When I graduated from college, I had already been working for a furniture restorer, and trying to get my incredibly hip sculptures into galleries in Manhattan. I’ve had a few museum and small gallery shows, but wanted to hit the big time. After that flopped (I was invited into a big NYC gallery, and then 2 weeks before the show, the gallery went under. That pretty much sums that up.) I continued with furniture restoration, and hooked up with an old-house guy who got me hooked on 18th century paneling and woodwork. That was pretty much that. By the late ’80’s I was, with partners, building incredible reproduction spec houses of 18th century classics. That worked well until the crash of ’87, and we pretty much lost everything we made on the first few, so at least it ended as a wash. Onward to custom stuff, and a stint as a consultant to then-Merrill Lynch realty, now Prudential Realty, where I founded the first “Antique and Historic Homes Division” in the country. We did lots of research on the resale economics of good historic districts (good news there) and the economics of a museum-quality restoration outside of a historic district (not so good news there.) In short, we learned that one must be very wise in how the cash is spent, or it never returns. We also sold a boatload of old houses. From that time, it’s been nothing but custom stuff, always with an eye towards bang for the buck, and what makes a simple project a great addition to a family’s lifestyle.
Here’s an an incredibly hip sculpture:
Miz Kitty's Place: steel and wood, 1978
