Vintage Persian Rugs

Doing Scott's Antique Market in Atlanta monthly has allowed me to meet so many fascinating characters and have access to their extensive knowledge of their trade.
Brandi & I got to have a behind the scenes look at our friend Jubin Tavakol's new showroom on Atlanta's prestigious Miami Circle.
I can not describe the layers and layers of color, texture and patina that makes these works of art so rich.
I just took lots of photographs.
Jubin is a master of his trade (in addition to holding his MBA in Finance from Golden Gate University in San Francisco) and can walk you through the specs, origin, history and provenance of each piece in his showroom, leaving you wanting to see more.
The walls are all linen white, the concrete floors finished in a clear gloss, the ceiling is black and holds rows of incandescent spot lights which all serve as the perfect backdrop for the neat piles, stacks and rolls of fine are. Walking on one literally gives you the feeling that you're rich beyond your wildest.
I couldn't resist one vain self portrait with this work of art as my background.
Here Jubin weaves a tale of this Tribal beauty that was once at auction at Sotheby's.
Towards the end of the viewing there were rugs flopped out all over the floor, rugs rugs rugs rugs!
Brandi & I were held captive in this museum environment and enjoyed every minute.
Jubin's new office, towards the back is equally as tasteful and rich as the showroom itself.

He was a most generous host and indulged our every whim, question and spastic episode of laughter shared throughout the visit. His hospitality, taste, eye and work ethic will surely bring "many blessings" as he always says.
What a bunch of characters I am so lucky to know! I'm truly blessed.

Harlan McKenna Designs World Domination Part III Act I

I just finished our third consecutive month at Scott's Antique Market in Atlanta GA!
Harlan McKenna Designs is of course the business my sister Brandi McKenna (Of She's Off Her Rocker) and I have been working hard at. Things are lining up in place and we've got everything right where we want it!
This month our booth was about twice the size as last month and we brought much more to our space. It was delightful finding out what works, what doesn't what we want, where we want it to go, what we want to create.
Here is an ATLAS jar with little tidbits of nature inside, one of a pair of vintage industrial lamps with a killer patina, a landscape by my Dad Dennis Pearson that perfectly captures the setting sun lighting up the pines at the Farm, all in front of a Depression Era vanity mirror.
Here is a small French Provincial drinks table that I painted my own Frenchy light blue and Brandi painted the soft landscape on three panels all the way around. She did a beautiful job of designing and painting a Rococo shaped decorative frame around the landscape.

Here is one of my favorite trumeaus I made with Brandi's painting and my woodwork and hand carving. See my reflection? Okay, now see the gentleman standing next to me? That's Robert who is the self proclaimed "Mayor Of This Place" (and after 20+ years he is) but we call him Grumpy Bear. He has a thriving business or two, one of which puts him at Scott's every month offering up some really stunning pieces to people of taste. This is our second time being his booth neighbor and we look forward to feeding him more yummy baked goods, mixing up Greek yogurt, berries and almonds and serving it to him in a pewter goblet, listening to him tell tales of working in the graveyard for his father's mortuary business as a kid, watching his twinkley eyes dart side to side and his left eyebrow twitch when his gears are turning, taking his sage advice and agreeing with him when he says "See? I told you so! What'd I tell ya? I told ya he was gonna bore-ass ya to death over here!". He really enjoys saying "What'd I tell ya?"
I told him we're going to make him a Mayor's sash. You know the kind, like in the period movies? I want to dress him up in really pimpin' WWI era Mayor's regalia and photograph him so bad! He would look super cool photographed like that in sepia or black & white. I'll have to ply him with more treats but just you wait...
Here is a little Colonial Revival vanity I've been working on, all set up in our booth.
Here is the rack where we display Dad & Connie's paintings. Connie is Dad's girlfriend of 20 something years, so "girlfriend" isn't the right word. She's a member of the family and a fabulous artist.
Here's one of my favorite lamps and an Art Deco urn in front of one of Connie's still lifes.
After I cut up my home made brownies and fudge and arranged it all pretty under my best cake cover, I attached this sign as an afterthought.
If I had a nickel for every time someone stopped to look longingly at the tasty treats, I'd be rich right now! We did give them away to our booth neighbors (who really enjoyed them) and I am a softie for anyone who looks like a Dad and wants one, so I was flexible with my own rule. After lots of cutting up with Grumpy Bear I was mightily pleased to see him helping himself whenever he pleased. I said "Oh that means you really like us now!"
He likes us enough to hire us to paint this bed on site! It was this 60's, distressed French yellow and it really looks better in this photograph than it did in real life. So this is the "before" shot.
And here is the after! The photo doesn't do it justice. We did a 4 step painting and glazing process to build a soft and rich patina in silvery-blue hues that was subtle enough to allow the strong lines of the piece take center stage.
We had a marvelous trip and it can't be covered by one blog post. So please, be patient and "stay tuned" for the next installment of HM Designs World Domination!

T-6 days...

