#anyway this is an extremely good quality ring with a beautiful design and. i am. thinking of getting a subaru one in the future. cant let

[suffarustuffaru]

can you. can you tell im an emilia fan. can you t

[everlarkrealornot]

The PANEM Initiative, Chapter Nineteen

Chapter 19

“You seemed a little board.” Peeta smirked as they sat down for lunch after work the next day.

“Five people in the bakery are a little much…plus, I could have been more help, but the customers seem to love the Mellark Boys.” Katniss grabbed some of the bread he was slicing and started piling on the leftover turkey from the day before.

“Boys?” Peeta asked with a raised eye brow.

“Did you hear the three of you fighting yesterday?” She stood up and got the chips out of the corner cabinet.

“You’ve got a point.” Peeta sat down and started eating. “Thank you,” he said around a mouth full as Katniss handed him a bag of chips.

“You’re welcome.” They sat and ate in silence for a while. “Can I ask you something?” She asked when he took her empty plate. He nodded his head as he dumped the trash in the garbage can. “How did last night go?”

“Uh…better than expected.” Peeta sat back down. “It was interesting.” Peeta explained that Ryen had been looking at online programs for business and found one he really liked that would be starting the first of the year. He knew that his dad did his best to run the bakery but it had never been as successful as Ryen knew it could be. With Brandon, well when he graduated he had been living off of his college fund and chasing girls around. Six months ago he landed a job with a new company that was booming but he hated it. He had been relieved when they fired him but he had no other plan and his bank account was now almost empty, so he was coming home to get a fresh start.

“And what about you?” Katniss asked when he had been quiet for a moment.

“What about me?” She gave him a knowing look. “Kat, I just…” He inhaled deeply and sighed. “You know how teachers would ask you to picture yourself ten years down the road so you could get a better idea of what you wanted to do?”

“Yeah.”

“Whenever I picture our life, I’m at the bakery.” He motioned out the kitchen window. “I’m not in some fancy art studio nor do I own a gallery…I’m just…me and I’m happy.” He smiled at her. “I’m not going to give up painting but I don’t want to give up the bakery either.”

“Wow,” Katniss said in relief. She couldn’t deny that she had been worried that she was the reason he was coming home.

“What?” Peeta wrinkled his nose.

“Nothing…” the look he was giving her made her think twice. If they were going to be honest with each other, they needed to be honest about everything. “I thought part of you coming home had something to do with me.” He sat thinking for a moment before responding.

“Kat. This decision…,” he traced big circles on the table, “this decision was hard for me because for a long time I thought I was doing this because of my feelings for you, but I’m not.” He leaned back in his chair. “I did think I needed to come home after what Gale said but then I thought I needed to stay at school so that you wouldn’t be a factor in my decision. Then I realized both of those choices were a direct result of you…and this is about me.” She nodded in understanding.

“I am glad you know what you want,” she said.

“What about what you want?” He asked with a smile.

“What I want?” Katniss furrowed her brow at him.

“You can’t work at the bakery forever…you hate it,” he added.

“I don’t hate it!” She protested.

“You certainly don’t love it.” Peeta laughed. “Plus, with Bran and me home, you shouldn’t feel like your abandoning the bakery.”

He was right. Even if Ryen decided to quit working while he was back in school, the bakery no longer needed her – it was in the very capable (and probably safer) hands of the Mellark Boys.

She grabbed her phone and flipped through the screens trying to find the screen shot she had taken a couple of days before.

“Here,” she handed him the phone, “I found this a couple weeks ago.”

Peeta took it and read through the ad.

“Kat, this would be perfect – you have to set up an interview.”

“Hold up a minute…the ad says I need to bring five family recipes, come with one already prepared dish, and then show my cooking skills by completing one of their recipes.”

“Alright then,” he said as dragged her to her feet, “You better find your five recipes quickly.”

–

Three days later Katniss found herself standing before an extremely large house that she could only describe as a Victorian Plantation Home. She clutched an insulated carrier in one hand, a small cooler in the other, and was cursing Peeta as she nervously walked up the steps to the porch. She stopped in front of the door and took a couple of deep breaths before ringing the bell. She heard footsteps approaching the door and thought about running for her car, but the door opened before she could make up her mind.

“Hi, you must be Katniss, come in.” He waved her in and closed the door behind her. “I’m Cinna.” He smiled warmly.

“Nice to meet you,” she said and returned his smile.

“Well, then, the kitchen’s this way.” He lead her through the foyer (which had an impossibly tall ceiling), into the dining room (which Cinna said was the smaller of the two – Katniss was sure at least 20 people could eat there), and finally into the kitchen. “You can set your stuff down where ever you like.”

“Wow.” The word was a whisper as she sat her things on the counter. Katniss had never been in such a beautiful and well stocked kitchen in her life.

