Can you tell that I was a big Jody Watley fan? For the younger ones in the crowd I’ll give you a hint: It’s the hoops. Well my hoops may be a bit smaller these days, but I’m still rocking them. Along with that vintage Phillippe Monet leather down vest.

I’m feeling nostalgic on this Throwback Thursday / Flashback Friday and I wanted to share this pic from about 2003 or so. I had just finished delivering an armful of antique picture frames to a few different gallery clients along Madison Avenue. The burl maple frame in my hand was destined for the last client of the day. As I was walking through the Upper East Side, a journalist stopped me to snap a pic. She was doing a story on layering for Fall and thought that my look was the right one for her article. Those of you who know me know that fashion is certainly not my forte. So my initial reaction was a bit of, ‘who me?’ She said, ‘yes you, now tell me your story’. Beyond excited to share my entrepreneurial venture in the Big Apple (and convinced that the article will lead to more clients) I gave her my best song and dance. I can’t remember my phone ringing off the hook after the story ran, but I gotta say that it sure was nice to see it in print. Oh, and that enormous vintage leather mail bag? Well I sold that to a clothing dealer from Japan. I may not be able to remember what I had for breakfast, but when it comes to antiques, that’s a whole other story! ;-) hkv

I’ve always been one to jump in without testing the water first. Kind of a sink or swim mentality. Even though ‘technically’ I can’t swim, I can keep my head above water.

So a few years ago I was in Philly and heard about an auction of antique picture frames at a local art gallery. Curious, I went to see if I could buy a couple lots. Turns out, that I bought more than a couple. I bought about 250. Freestyle. Back stroke. Doggy paddle. It was time to swim! Or in my case, tread water. And then I had to figure out just what to do with all those frames. Logistics were the easy part - rent a truck and load it. Then what? More treading water, that’s what. I got all the frames unloaded and into storage so all that was left was to sell them.



At this point I’m thinking back to an episode of Magnum P.I., you know the one where Magnum falls off his kayak and swims the opposite direction from it and has to tread water for eleven hours or so before Rick and T.C. rescue him? Yeah. I was feeling like Magnum at this point. Strong. Invincible. Water logged. Just without the mustache. I scrolled through my contacts to one dealer. A great friend who I knew could buy the whole lot. And just like that, I was once again loading the frames. But this time into his truck. So what’s the moral of the story? Jump in, baby, the water’s fine! :-) hkv

Everything comes full circle. Sure, we've all heard that before and it's because it's true. We do kind of wind up where we started. Sixteen years ago I had arrived in New York City with $600, a six month sublet that I had paid in full and no job. A perfect trifecta for a winning result.

I hit the ground running after unloading my rental truck with a dear friend (the same one who found me the sublet) and I headed over to the Chelsea Flea Market. No. I had no idea what I'd be doing there, but I did know that I wanted to be there. I wanted to learn there. I wanted to be an antique dealer. What kind? Who knew... not me. But after a light bulb moment I discovered the picture frame. That object that is at once architectural and artistic, utilitarian and beautiful, furniture and art. It had a purpose and a beauty. I was hooked. So I jumped in and bought an armful. Literally. I had them hanging from my shoulders and from my hands. Splurging on a taxi, I unloaded my new finds into the back seat and we headed off to Alphabet City. Going through the pile in my sublet railroad apartment (where the shower was next to the kitchen sink and the toilet was, well, old - but that's another story) I realized that I had inadvertently bought something good. This little Della Robbia style hand carved and gilt frame. It was wonderful. Dating it to the 1600's gave me that funny feeling in my stomach, you know butterflies. Did I really find a four hundred year old object in a NYC parking lot at 3 am? Turns out I did. And now all those years later I'm back in New York City. Back to dealing in picture frames (and art, furniture, lighting, sculpture, you get it). Back to hustling and having that butterfly feeling over and over again. It's not just about the finds but it's more about the fact that I'm back to doing what I truly love to do. Being in the City that rewards my hustle. X hkv

I remember waiting in line at the downtown armory back in 2005 or so. You see there was an antique show set up inside. And I was outside. First in line with a vendor list in hand. And I knew exactly where my first stop would be as soon as the doors opened.

This is what the antiques and art business was like not too long ago. I'm not talking about some old forgotten time. I'm talking about ten or fifteen years ago. But let us not lament the past, let us enjoy it. Case in point, a picture frame that I enjoyed for many years. I purchased the Newcomb-Macklin produced frame with two other frames that day when I ran into the downtown armory and made a bee line for the booth of a fellow art and frame dealer. The two other frames were wide molding, hand carved and gold gilt examples perfect for important paintings. But this one. This was the emotional purchase. This skinny molding, polychrome finish over a rippled gesso profile was all emotion. I promptly sold the other two and hung this one on the wall of my old West Village apartment. And there it stayed for many years until one day in May. I thought it was time to let it go, so I brought it to the antiques show in Brimfield. And as I was hanging it in my tent, Steven Gambrel walked in and bought it. Just like that. I'm still wondering where this frame has wound up and I'm always expecting to see it in the pages of a shelter magazine or more likely here on Instagram. ;-) hkv

Can you spot it? The item I'm going to tell you about. Look a little closer. No, maybe take a step back. It's there. It's the Stanford White design picture frame probably made by Le Brocq. Yup. Lying on top of a bunch of banana boxes.

This is the behind the scenes shot of an everyday shopping trip for an art dealer. Oh, and my kids were in the car too. You see, we had taken a trip down the shore for the weekend and of course I had to squeeze in some antique shopping. After going through a few stores, I came across an out of the way shop that didn't get much traffic because the owner of said shop was notoriously cranky. Well, I thought, time to put my years of waitressing skills to work and kill them with kindness. It worked and I was let in to shop. After putting together a pile of odds and ends, the owner asked if I wanted to look in the warehouse. Um yes please. And it was there that I saw it. Tucked up in the rafters of the roof. A gorgeous and huge Stanford White design antique frame. I grabbed a ladder and climbed right up into the roof to haul it down. It had been refinished at some point, but it still retained its gorgeous basket weave and eared corner design. The molding width was crazy wide. It was a thing of beauty. You know why I love frames so much? It's because they are at once beautiful and useful. They are architectural and artistic. They are furniture and art. I couldn't pay for it fast enough. After a quick rearrange of the day's pickin' I headed back to the hotel with a huge smile. You know, I've been back to that same shop a bunch more times hoping that lightning strikes twice but it hasn't happened. Yet. Where is the shop, you ask? I never sell and tell. ;-) hkv