We leave for our next show in 6 days! As you may or may not know I am a vendor at Scott's Antique Show in Atlanta the second weekend of every month. Together, my sister Brandi & I are planning the design world's domination!
Last year my landlord came in my house, looked around and said "Are you an antiques dealer?" because I had a lot of work, furniture and stuff at home in various stages of repair. I replied "Sort of, I do antique restoration." I thought about it long after he left though..."Why not? Why not be an antiques dealer", after all I draw furniture and objets d'art to me like a magnet. Why not make that my job?
Above is a beautiful Colonial Revival piece I bought over a year ago for a "song" as they say. It needs a little TLC and I am the person for the job. Now the trick is to identify and address the important problems without "making a career out of this piece", as my wood mentor Alan Williams was always telling me. "Dusti, don't make a career out of this piece" and "Dusti, this isn't a museum quality piece!". Just like my high school art teacher Mrs. Vanhecke was always asking me "Dusti, is this piece over worked?" True, it's my fondest wish to go full OCD on everything and obsess on every detail, but to make a profit you have to know the finer points of prioritizing repairs and getting the biggest aesthetic bang for your labor buck. I've just about got it.
Here is a sneak peek of some wares I've conjured up for next week's show. The Louis Phillipe mirror and antlers are not going, they're a permanent part of my collection. I have lots & lots of pairs of really gorgeous lamps. Lamps are like the jewelry of decorating and I have a weakness for them.

Here is a shot of "Our embarrassing snack evidence" as Brandi put it at last month's show! I think it was coconut cake and fruit or something. It was worth the embarrassment. This time we really will bring more food of our own so we don't raise our cholesterol just by being there.
We've got a solid tradition going of Brandi "Vanna White-ing" our wares. As she says "I can really ham it up huh!"
We sold this sweet little piece to an Atlanta designer for her own house. I had to get a picture of it with its "SOLD!" sign.
The previous two times we had only trumeaus and paintings. This time we have a nice array of console tables, lamps & lighting and an assortment of crystal & silver to draw in the customers. I'm thinking you have to present a booth chock full o' goodness to draw people into the orbit of your fanciness. We must create an irresistible pull of style.
This is our new friend and an anchor dealer at the show Jubin, the Persian rug dealer. Last time we went out for pizza & beer after Saturday's show and then off to see his old & new showroom at Miami Circle in the fanciest part of Atlanta's dealer area. His new showroom is much bigger and will get more street traffic, surely it will bring him many blessings indeed! He has been extra nice & helpful to us, sending his return customers our way and sharing insider knowledge.
The antiques market has a fascinating sociological group of traveling "antique gypsies" as I've come to think of them. Some do the circuit all year long: Atlanta, Texas, California, Las Vegas. That is a bit too far and wide for me, but I'd love to go to them all just once and make my own documentary!
Alas, so many good ideas, such a short life.
I better go get back to it! Be sure to enjoy every day.

The process...

I am so behind on my bloggin' I hardly know where to begin.
So I'll start by bragging on my skills. I am with my sister and fellow blogger Brandi McKenna of "She's Off Her Rocker" in Atlanta GA. We will be vendors at Scott's Antique Market once a month all year, and we will sell our beautiful colaberative works there to people with fantastic taste & deep pockets.
Here is some of what we have to offer.

This is the same piece earlier on in the process; a small trumeau with hand carved pastiglia. I am shifting to working in plaster because A) I love it B) I can execute the entire work in my kitchen C) It is economical and a very forgiving medium.

Here is detail of a large French Rococo trumeau I did a while back, but just sold. This is all wood. The carving is entirely made of wood. That is hard for some people to understand, I have found. I'm not sure why, but I think it has something to do with the fact that ours is a country of importers, not doers or makers, and it's hard for many to comprehend things that don't come from Wal-Mart.
Here is a detail from the top of this piece.
This is random, but isn't it cute? Poor thing, I found Mixie roughing it up in my bedroom one night while doing some gold leafing. See the trumeau underneath?
Here's another newer piece. This is a detail of some more delicious pastiglia after gold leaf, but before final finish.
Here it sits with red "ground", the traditional underpaint for gold leaf.
Before the ground, I apply texture to the entire surface to help build the gorgeous, richly textured patina.
Here is the raw wood & plaster, one of my carving chisels sits next to it. I should explain that "pastiglia" is an old masters' technique of applying plaster by hand to form embellishments to surfaces.
First I draw the silhouette of what I will pour & carve.
Here is the finished product!
And now I have to run because I am about to leave the restaurant who's WiFi I'm using...
I promise to be a more faithful blogger this year. SO much to do & so little time, but I have the same number of hours in a day as anyone else so...
Be back soon!

Bad Dream

I had a long, drawn out, bad dream this week. The dream was, my house had been bull dozed and cleared while I was not home. In this dream world the neighborhood was different and I was across the street at a friend's party, I came home and my house was gone; only an messy empty lot remained!
Well, there was a pile of chewed up & spit out building materials left. But that was all.