“I know.” Cinna laughed a little. “It’s a shame that it hardly ever gets used.”

“This is high end, restaurant quality stuff.” She ran a hand over one of the stoves. “You’re going to let me use theses?”

“If you pass the first stage of the interview.” Cinna pulled out one of the bar stools and sat down.

“Right.” Katniss nodded and grabbed the stuff she had brought with her.

“So, what’s for lunch?”

–

“How did it go?” Peeta immediately asked when he picked up the phone.

“I got it!” Katniss practically shouted. She had just barely gotten into the car and started pulling away before she dialed Peeta.

“Yes!” Peeta cheered. “I’m so happy for you, Kat.”

“Thank you!”

When she got home her mom was waiting anxiously at the kitchen table. She had been just as ecstatic as Peeta had been when he heard the news and demanded that Katniss sit down right then and tell her everything.

Katniss had learned that Cinna was a clothing designer who had just broken out on his own. His designs had exploded on the market and his clothes were in high demand. He wasn’t a very good cook but didn’t have the time for it anyway. His mother had been a wonderful cook and those were the recipes that he had been hoping (and was delighted to find out) that Katniss could recreate.

Katniss had been surprised when they started talking about work hours. First thing, Cinna hated breakfast food and didn’t care if she ever fried an egg for him. Second thing, Cinna had a lot of dinner parties. He was hoping that she could work three full days and one dinner party each week. She would be doing the shopping and clean up along with prepping meals for him on the days she wouldn’t be there.

“Sounds like we need to figure out how to get you a car.” Helen had said with a tight smile.

–

Katniss was starting to cut down her hours at the bakery so that by Christmas she would no longer be there. She was excited to spend Prim’s Christmas break with her…plus the thought of no longer having to try and replicate Peeta’s cheese buns was nice. What was not nice was that what little time she did spend at the bakery these days was spent working with Brandon. And he was annoying. And full of himself. And needed to be punched in the face.

And was still friends with Gale. Katniss knew they had been on the football team together and graduated the same year, but she didn’t think they had stayed in contact after high school, which they apparently had.

“Hawthorne! Hey! What’s up man?!” Brandon shouted.

Katniss had been in the middle of organizing the display case when Brandon said his name and she hit her head on the top shelf, leaving a splitting feeling at the back of her skull. She stood up, rubbing her scalp, and glared at the two boys who were oblivious to her presence.

“Katniss!” Posy yelled as she finally wondered around her brother. Katniss’s cheeks flamed as Gale’s eyes flicked up to meet hers. “I miss you!”

“Hi, Posy.” Katniss smiled and walked around the counter to kneel down to give the little girl a hug. “Are you enjoying kindergarten?”

“Yes!” She rocked on her tiny feet, beaming at Katniss. “Are you coming for dinner soon?”

“I don’t know honey…I’ve been pretty busy lately.” Which hadn’t been a complete lie…she might not have been working as much, but she was very close to finishing the wedding packet that Effie had sent her.

“Aww, okay.” Posy pouted.

“I better get back to work, okay?” Katniss hugged her one more time and stood up. She did her best to ignore Gale’s watchful eyes as she went back to the display case.

The boys continued to talk but the phone rang and Brandon grabbed it up before Katniss could even extract herself from the case.

“Gale, can I get a cupcake?” Posy pulled on her brother’s coat.

“Come on, Posy, we need to get going.”

“Please, Gale?” She wined. He looked between Brandon, who was still on the phone taking an order, and Katniss, who was trying to pretend that she couldn’t hear them as she closed the case up. “Please?” She asked again.

“Fine.” His shoulders slumped forward.

“Yay!” Posy ran up to the counter. “Katniss, Gale says I can get a cupcake…which one did you make?” Posy asked, wide eyed. Katniss smiled at the girl.

“I didn’t make these, but Peeta did and he makes the best cupcakes!” Katniss grabbed one and handed it to Posy. “There you go.”

“Thank you!” Posy skipped away from the counter in delight.

“Bran said you were leaving the bakery.” Gale handed her a five out of his wallet.

“I’m done after Christmas.” She handed him back his changed and slammed the cash drawer closed. “Then you can come in whenever you want and not have to see me.”

“Katniss, that’s not what I meant.”

“You might want to help her with that.” Katniss pointed to Posy who now had frosting all over her face.

“Posy!” Gale walked over and picked his sister up, sighing. “Let’s go.”

“See ya, Hawthorne!” Brandon called as he sat the call in order on the counter. “They should be here in about 15,” he said to Katniss. She just nodded. “You two seemed a little…cold for best friends.”

“Shove off, Bran!” Katniss snapped at him.

“Gesh!” Brandon threw up his hands. “Rye makes a snarky comment and you play along, but I make one little observation and I get my head cut off.”

“ONE?!” She yelled. “Since when do you ever just make one comment about anything? You are always taking digs at Rye and you rag on Peeta constantly!”

