Recent Finds

This little beauty measures 12″ wide and 2″deep and has the tiniest raised edge at the rim, which is very handy indeed, as anyone who has ever served soup knows.

Another stunning patina on this gorgeous woven basket bag from indonesia.

This hand hammered copper pot glows

My most recent find and treasure.

A record of the West

The phoenix rising through gold flames speaks of renewal. The mantra speaks of purification. The kintsugi repair speaks of preservation and care.

My two obsessions have collided: cold-case investigations and hunting treasure for my resale shop. I bought a spool of red string. I’ve started using it. It’s the only way to make sense of what I’m seeing. This is decorative history as cold case. Welcome to The Decorative Arts Murder Board.

While wandering through an antique mall after the Texas solar eclipse, I felt the unmistakable “jolt” that collectors know well — the moment when an ordinary shelf suddenly reveals something extraordinary.

How do you tell whether a painting is original, old, or worth bringing home? I walk through the clues I look for — from signatures and brushwork to frames, hardware, and the quiet stories hidden on the back.

People say they hate stuff when nothing they’ve owned has ever really mattered. I wish everyone the experience of being one pizza, three glasses of red wine, and a light rain in, and discovering you’re already inside your own painting.