Blog

As I despaired before, I’m often asked to appraise dolls, and of course they DO NOT agree with me. This resulted from a scary doll experience at five years of …

JS sent me a 1980’s Polish handwoven and artist designed midcentury modern tapestry titled “Na Stoku,” meaning “On Slope.” At fifty-four by fifty inch. She wonders about the wool craft …

JR sent me a find from a shed in Victorville, a vintage glass parabolic concave mirror framed in a crude wood box at fourteen inch diameter. What did people use …

For my birthday month, I decided to simplify my home, and my life for my next year. I canvased experts and amassed a guide. I thought MY list might help …

LY, a quite proper frequent reader, surprised me. He sent a recent purchase of a thunder mug. Educated in Britain, I remembered the term for the chamber pot as the …

Antonio Stagnoli painted this midcentury modern piece that hung in my dining room for thirty-three years. Don’t remember where I found it, probably a thrift store. I never looked up …

CS sent me a recent find at the wonderful Destined for Grace Thrift Store in Goleta. A 19th century Nautical Oil lamp that somebody electrified. The story of her lamp …

How do you avoid a family melt-down? Who wants WHAT? WHY? And HOW to divide equitably? My experience counseling families allows me to suggest the following: Step One Discuss what …

BE sent me an 1810 folding Regency fan used in ballrooms in England, a Battoir (batting) fan of silk, embroidered with sequins and painted. The painted scene shows an elegantly …

SJ showed me a drawing before she framed it. She thought it an original Diego Rivera when she saw it in Ventura at the Boys and Girls Club Thrift store. …