The Brass Lamp That Started It All
Every dealer has a first find that ruined them for ordinary shopping. Mine cost four euros and still lights my desk.
How to Read a Chair
Turn it over, feel the joints, count the repairs. A ten-minute inspection that separates the keepers from the firewood.
Flea Market Rules I Break Constantly
Never pay the first price, never buy what you can’t carry, never fall in love before noon. About that…
Caring for Old Linen
Grandmother’s monogrammed sheets deserve better than the hot cycle. A gentle regimen for cloth that has outlived its makers.
A Beginner’s Eye for Studio Pottery
You don’t need to know the marks to start. You need to pick things up, feel the foot, and trust your thumb.
What I Left Behind in Vienna
A dealer’s diary of the one that got away — a marquetry writing box I still think about at inconvenient hours.