What is special about antiquing is that sometimes you stumble upon something that is truly special that evokes a core memory or a nod to past and present. When I was young my design decisions centered around newer items. Growing up we had a lot of furniture and décor that was passed down to us. I hated it. I always wanted the newer items. My Mom always said when she passed that I wouldn’t keep anything and I would throw it all out. I told her that I didn’t associate her and memories with a chair or a couch. My Mom would be happy to know I was wrong and she was right. I didn’t realize this at first but it wasn’t until I was in my forties that I figured this out.
When it first happened I was scrolling through Instagram and I came upon a post. Now this post had a picture of a well-decorated room with a picture on the wall. I don’t remember the details of the room, but I remembered the picture. It looked familiar. I zoomed in close trying to remember and then I did. The picture was of an old man with white hair and a beard. He was wearing a green and blue plaid shirt. His head was bowed while he sat in prayer. At the dinner table before him was a loaf of bread, a cup of soup, and a closed Bible. The frame was natural wood with a scallop. Then it hit me this picture was in our kitchen growing up. I remember sitting at the table studying by that picture. I remember eating family meals by that picture. A picture that I hadn’t though of in years. A picture that I would never think of having in my house until now. I called my Dad to see if he still wanted the picture or if he would be willing to pass it down to me. He said that I could have it if he could find it. Later he told me he only had the picture and not the frame. Odd, but that was okay. Well he sent it to me and the picture has a date stamp on the back of it from the current year. My dad was caught! He told me he gave the photo to a church donations. Okay so the hunt continued. I searched high and low for this artwork. I finally found one online and was able to get it shipped to me. It had the same scalloped frame! I now hang it proudly in my kitchen where my family sits and does their homework.
My most recent special find ties to my current career. When I was twelve years old I decided that I would be a dentist. My Mom started collecting dental related items, mostly stuffed animals and figurines. Well as I aged these items didn’t really fit my style, but my Mom really enjoyed collecting them for me. It was her form of collecting. So when I stumbled upon a 1920’s oak dental cabinet online, it stopped me in my tracks. I believe my Mom would be so excited for this find. She would have loved that I found something that has to do with dentistry; she was so proud of my career.
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