The feeling the dream left was one of loss, shock, anxiety, surprise, fear and did I say loss?
I repeated to the players in my dream "I'm literally homeless", the idea was difficult for me to get my mind around. The biggest gyp was that all my "good-damn stuff" was gone. Vanished. All my stuff.
I've been trying to figure where this all came from. I don't think all dreams have to mean something, but some sure do seem like a thinly veiled message while others seem to be an analogy for something going on in our lives at the time. I always try to allow any useful information contained in dreams to come to the surface of my mind at its own pace.
Two days later I think this was a manifestation of all the closet cleaning out and general purging I've been doing. I'm looking to buy some clarity of mind for the low low price of letting "stuff" go. I'm also reorganizing some things. To be sure, there's still a room in my house I will allow no one to see; I'm getting to that next!
I was re-prioritizing things on my vision board last night after making some serious headway in my bedroom and the bathroom closet (closet is a bit too fancy a word for it, it's a glorified cubby hole with a curtain instead of a door). I have a deck of cards with different affirmations that I love. Wouldn't you know it? I drew one that says
Detach Yourself from your "Stuff"

on the front and

You're not what you have and you're not what you do. You're an infinite, divine being disguised a successful person who has accumulated a certain amount of stuff. The stuff is not you. For that reason, you must avoid being attached to it in any way.

on the back.

This is a good thing for me to remember, especially during a good "throwin' out"...
But let's not start talkin' crazy; I am after all living in this earthly realm, and I like & enjoy a certain amount of stuff.
The rule of thumb for me is A) Do I need it? B) Do I use it? or C) Does it have enough sentimental value to earn a place in my limited space?
Those three things get a lot of crap out of my house.
I must say, it feels good to narrow down the material possessions.
And after that dream I'm counting my blessings for what I am keeping.

Hotlanta II !

Home again, home again, jiggity-jog!
It was snowing on the way home from Atlanta today! Snow before Christmas, very rare in these parts. It was like white blessings raining down on us.
On the way down to ATL the Dodge was jam packed full of our wares.
Bran hams it up good at Scott's Antique Market where we started vending this last weekend.
It took us two hours to set up, everything looking good!
We met so many wonderful people, such a fantastic array of personalities. Our neighboring vendors were all so different & interesting. I think we got off to a great stat & were a hit in this gypsy-antique community.
The man next to us is a Persian rug dealer who really knows his stuff and has impeccable manners. We became fast friends with Jubin and he blessed us with introductions to some of his repeat customers. He was such a delight. He even made me a cup of Persian tea that was to die for! He says things like "She will bring many blessings to your business" after introducing me to a designer or "You have been blessed with this beautiful face" after I showed off a vintage celluloid cameo I just bought. Such a dignified person with a beautiful spirit abundant with generosity,kindness and consideration.
He opened many doors to clients for us. Here is a baroque ornament I sketched out after he introduced me to an interesting couple who want a custom over-mantle for their Louis XV living room.
Alas, it was me & Brandi and there was plenty of hilarity and laughing ourselves into tears. There was more than one time when I feared getting pulled for a DUI due to my spasms of hilarity while driving.
I was a very bad girl and bought myself this celluloid mourning cameo circa 1930. It simply couldn't be helped; I was compelled, under the thrall of it's beauty.
We are so fancy we put our styrafoam plates on silver platters to eat our salads. You know, just to gussy-up the antique show fare.
By Saturday night we were ready to go out & "tie one on", an expression I taught to Jubin who was delighted to learn such a weird American expression. We found a cozy sushi place in Buckhead and Brandi was just dying for some raw fish that night. I have had it before long ago, and as I recall I was not particularly impressed...Time has not made me grow in my appreciation of this delicacy. I ordered two different kinds of salmon sushi rolls and I had to master my control of the gag reflex to carefully, slowly, deliberately choke them down! The only thing I have going for me in a sushi bar is my dexterity with chop sticks, (and ability to override the gag reflex).
We were our own paparazzi, as per usual.
Brandi ate nearly three orders of sushi since I tried two but did not like either and we hated to waste it. She said "Oh no, you have to eat something!" to which I replied "NO. I don't ever want to eat any food ever again. I'm on a sushi diet; I'm only allowed sushi to eat and it is totally gross so I will starve myself thinner!"
It's day two and I've already broken that diet. I tell ya, I got no self control!
We found our way (with some difficulty) to Jeff & Dolores' house to check out the space and discuss design obstacles & options. They really had a gorgeous home; the kind I could never maintain, spotless & perfect everywhere you look. Like a gorgeous fancy hotel! But it certainly was stunning & in good taste. Did I mention he is an engineer? And yes, I do know that I can design & build something that will meet his approval and exceed his expectations. I do love a challenge! I'm so excited about the project. I really love the process of working with someone to come up with a solution to what they think they want with what you tell them they are going to love!
We return for our second show in once month hence! We have so many ideas & plans to bring to fruition. We will be working on some pieces on site so people can witness first hand how we do wat we do. I have a great deal of difficulty getting people to comprende what it is exactly that I do. I guess because handmade items are a thing of the past and people just can't compute it.
But rest assured; we are going to learn them on what's good here directly!
I've got sketches to draw, deals to strike, ideas to document, alliances to form andblessings to count and manifest for the upcoming future.
After all; the future is now. Life is going on right now and I don't want to spend these precious moments on the sofa like a commoner.
The force is with me!