the junque whisperer

y'all know that maison21 loves his junque (not junk, because what we pick up is a bit chic-er than that, we think). he's never met a junk shop, thrift store, yard sale, estate (tag) sale or flea market he didn't want to stop into and browse for pretty things. well, here's where you might think maison21 is bit crazazy- sometimes maison21 thinks his ability to find the good junque borders on the psychic- like little voices in his head leading him to pretty things, kind of psychic (though in reality it's probably more like little voices saying maison21 needs his meds). but seriously, sometimes it's more than habit or frequency of shopping that leads maison21 to his finds, sometimes it's a higher power calling him to his destiny... hence, the title of today's post, "the junque whisperer". *cue creepy music*

take yesterday- maison21 was inspired to write up his little post on the under-the sea themed tchotchkes he has been collecting of late, and as soon as he was finished with said post, he ran out the door to run some errands. one of his stops was next to a goodwill thrift store, and though m21 previously said he never met a thrift shop he didn't like, that wasn't entirely true- maison21 doesn't normally EVER step foot inside a goodwill, because the quality of their junque (at least here in los angeles) is well, junky- as in just throw that sh*t away, junky- and they are usually dirty, and gross, to boot. but yesterday, a little voice whispered to m21: "stop in to the yucky goodwill, maison21, stop in".

so he did.

and amidst all the chipped china, broken appliances and soiled baby clothes was the following under-the-sea beauty of a ceramic bowl, for just $4.99:
big deal- so he found a shell bowl, you might say- but sometimes the scores are much bigger than that:

several years ago, while in palm springs, maison21 was on the way for his first thing in the morning starbuck's injection, and NOTHING gets in the way of maison21 and his coffee first thing in the morning- NOTHING. but this particular morning, a little voice whispered in his head to drive by one of his favorite consignment stores BEFORE he got his coffee, not after. luckily, cranky maison21 listened to the little whisper, not to the screaming of his caffeine withdrawal, and he's quite glad he did- because there, being unloaded off a truck, (and surrounded by a nimbus of golden light- seriously- like angels sang and sh*t), was something that maison21 had coveted for years- a dorothy draper chest of drawers! maison21 proceeded to scoop it up for virtually nothing (and has long since resold it, for slightly more than nothing. course now he wishes he kept it, as he's since found another and would have a pair. but that's another story).sometimes maison21's little voice works in a slightly more circuitous way:

last year, while seeking design inspiration for a chic and shapely curtain pelmet to be used in a client's bedroom, m21 randomly pulled out one of his vintage decorating books, a bound volume of house and garden magazines circa 1961. while flipping through the book, maison noticed an ad for furniture by one of his design heroes, harvey probber. m21 had long admired mr. probber's work, but the chic gothic meets modern headboard in the ad was new to him, and m21 made a mental note of it, to possibly adapt for a future design project.
cut to the very next day, when maison21's little voice told him he needed a coffee break, and to walk to his neighborhood starbuck's (this wasn't the caffeine addiction screaming this time either- it was the little whisper, swear). now there are two ways to walk to maison21's neighborhood starbuck's- one down a leafy tree lined street- the route he normally takes when mona is along, or down a busy retail strip, filled with slightly run down antique shops (read junk stores). this is the route he takes if mona isn't along, as several of the shop owners frown upon his well-behaved little girl in their stores (they're mean). mona was at the groomer that day, so shops run by mean, animal-hating people it was...

and there, inside one of those dusty "antique" shops (ok, thrift store), maison21 spied- though a grimy window no less, hidden behind a stack of shabby-chic iron headboards- a 1961 harvey probber headboard, exactly like the one he saw the day before in his vintage decor book! freaky coincidence, or psychic phenomenon?

here's where it gets a little weirder- maison21 had tried literally DOZENS of vintage headboards over the years, and none had ever worked out. he has exactly 63 inches between his inward swinging casement windows, and all the headboards he's tried for his queen sized bed, have either been too big, or if they fit, they looked crowded and ugly. maison21 had actually resigned himself to life without a headboard, and had nothing but plaster behind his head- until little mr. harvey probber headboard walked into his life, that is- and who amazingly, fit into maison21's tight squeeze of a bed wall, just perfectly at 62 inches (the exact width of m21's platform bed), and little mr. probber headboard even matched m21's existing vintage nightstands! it truly was meant to be- thank you, little voices!the moral of our story? listen to those little voices in your head- they could be trying to tell you something important! like, go shopping- your destiny awaits you inside the next antique shop...