“Sorry that I’m not as perfect as the golden sons!” He stormed into the back with Katniss on his heels.

“Get off it Brandon! No one feels bad for you – you’re the reason you’re always a mess.”

“That’s right, when Peeta and Ryen’s life are off course, it’s totally fine, but when my life is a mess, it’s my fault!” He started collecting the dirty dishes and clanging them together.

“You’re the one who got yourself fired!” She slammed her hand down next to her on the counter, sending up a cloud of flour.

“I didn't get fired, I quit!” He dropped the bowls into the sink, sending a huge splash of water to the floor, and a loud clanking sound rang in the air.

“But, why would you – ”

“Hey!” The back door slammed shut as Ryen’s voice rang out. “How’s the morning going?”

“I’m done for the day.” Brandon yanked his apron off and threw it to the floor before stomping out.

Buy me a coffee?

[little-rose-08]

✨Star Atlas Zine✨

I received my Star Atlas package this week!! I was a little late uploading this since my internet is so bad and I’m trying to figure out how tumblr works.

Edit: Our internet speed was just recently upgraded (thank you mom!!!), so this post was much later than I expected to have posted it. But at least it’s finally posted? I guess? (this is so late, omg)

First off, sorry for the bad image quality. My phone is not that great. igh.

Anyway, the Star Atlas Zine has a few bundles that they offer, and the bundle I purchased was the Voyager Bundle. It Includes 1 physical zine, 3 A5 prints, 2 sticker sheets, and 1 keychain! The pic below is all of them:

Also! The bubble wrap!! It is so pretty! I have a pic of it right here:

(I’ll be saving this beautiful bubble wrap for future scrapbooking purposes)

This zine itself was really pretty! The gold foil on the cover is beautiful, and the art is just precious. Space lovers wearing their pretty, sparkling engagement rings.

I don’t know how much I can show you on this post, but I have a lot of favorites in this zine! Especially Astra Inclinant by @okwtr <3. And the accompanying art by mikkapi is awesome as well! Otabek in a desolate planet, meeting fallen star Yuri is a jam I totally never knew I had. It’s like Treasure Planet meets Star Wars the Force Awakens and Stardust. (I love all these movies so Astra Inclinant was perfect!)

Also, special mention for @tosquinha ‘s art, because you’re the main reason why I purchased this zine. Your art has so much detail that you’re going to be pleasantly surprised by every new thing that you’ll see each time you take a good look. (I loved every bit about the zine in the end, so getting this bundle was a really good call. I’m following every contributor in this zine now, because of this project)

B-612 by badkisser is also a fic that I love and hate at the same time. It is heartbreakingly beautiful, thank you! The short comics paired with it made by @shelliihe was so adorable and charming as well!!

All in all, this is an amazingly cosmic project! and I am over the moon happy with how it turned out!!! For a first zine, that was soo not bad at all. Despite the delays from the crew, the end product was really, extremely good. Thank you to the crew and contributors for all your hard work!

I’ll be adding the crew and moderators below to give thanks and my additional thoughts about their works! :D (and also spoilers maybe? for those who haven’t gotten theirs yet.

@aaaliyaamj Yuuri and Victor on a stargazing date! The sky full of stars and a peek of the Aurora Borealis made your art look so whimsical and calm.

@tybirb This is a movie. This should be turned into a movie. Victor doing whatever it takes to get his Yuuri back, and Yuuri being all smart and resourceful and dramatic doing anything to survive and communicate back to Victor. With love giving them the power and hope to go against all odds and finding each other in the end!!

@babypears Russian Space Scientists Team!! Your art style is so unique and your use of colors and lines are awesome.

@awanqi THE SKY. OMG THE SKY. The use of colors and how you layered them is fantastic! I can almost feel how the wind blows through the image, and the way you drew Victor is beautiful. Is he looking for something? or maybe someone??

@helllodeer This is such an exciting fic!!! This should be a novel!! I’m not so knowledgeable about deep space conspiracies, but your story is so interesting. I searched about the detail that you featured in this story and it’s so appropriate for Victor and so funny for me. I partly believe in aliens, hahaha, because the universe is soooo vast that it is impossible that we are the only intelligent beings occupying it. It may be humans like us, or another versions of us. It maybe exact replicas of us, doing the same things we do, experiencing the same events as us, y’know?? Or maybe beings sooo different from us! There’s just no telling because there’s no evidence against it. So anything is possible!

@gehirnkaefer Why’s Yurio alooone? He looks so lonely! His image of listening to music while staring into space is so solemn. Or maybe he’s just having alone time away from his annoying crewmates? Yurio would totally do that. Your art shows so much emotion and feels so cold, but wonderful nonetheless!

