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.
![The Original Collectors Series: Los Angeles, CA](https://imgix-prod.ebth.com/2016/05/27/14/19/24/844/160529_Top_Banner_Template_720x767_O1.jpg?ixlib=rb-3.1.0&w=766&h=&fit=max&crop=&auto=format)
![Hand-Painted Polychrome Carnival Game Wheel Hand-Painted Polychrome Carnival Game Wheel](https://imgix-prod.ebth.com/2024/07/22/16/01/59/Attachment-87d16b70-c499-4c02-8ffc-eaa428191cfa.jpg?ixlib=rb-3.1.0&w=400&h=400&fit=crop&crop=&auto=format)
EBTH Cincinnati - Blue Ash
Hand-Painted Polychrome Carnival Game Wheel
![Neoclassical Style Parcel-Gilt Wood Columns Neoclassical Style Parcel-Gilt Wood Columns](https://imgix-prod.ebth.com/2024/07/16/20/48/13/Attachment-3a2d8b63-12f7-4c52-ad99-9deacc350dae.jpg?ixlib=rb-3.1.0&w=400&h=400&fit=crop&crop=&auto=format)
EBTH Cincinnati - Blue Ash
Neoclassical Style Parcel-Gilt Wood Columns
![3'8 x 8' Hand-Knotted Caucasian Lenkoran Long Rug 3'8 x 8' Hand-Knotted Caucasian Lenkoran Long Rug](https://imgix-prod.ebth.com/2024/07/09/14/52/27/Attachment-d2d30178-84e3-4cda-b143-2faee8e1e69d.jpg?ixlib=rb-3.1.0&w=400&h=400&fit=crop&crop=&auto=format)
EBTH Cincinnati - Blue Ash
3'8 x 8' Hand-Knotted Caucasian Lenkoran Long Rug
![Lorraine Robertson Wooded Landscape Oil Painting Lorraine Robertson Wooded Landscape Oil Painting](https://imgix-prod.ebth.com/2024/07/18/17/39/07/Attachment-8c02c850-2208-47a6-a815-c2f062592a4e.jpg?ixlib=rb-3.1.0&w=400&h=400&fit=crop&crop=&auto=format)
EBTH Cincinnati - Blue Ash
Lorraine Robertson Wooded Landscape Oil Painting
![KPM Porcelain Plaque "Springtime" After Cuno von Bodenhausen KPM Porcelain Plaque "Springtime" After Cuno von Bodenhausen](https://imgix-prod.ebth.com/2024/07/24/12/28/31/Attachment-2c7f1b40-d0f8-41e1-95b0-04cfaf2a1f3a.jpg?ixlib=rb-3.1.0&w=400&h=400&fit=crop&crop=&auto=format)
EBTH Cincinnati - Blue Ash
KPM Porcelain Plaque "Springtime" After Cuno von Bodenhausen
![Phyllis Trager Hyman Abstract Mixed Media Painting "Jubi Lee," 2000 Phyllis Trager Hyman Abstract Mixed Media Painting "Jubi Lee," 2000](https://imgix-prod.ebth.com/2024/07/22/16/12/01/Attachment-7c6ce283-b28b-4910-aaf3-65f303744664.jpg?ixlib=rb-3.1.0&w=400&h=400&fit=crop&crop=&auto=format)
EBTH Cincinnati - Blue Ash
Phyllis Trager Hyman Abstract Mixed Media Painting "Jubi Lee," 2000
![Chinese Style Burl and Ebonized Wood Cabinet, Late 20th Century Chinese Style Burl and Ebonized Wood Cabinet, Late 20th Century](https://imgix-prod.ebth.com/2024/06/27/12/47/36/Attachment-d3be4c2e-0bf4-4ee6-a51d-09a984679aa6.jpg?ixlib=rb-3.1.0&w=400&h=400&fit=crop&crop=&auto=format)
EBTH Columbus - Hilliard
Chinese Style Burl and Ebonized Wood Cabinet, Late 20th Century
![Hoi Lebadang Color Lithograph "Cheval en habit de Fête II" Hoi Lebadang Color Lithograph "Cheval en habit de Fête II"](https://imgix-prod.ebth.com/2024/07/10/20/27/42/Attachment-e5db88bd-4072-4ad5-90e7-5e7eb43e06ca.jpg?ixlib=rb-3.1.0&w=400&h=400&fit=crop&crop=&auto=format)
EBTH Columbus - Hilliard
Hoi Lebadang Color Lithograph "Cheval en habit de Fête II"
![Ginala Wool and Rabbit Fur Trim Coat from Bonwit Teller, Mid-Late 20th Century Ginala Wool and Rabbit Fur Trim Coat from Bonwit Teller, Mid-Late 20th Century](https://imgix-prod.ebth.com/2024/07/22/11/59/29/Attachment-1214e19b-65ae-407e-9292-1d5c458d02d8.jpg?ixlib=rb-3.1.0&w=400&h=400&fit=crop&crop=&auto=format)
EBTH Cincinnati - Blue Ash
Ginala Wool and Rabbit Fur Trim Coat from Bonwit Teller, Mid-Late 20th Century
![Chinoiserie Style Cast Fiberglass Side Table, 21st Century Chinoiserie Style Cast Fiberglass Side Table, 21st Century](https://imgix-prod.ebth.com/2024/07/23/13/11/15/Attachment-40d65a4f-634d-4942-bfc5-79ef54301ff6.jpg?ixlib=rb-3.1.0&w=400&h=400&fit=crop&crop=&auto=format)
EBTH Columbus - Hilliard
Chinoiserie Style Cast Fiberglass Side Table, 21st Century