bad taste? (the under the sea edition)

you know who makes maison21 happy?

felicity, from all things bright and beautiful, that's who.
whenever she leaves a comment on our blog, we smile (and not just because she's always unfailingly complimentary, but of course, that doesn't hurt either!). when felicity posts on her own blog, or leaves comments on others' (like ours), her happiness, warmth and enthusiasm just shine through, and that is an AMAZING thing- especially when you consider she has 3 kids under the age of 3. i mean, maison21 would be a raving bitch if he had 3 little ones to take care of (like he isn't already- he can't even blame it on the tots).

felicity's recent comment on m21's post featuring the "arielle, the slutty mermaid" table, made us smile especially broadly, because somehow she managed to compliment us AND call us on our shit, all in the same comment!

Maison,

are you trying to apologise for your fabulously left field taste?

I think she's rather splendid (and I think you do too:-)

Its pieces like this that make your blog unique - bring them on I say and influence blogland one marvellous brass mermaid table at a time !!

Woohoo!

cuz she's right- that ugly ass table made maison21 MAD because he really wouldn't mind a mermaid table of his very own- just not that one! maybe caryatid-like mermaids forming leg supports...

you see maison21 has been on a bit of an under-the-sea kick lately, so that table, with it's weird proportions, tear-drop shaped head, and near obscene breasts and butt, really offended maison21's sensibilities. yuck. maison21 feels like 60's supreme court justice, potter stewart, who when asked to define pornography replied "i know it when i see it", and that's how maison21 defines bad taste- he knows it when he sees it- and that table is baaaddddd.

but then again, who is maison21 to judge? he knows that there are those out there in blogland who will think that the vintage under-the-sea themed tchotckes maison21 has been hoarding lately are in questionable taste as well. BUT there is a big difference between "questionable taste" and "bad taste", and this is where it turns into a judgment call (ie: i know it when i see it). you see, maison21 thinks "questionable taste" is actually an important part of decor- how are you going to know that the good stuff is really good, unless there is a quirky item or two in the room to compare it to? but "bad taste" is always a bad idea, because an item in truly bad taste (like an "arielle, the slutty mermaid" table), just drags down the good stuff with it and ruins the whole room.

so what do we think? are the above accessories examples of m21's " fabulously left field taste" ? (god bless you, felicity!), or are they in "questionable taste"? or just plain old "i know it when i see it" obscenely bad taste? have at it, kiddies.

**and yes, decorno, the little display of tchotchkes maison21 threw together for the above photo is a tablescape. deal with it. ;-)

MY EYES, MY EYES!

maison21 is a bit brass obsessed these days, so today we enjoyed our morning coffee while searching the internets for "brass table" (the maison21 atelier has been without a coffee table for months- we sold our previous table to a client, and shattered it's mirrored replacement while impatiently trying to move it into the house by ourselves).

well, we enjoyed our coffee until we almost spit it out all over our keyboard, after running across this monstrosity.

words fail.
apologies to all our visitors- we know you come here in search of pretty, but today, we had to share our pain. when our vision finally returns to normal, we'll post more pretty pictures to help remove this image from your retinas.

sex and maison21

ok, after reading that title, did you really think m21 was going to discuss his sex life with you? puhleeeze- he would never bore you with that! 'cuz that would be for reals boring. *cue sound of crickets chirping*

what maison21 is referring to, is his recent featured role in the "sex and the city" movie.

what? you didn't see maison21 on screen?

well, perhaps m21 exaggerated just a bit- he wasn't actually featured in the movie, but a fabulous piece of decor he once owned was...

if you've seen the movie (and this isn't a spoiler, so it's safe to read on), there is a scene where carrie bradshaw (sjp) is in the office of her vogue editor (candice bergen), and in that office, on one of the purty dorothy draper chests, there is a stunning brass bust of an antelope with long murano glass horns. and that is the maison21 connection! that chic bust was once part of m21's very own decor! but as often happens, after loving it for a while (and he DID love it), m21 decided that it was time to switch the bust out for something new, and he auctioned it off on ebay. the sculpture was sold to a new york decorator, the very talented olivia song (check out her fab work on her website here). the sculpture didn't work for the client olivia intended it for, so she in turn traded it to one of new york city's finest vintage modern dealers, todd merrill, for something even more fabulous! (did you follow all that?) and maison21 is assuming that sometime after that, mr. merrill rented the sculpture out to the "sex and the city" production.

