Photos by Atif Kazmi for Por Homme at Jon Buscemi’s Maison Maria home
We recently took a short trip up to New York’s Westchester County to visit the offices of The Finest, a new auction house that’s a lot different than the ones we’re accustomed to hearing about. And that’s probably because Bonhams and Sotheby’s aren’t run by someone like Bradley Farrell. He’s chilled out, tatted up, and is a product of the skateboard culture that’s spawned some of the biggest street brands in existence. The Finest’s founder has had an interesting career path as well, having had his own digital marketing agency, tattoo shop, and even dabbling in the tech space along the way. Bits of all his past chapters are blended here with his ongoing love for cars and car collecting to give us an auction house that focuses on delivering a curated experience that’s like no other, in-person at select events throughout the year and through an online bidding system that’s super clean and easy to use.
While Bradley’s own car collection is centered around pre-war French cars like a 1921 Delage and a Bugatti Type 44-bodied 1930 Fiacre, The Finest offers a wide spectrum of cars so long as they’re the finest. We’re talking top-notch condition, rare, low mileage, and so on. The Finest also aims to declutter the auction floor by limiting the number of cars they take in, giving potential buyers and spectators more space to check things out and really soak in the experience. This Jaguar XK120 Fixed Head Coupe is a prime example of what to expect as it’s got less than 27,000 miles and has had one incredible journey since coming off the assembly line in January of 1952.
Bradley even let me get behind the wheel, a rare interaction with this car that I personally will never forget. Somewhere along the drive, we ended up paying a visit to Bradley’s childhood friend Jon Buscemi at his new Maison Maria crib in Mount Kisco. When Jon’s not busy with his new Soho store or working on new collaborations for his burgeoning shoe brand, he’s going full-force with the remodel of his new home. It’s a beautiful estate that we’ll revisit once it’s all ready to go but it made for one heck of a backdrop for our shoot.
Jon’s also a big fan of The Finest, having already purchased a vehicle through the service, a convertible Fiat Campagnola that had less than 8,000 miles on it and was first used by the Cimego Volunteer Fire Department in Northern Italy. And these are the type of folks The Finest is attracting. Some experienced collectors for sure but the focus is to build a service that makes it easy for a younger guy that’s never bought a vintage car to get into the mix as well. Between Bradley and his team’s passion for cars and their unwavering desire to educate others, there’s no doubt they’ll succeed here.
Head to The Finest to check out all the details around their next auction that’s taking place this coming weekend in Aspen.
