This is the place for expert advice, which to me means the person giving it should probably know more than most about a subject and have some credibility. You don’t know me and might know quite a bit about antiques. So what do I bring to the table, or armoire as the case may be?
I’ve spent the past 31 years planning large-scale events, which means I know how to walk into a blank space and see what it can look like. My eye and shopping ability should probably be insured by Lloyd’s.
I’ve appreciated antiques for as long as I can remember. Breathtaking, ordinary, quirky and sometimes waaaay-left-field pieces have always found their way into my house and now, into The Bee’s Knees.
Here’s what I know: stop worrying so much about whether things “go together.” They don’t have to. There’s a perfectly good word for that: eclectic. Put the old table with a modern chair. Mix patterns or add a color. Sometimes the “what?” piece is the one that makes the room work. Fancy doesn’t necessarily mean beautiful, matching isn’t the same as interesting, and something doesn’t have to be expensive to be worth loving.
If you like it, that’s all that matters.
What I don’t know is every furniture maker, painter, glassblower, potter – you get the picture. And I won’t pretend to. I turn to research and ask questions. A lot of questions.
If someone wants something I’ve never heard of, I say, “I don’t know, what is it?” They tell me, and the next time someone asks, I’m better prepared.
Did you know there’s such a thing as a chocolate pot? I didn’t. I do now. They’re very fancy.
My favorite question to ask is “What do you collect?”
That’s when the magic happens. People suddenly light up over an unusual object (pie bird, anyone?), a particular kind of glass, all things cast iron or some wonderfully specific tool (sugar nippers!). Collectors know their stuff, and given the opportunity, they’ll happily share it.
I totally invite nerdiness.
Tell me the obscure thing you know. Turn something over and show me the mark I missed. Explain why this version is different from that one. If you know something wonderfully, ridiculously specific, please tell me.
And if you’re the one who doesn’t know anything? Join the club, we serve snacks.
Antique stores shouldn’t be intimidating. Wander. Ask what the strange little hook is for. Open a drawer. Sit on a chair. Flip the thing over. Just maybe don’t lick it.
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