Pre War NYC Pied-A-Terre: Midtown

505 sq ft Studio w/orig'l oak floors & custom walk in closet


Kitch w/ south exp.

Modern gas oven

Loads of storage

Built in bookshelves

New A/C

Original 1930s bathroom

Custom shower

As is - $2,100 a month. Two month security and one month's rent required. No Fee.

Lunch With Michael Bastian

Lunch & Elmo, 210 11th Avenue

New Digs

Michael

Eugenia

Antonio

Michael & Antonio

Eugenia & Michael

Antonio & Michael work on 2012

Stoneware

University Stripe

Trad Date Time Group 0802 - 2011 1355 Local

1x Large Pepperoni Pizza
2x Diet Cokes
1x Tea
1x Coke
1x Salad
1x Soup

Bastian's new digs are bathed in bright light that's MIA in midtown. Traditional and simple although I wouldn't want to dust. But, like a hard to wear hat for most of us, Bastian's 11th Avenue digs suit him down to the ground. It's spare without a lot of crap...which is a lot like Bastian.

My Desk

The Trad's Desk

I love blogger's desk shots. There's that "A-ha" moment when you think, "So, that's where they do it." Not that you should ever give a crap where I do it. This is more for friends and family. Just so they understand why I can never find anything...quickly. I do find it. Just not quickly.

Antiques, Alan Flusser and Appreciation

Pretty impressive invite, huh? Actually, "Joe Shit the Rag Man" can score this. You want to be at opening night.

Last night I walked up to the Armory for the 55th Winter Antiques Show. My first one was in 2002 at the Hilton. The venue had been changed since the Armory was in use following 9/11. I attended the '02 show with a Brit and Scot who drank copious amounts of beer while insulting each other. Employees of an auction house, they steered me into their favorite NYC pubs and into their favorite stalls at the show. Our first stall was Tom Devenish. Just writing the name gives me chills and makes me smile at the same time.

Devinish scolded my guides and said the auction house they worked for was, "fookin useless, yea." The Scot hopped right in and asked what had happened. Devinish complained the auction house wanted to be paid right away and he needed time to sell the piece first. There was a moment of silence before the Scot firmed up his hunch, "You're telling me Tom that you wanna take the lot to your store, sell it and then pay us?" Tom replied, "Yeah, what's so fookin' hard to believe about that?" Tom looked over at me and added, "Who's this asshole. He gonna buy anything or just ask me a bunch of stupid questions." The first stall of my first Winter Antiques Show and I'll never fookin' forget it as long as I fookin' live. I later learned Mr. Devinish passed away just nine months after I met him.

This year was very different. Alone, I ambled slowly and noticed the Taylor Williams stall. Taylor passed away about four years ago after a fight with cancer. A charming man who I had the pleasure to work with on some odds and ends. We had lunch together a couple of times on the 4th floor at the Union League Club in Chicago where Taylor educated me about the antiques business.

You rarely sell for a profit. But when you do it can be massive and feed you for years

She's a generalist and a lousy one at that

This auction house asked me to appraise a large collection of enamels. It was like letting the fox in the hen house

I paused outside the stall and saw Taylor's partner behind the display case of English enamels. I thought about saying hello but couldn't. I had no idea what to say.

Across from the William's stall I struck up a conversation with a dealer from Malcolm Franklin Antiques. It was good to talk to someone from Chicago. There's a real decency about people from the Midwest that's crystal clear in a New York City antique show where money talks and shooting the shit can walk right out the door. Alan Flusser appeared and walked by. I thought of interrupting my conversation and excusing myself to chase Flusser down...but that would have been rude. Not many "Sold" stickers this year. Big surprise there.

Beautiful things that you hang on the wall and call your own. People come over to your house and nod approvingly at your stuff. Ponder what it cost and wonder if you have a trust or if you just found all this at a flea market.

$24,000 for the white mahogany French cabinet circa 1930 and $35,000 for the chair and it's mate off camera. I looked at this stuff and thought about friends missing friends. People who, simply by living their lives, made a mark in my life. More valuable than anything I saw last night.

Trad Furniture

Early 19th C bowfront chest. Estimate $446 to $744

Late 19C Chesterfield Sofa. Estimate $1,041 to $1,487

I think the best place to buy furniture is the auction house. Where else can you get deals like these two pieces and have a story to tell. Certainly not at Ethan Allen. Christie's (in London) is auctioning off the stock of two antique dealers this Thursday. I know some preppy girls who would kill for that sofa. Hell, I like that sofa. Click here for the on-line catalog. I've sorted by low estimate so hopefully you'll see the bargains straight away.

I 've had a lot of fun at auctions. The Gulf Foxtrot (girlfriend) and I bid on a late 18th C Satinwood Pembroke table a few years ago. The auctioneer was a friend. He's also certifiable but so many are in the auction business. My friend put the hammer down on my last bid and we stuffed the Pembroke Table in the back seat of a car. I placed the table in my living room and would just stare at it. I thought of it sitting in a library of a London townhouse or a country estate. I thought about made it over 200 years ago. What conversations and arguments it was witness to. I could just picture it like a scene out of Barry Lyndon with that warm candle lit glow.

Another friend of ours was a general appraiser and she was eager to see the table. She brought along an expert on English furniture and for a free lunch I secured a second opinion. He flipped the table over, unscrewed some screws, did some aha'ing and finally said, "This stood in water--for some time I suspect. Also, you have a mixture of hand made and machine made screws. Mostly it's George III but you don't want mostly. What did you pay for it?" I had that same feeling in my gut when I left my Rolex in a Hardee's bathroom. I told him what I paid. "It's worth about half that. Where are we going to lunch?"

I called my certifiable friend and told him about the appraisal. "Christ, what's a couple hundred years amongst friends?" In the end, the auction house returned my money and I returned the Pembroke table. I've bid on the cheap stuff ever since.

Ethan Allen 1974

"Not as good as it was..."

Unless we're talking about 1974. When was it in the 70's that vulgar became such a popular choice? Nik Nik shirts, bozo the clown bow ties, leisure suits, harvest gold appliances, rust shag carpet, turquoise jewelry and the Pacer. I've often speculated the Soviets introduced an experimental drug via a popular U.S. soft drink. Instead of streets filled with our own citizens screaming, "Die capitalist war mongers!" we got Cheese. I assume the Soviets ran out of money and had to rush the drug into production and all of America fell in love with Ethan Allen and Kitsch.

I hear the company is in financial trouble. That's amazing. I'd have thought they went outta business 30 years ago.

I remember these living room suites growing up in the south. Wall to wall carpet with tiny, machine made Persian rugs scattered everywhere and a matching suite of furniture with art work bought from the same Ethan Allen store. A look sans any character or personality. As cold as the air conditioning in an Atlanta mall.

One thing concerns me...his suit. I swear those are hacking pockets on his suit jacket. A slanted pocket, it just happens to be a favorite detail of mine. I shudder at the thought but I drank a lot of Coca Cola in the 70's.

Trad Wallpaper

I'm not sure what I like more. The wallpaper, the woman or the door. She's the Vicomtesse de Rosiere. The photo was taken by Slim Aarons in 1957. She's a beautiful blonde. And that's a damned nice door. But that wallpaper is hitting 12 on the, "I wish I could have it but not in a million years" meter.