Image by Craig Blankenhorn/New Line Cinema ©2008 New Line Cinema from Traditional Home (via the silver screen surroundings blog)

now, admittedly, maison21 doesn't really know if this is the same bust, as he hasn't confirmed his story with the other parties, but as he's never seen another bust exactly like it, and actually remembers it very well 'cuz it was so freakin' stunning, so m21 is pretty confident in saying that he (or rather something he once owned, twice removed), played a prominent role in sex and the city, the movie! (compare the photos and judge for yourself).
btw, maison21 enjoyed the movie, and recommends it to any girl or gay man (who made up the entire audience at the arclight sunday matinee maison21 attended- not a straight dude in sight!). m21 started crying about 10 minutes in, and kept it up for the next 2 hours! (it wasn't that much of a tear jerker, it's just that m21 is a HUGE cry baby. he cries at anything- a cute baby, a hallmark commercial, a simpson's thanksgiving episode, a puppy- really, anything...). criticisms aimed at the movie are somewhat justified- it's a little too long (2 1/2 hours), the conspicuous consumption and materialism seem dated (the "it bag" is soooo 90's). maison21 also thought that they should have left carrie bradshaw's apartment alone- the redesign wasn't needed- i mean really, who would ever give up a t.h. robsjohn-gibbings chaise and coffee table? (well, maison21 guesses he would got rid of both, if he found something he liked more at the time, so i guess that negates that criticism). overall,the movie is a fun ride, and it's great to spend time with the girls again.

so if you haven't seen the satc movie yet, maison21 says go! and be sure to keep your eyeballs peeled for m21's former piece o' pretty in it's co-starring role!

update 6/12/08- it has been confirmed! maison21's former sculpture (thrice removed) was indeed the same sculpture sharing the screen with sarah jessica parker in the sex and the city movie. omg- m21 and sjp are total bff's 4ever!

putting my demons to rest

or more perhaps more appropriate- "shhh- my demon is resting".

isn't he adorable?

maison21 never really thought he'd say that about a cat. kittens are adorable, for sure. but a growed up cat? not so much. in fact, even though we've owned cats for many years, m21 has always considered himself a dog person at heart- that is, a dog person until our lil devil, richard, came along. now m21 is a committed dog AND cat person! don't get m21 wrong- he loved richard's predecessor, the regal, talkative and completely blind, miss kitty, very, very much. but maybe it's because he's had richard since he was a kitten, whereas miss kitty came into m21's life as an older adult cat, but somehow with richard, maison21, for the first time , truly "gets" why some people are cat crazy.

richard is funny, playful, loving and completely unpredictable. cats get a bad rap for not being as affectionate as dogs, but not richard- he demands our attention as much, if not more, than his big sister, mona. he just loves being near maison21 (as well as his big sis)- if he's within a couple of feet of either one of us, you can often hear him contentedly purring away, just happy to be in our presence.
if m21 picks richard up when he is completely passed out, like the first pictures of this post, richard immediately responds with a deep rumbling purr- even before he opens his eyes! awwww.

the only difference m21 can see between the two animals and their bond with him, is that where mona never leaves m21's side and would probably prefer to play exclusively with him (though sometimes she will give in and wrestle with her brother), richard, on the other hand, is content playing or hanging all by himself, just as much as he loves being with mona and m21. it cracks m21 up when m21 is downstairs puttering around in the kitchen to hear richard upstairs, jumping and running around like crazy- getting up to god knows what kind of mischief (occasionally followed by the sound of something crashing to the ground). 16 pounds thumping on a hardwood floor is surprisingly loud when you are directly underneath!richard walked into our life 2 years ago sometime in june- maison21 didn't really note the date because he was never planning on keeping him around, instead hoping to find richard a loving home with someone- anyone- else. richard didn't even have a name for the first week he was around- we called him 'lil no-name so we wouldn't get attached. so while we don't know the actual date of richard's birth, or even the date of the anniversary of our first meeting, we do know it was sometime in june, so now that's when we celebrate his special day.

happy birthday, big guy! you 'lil devil, you!