The Original Collectors Series: Los Angeles, CA
After I graduated from the ArtCenter College of Design in Pasadena, I primarily did residential architecture, and then as the years progressed, I did a lot of built-ins, which turned into furniture. By the time the housing market collapsed, I was the design lead on multimillion-dollar residential projects, inside and out, top to bottom.
After the housing crash, I rented out my house in Hollywood Heights and moved into an apartment. I had all these boxes of vintage pieces that had been in storage. So I’m sitting there with no work, but surrounded by these incredible things I’d bought over the years, and I thought, maybe there’s a business there. That’s how my vintage business started.
I built up my personal collection over more than 10 years of going to auctions, flea markets, and thrift stores. In the early 2000s, people who were design-savvy were into Mid Century Modern, but the general population was not. So I’d go to flea markets and find pieces by Mies van der Rohe, Florence Knoll, George Nelson. And then I got obsessed with postmodernism, which is starting to get really hot now. I love the playfulness, which was a reaction to the “form follows function” mantra of modernism. In the sale, there’s a high 80s lamp, really classic American postmodern. There are also a couple of chairs by Ettore Sottsass, who founded the Memphis style, and another chair by Anna Anselmi for Bieffeplast.
When I went on shopping trips, I’d often be in this little Kia Soul. And people would always say, “You’re not going to fit anything in there.” And somehow I’d get in sofas, paintings—big pieces. There’s a rare blue marble cube I’ve been carting around for years, in and out of cars, up and down stairs.
EBTH Cincinnati - Blue Ash
Prada Two-Piece Sheer Midi Sleeveless Slip Dress with V-Cut Neckline
EBTH Cincinnati - Blue Ash
Kobalt Stainless Steel and Hardwood Two-Drawer Work Bench with Tools
EBTH Cincinnati - Blue Ash
7'9 x 10'2 Hand-Knotted Persian Mashad Area Rug
EBTH Cincinnati - Blue Ash
Oil Painting of Anthropomorphic Westie Dog Portrait
EBTH Cincinnati - Blue Ash
Countryside Landscape Oil Painting
EBTH Cincinnati - Blue Ash
Weidlich Brothers with Other Cold-Painted Tiger- and Devil-Shaped Inkwells
EBTH Cincinnati - Blue Ash
Parcel Gilt Metal Leaf Carved Wooden Angel Wings
EBTH Columbus - Hilliard
Neoclassical Style Two-Piece Buffet with Foliate Detail
EBTH Cincinnati - Blue Ash
Hand-Painted Folding Fan with Mother of Pearl Guard in Shadowbox Frame
EBTH Cincinnati - Blue Ash
Timex MK1 Aluminum Quartz Watch with Gray Fabric Strap
EBTH Cincinnati - Blue Ash
Albert Pujols Signed Rawlings Baseball with Display
EBTH Cincinnati - Blue Ash
Butler Specialty Co. Hardwood and Glass Bombe-Form Curio Cabinet
EBTH Cincinnati - Blue Ash
Leif Janek Floral Acrylic Painting "Roses," 21st Century
EBTH Cincinnati - Blue Ash
Joan Miró Color Lithograph from "Derrière le Miroir," 1970
EBTH Columbus - Hilliard
Remington Rand Model 21 All Metal Version Typewriter, 1920s
EBTH Cincinnati - Blue Ash
Halftone After M. C. Escher "Drawing Hands"
EBTH Cincinnati - Blue Ash
Reichard Modelsport XL3200 Glider Model Aircraft with Aero-Naut Carbon Prop
EBTH Cincinnati - Blue Ash
Bardahl Oil Bobby Unser Indianapolis 500 Advertising Poster
EBTH Cincinnati - Blue Ash
Timex MK1 California Aluminum Quartz Watch with Blue Dial and Fabric Strap
EBTH Columbus - Hilliard
John Nieto Serigraph "Cosmic Archer," 1996
You were early to the Mid Century Modern and postmodern trends. What’s bubbling up now?
Ceramics, because they’re one of the few things where the designer’s hand comes through. In other media, like metalwork, glass or most painting, the artist’s hand doesn’t touch the work. With clay, you can see the mark of the person’s finger. It’s a highly individual. That’s the new movement—the opposite of mass production. There’s a pitcher in the sale where you can see the ridges of the person’s fingers. It’s very thin earthenware, which is very hard to achieve—it’s difficult to turn it that thin and not have it break when you’re firing it.
You also have a few Murano glass pieces.
That was another thing you used to be able to find in thrift stores, but it was almost impossible to identify. Then people started clueing into it, and it got really popular. Now it’s impossible to find. The only reason that Luigi Onesto green teardrop-shaped piece is in the sale is because I didn’t remember I still had it—otherwise it would have sold already.
How do you approach art collecting?
With a design education, it was easy for me to spot pieces. Even if I couldn’t identify the artist, I could spot quality. In my own personal living space, every inch was covered by artwork. I love female portraits, and two favorites are the Jacut and the Japanese woman in profile. I always did female portraits in my living room, and once a friend came over and said he was starting to get creeped out with all these woman staring at him!