![Pablo Picasso Linocut "Les Vendangeurs," 1962 Pablo Picasso Linocut "Les Vendangeurs," 1962](https://imgix-prod.ebth.com/2024/07/24/13/58/43/Attachment-140380bf-8267-4e34-b5c6-c9607a926380.jpg?ixlib=rb-3.1.0&w=400&h=400&fit=crop&crop=&auto=format)
EBTH Columbus - Hilliard
Pablo Picasso Linocut "Les Vendangeurs," 1962
![David Andrews Oil Portrait "Falcon at Rest," 2017 David Andrews Oil Portrait "Falcon at Rest," 2017](https://imgix-prod.ebth.com/2024/07/22/16/46/16/Attachment-6cd6cf04-e8ad-4cf0-a3bf-95ceb2576269.jpg?ixlib=rb-3.1.0&w=400&h=400&fit=crop&crop=&auto=format)
EBTH Cincinnati - Blue Ash
David Andrews Oil Portrait "Falcon at Rest," 2017
![Aaron Wooten Stylized Forest Landscape Acrylic Painting "The House.," 2024 Aaron Wooten Stylized Forest Landscape Acrylic Painting "The House.," 2024](https://imgix-prod.ebth.com/2024/06/26/19/12/13/Attachment-a7e6a3ba-9df4-4aa8-ae1a-030f44d3542f.jpg?ixlib=rb-3.1.0&w=400&h=400&fit=crop&crop=&auto=format)
EBTH Cincinnati - Blue Ash
Aaron Wooten Stylized Forest Landscape Acrylic Painting "The House.," 2024
![Persian Lamb Fur Jacket with Black Cross Mink Fur Trim, Circa 1960 Persian Lamb Fur Jacket with Black Cross Mink Fur Trim, Circa 1960](https://imgix-prod.ebth.com/2024/07/23/14/23/49/Attachment-457371ad-dc61-41d5-8958-bc9b32de00c3.jpg?ixlib=rb-3.1.0&w=400&h=400&fit=crop&crop=&auto=format)
EBTH Cincinnati - Blue Ash
Persian Lamb Fur Jacket with Black Cross Mink Fur Trim, Circa 1960
![Inga Kovalenko Oil Painting of Bird, 2024 Inga Kovalenko Oil Painting of Bird, 2024](https://imgix-prod.ebth.com/2024/06/20/12/57/18/Attachment-cae4e680-15d0-4885-9c53-3a2006ec312f.jpg?ixlib=rb-3.1.0&w=400&h=400&fit=crop&crop=&auto=format)
EBTH Cincinnati - Blue Ash
Inga Kovalenko Oil Painting of Bird, 2024
![Alexander Calder Color Lithograph "Stabile VII" for "Derrière le Miroir," 1963 Alexander Calder Color Lithograph "Stabile VII" for "Derrière le Miroir," 1963](https://imgix-prod.ebth.com/2024/07/22/18/31/50/Attachment-4e46e52f-c485-4d6e-a82a-372d0ec56f62.jpg?ixlib=rb-3.1.0&w=400&h=400&fit=crop&crop=&auto=format)
EBTH Columbus - Hilliard
Alexander Calder Color Lithograph "Stabile VII" for "Derrière le Miroir," 1963
![Burger Beer Illuminated Advertising Sign, Mid-20th Century Burger Beer Illuminated Advertising Sign, Mid-20th Century](https://imgix-prod.ebth.com/2024/07/22/14/59/20/Attachment-30358ac1-2628-4165-8ceb-8ddbac9821f2.jpg?ixlib=rb-3.1.0&w=400&h=400&fit=crop&crop=&auto=format)
EBTH Cincinnati - Blue Ash
Burger Beer Illuminated Advertising Sign, Mid-20th Century
![Saturday Evening Girls Painted Paul Revere Ceramic Paperweight, 1915 Saturday Evening Girls Painted Paul Revere Ceramic Paperweight, 1915](https://imgix-prod.ebth.com/2024/06/05/19/20/38/Attachment-ab3d99f4-bd8a-43a4-a792-693e6f26b43e.jpg?ixlib=rb-3.1.0&w=400&h=400&fit=crop&crop=&auto=format)
EBTH Cincinnati - Blue Ash
Saturday Evening Girls Painted Paul Revere Ceramic Paperweight, 1915
![Bronze-Patinated Sculpture After Auguste Moreau "Spring Symphony" Bronze-Patinated Sculpture After Auguste Moreau "Spring Symphony"](https://imgix-prod.ebth.com/2024/07/25/21/41/00/Attachment-9c521a1d-d272-4336-9736-65d9035ba28e.jpg?ixlib=rb-3.1.0&w=400&h=400&fit=crop&crop=&auto=format)
EBTH Cincinnati - Blue Ash
Bronze-Patinated Sculpture After Auguste Moreau "Spring Symphony"
![Salvador Dalí Wood Engraving "Charon et le passage de l'Achéron" Salvador Dalí Wood Engraving "Charon et le passage de l'Achéron"](https://imgix-prod.ebth.com/2024/03/04/16/03/13/Attachment-83b2f55b-b3f0-4458-96dc-4a3c177ce2b8.jpg?ixlib=rb-3.1.0&w=400&h=400&fit=crop&crop=&auto=format)
EBTH Columbus - Hilliard
Salvador Dalí Wood Engraving "Charon et le passage de l'Achéron"
![The Original Collectors Series: Los Angeles, CA](https://imgix-prod.ebth.com/2016/05/25/22/17/09/630/160529_Bottom_Template_766%20(1).jpg?ixlib=rb-3.1.0&w=759&h=&fit=max&crop=&auto=format)
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!