Military Rd (a 5 BR, 5 FB, 1 HB SF Home on 0.26 ac) in Lee

Heights sold for $1,525,000 on Oct. 07, 2008.❖ 2621 24th St N (a 6 BR, 4 FB, 0 HB SF Home on 0.59 ac) in Do-

ver Balmoral Riverwood sold for $1,475,000 on Nov. 14, 2008.❖ 907 Irving St N (a 5 BR, 4 FB, 1 HB SF Home on 0.18 ac) in

Clarendon sold for $1,455,000 on Oct. 07, 2008.❖ 5367 27th St N (a 5 BR, 4 FB, 1 HB SF Home on 0.24 ac) in Coun-

try Club sold for $1,405,000 on Dec. 04, 2008.❖ 2208 18th St N (a 4 BR, 3 FB, 1 HB SF Home on 0.10 ac) in Lyon

Village sold for $1,400,000 on Nov. 15, 2008.❖ 3111 7th St N (a 5 BR, 5 FB, 1 HB SF Home on 0.15 ac) in

Clarendon sold for $1,400,000 on Dec. 02, 2008.❖ 4904 16th St N (a 4 BR, 4 FB, 0 HB SF Home on 0.27 ac) in

Waycroft sold for $1,350,000 on Oct. 30, 2008.❖ 3049 Military Rd (a 5 BR, 4 FB, 1 HB SF Home on 0.22 ac) in

Bellevue Forest sold for $1,337,885 on Nov. 17, 2008.❖ 906 Highland St N (a 4 BR, 3 FB, 1 HB SF Home on 0.11 ac) in

Clarendon sold for $1,300,000 on Nov. 03, 2008.❖ 1617 Taylor St N (a 4 BR, 3 FB, 1 HB SF Home on 0.27 ac) in

Waverly Hills sold for $1,269,000 on Dec. 12, 2008.❖ 5081 Little Falls Rd (a 6 BR, 5 FB, 1 HB SF Home on 0.35 ac) in

Shirley Woods sold for $1,245,000 on Oct. 31, 2008.❖ 5008 26th St N (a 5 BR, 4 FB, 1 HB SF Home on 0.15 ac) in Country Club

sold for $1,220,000 on Oct. 08, 2008.

The residence at 6606 29th St. N. in Arlington recently sold for $1,659,900.