@berrycrisps I’m not very sure if your Victor and Yuuri are aliens or human representations of heavenly bodies, but it’s still soooo good! The golden detailes on their faces are freaking fantastic! God, I hope someone cosplays your art, its is wonderful!

@butleronice Mischievous comet Yurio is *shakes fist* i love it!! Don’t worry Beka, someday you’ll catch that bright star for your own! (Also, Otabek’s glow-in-the-dark undercut is seriously awesome. a fashion icon Otabek.)

@_xarem You made a whole new world with just one page of art!! Fashion icon Otabek makes an appearance once again with a bomber jacket with a Scorpio design. The sky is colorful and whimsical and full of wonderful things!! Yurio in a a dark hoodie is so Yurio, haha, but the colorful background makes him look so soft, along with Beka.

@rollround Bunny Moon King Victor met Astronaut Yuuri and wants to keep him for forever! I guess this is inspired by Japanese Mythology? The colors are so bright and soft, I hope they get their happy ending ;v;

@eimqo Sara and Mila YAAAAAAS Your art style is soft and so adorable!! They’re like models of astronomy-inspired clothing and I AM LIVING FOR IT. Their headdresses are the bomb! I kinda want them for myself :D

@trinketier Chubby Astronaut Yuuri!!!!!! He looks so precious in your art 100000/10 And heavenly body Phichit looks so happy and playful here trying to tour Yuuri around Saturn(?). I kinda wanna join them on the tour!

@princebunbuns your art is so very golden!! Yuuri and Victor dripping gold is fantastic!!

@peggyshrooms’ Yuuri and Otabek portrait is beautiful. The soft colors and the shooting star, I love it. Can I ask from what constellation this is inspired from? If it has one? Thank you!! Despite space being such a dark place, your art has so much light in it that it looks heavenly!!

@winchilsea’s fic “A Long Conversation in Space” features Yuuri and Phichit as heavenly bodies talking about what they are, what they do, what they’re supposed to be, and their past experiences. Most of the phrasing is really deep, I’m not a native English speaker, so this was a little hard for me to read and understand. The use of words is wonderful, nonetheless. But I’ll be honest, this is a fic that I might need to read repeatedly before I see and understand its flow. Which is a great excuse to visit this wonderful zine again and again!

@chronovale Made an art piece where Yuuri and Victor are embracing each other literally wearing the universe! I think they’re both separate galaxies ‘cause they both have stars, planets, and moons in their clothing. But maybe they’re in the same galaxy living within each other’s space! I love it!!

@villainsbynecessity Hikoboshi and Orihime feels!!!! Your Yuuri and Victor, literal star-crossed lovers depiction is so nice!! They’re both really happy in your art, and I’m really happy with this one too :D

@zuoji I’m not very good at astronomy and I barely know any constellation, but I suppose your depiction of Yuuri and Victor are inspired by real constellations? I’m so sorry I know so little ;_; But the art is awesome!! Gladiator Yuuri kneeling before God victor is 👌👌👌

@hatepotion Are these reminiscent of Tarot cards? I also have very limited knowledge about astrology, but if they are, then Yuuri and Victor representing The Sun and The Moon are very accurate! Yuuri the solitary being that seems cold, but in truth, he’s just shy but still the brightest thing in the sky at night. Victor is the sun because people just can’t help it but want to get close to him, but he never lets them too close. But somehow, against all odds and science, these two just can’t keep their hands off each other <3 <3 <3

@maydraws_ Made the art to accompany “A Long Conversation in Space”. The mix of mythic astronomy (is that even real? I don’t know) and traditional Japanese(?) art is wonderful! It’s simple, but the earthy tones and visuals are breathtaking. It really shows Yuuri’s solemnity in the fic and Phichit’s role as his companion.

@elleshivers Are Yurio and Beka supposed to be wearing Filipino pre-colonial inspired clothing?? If so then you did a really good job!! Your art has a mythological feel to it that I just had to think that. The details on their clothing and background are fantastic!

@suppuuri Your art is pure beauty. Yuuri and Victor lovingly gazing at each other before a kiss IS. THE. JAM. Their haloes are great accessories to their pure, true love. I’m tearing up, your art is magnificent ;v;

@insecticidesoap Your short but heartwarming comics is wonderful and brought tears to my eyes! Mama Katsuki is so supportive of her baby Yuuri as an astronaut and it just filled me with warmth and so much love!!

@sparklyfawn *whispers aggresively* Alien Yuuri rescuing lost astronaut Victor!!!!!! Your depiction of alien Yuuri is so creative! And Victor’s pink astronaut suit (and the most beautiful tears in the world) is so awesome. 

@agenderemryspaperart Is this your paper art??? It’s so intricate and detailed and so unique! Do you have a story behind it? I’m guessing your art featured Yuuri and Phichit’s dorm room? Do they have figure skating in your world?? I have so many questions, but your art is still so beautiful! Yuuri in a half-man bun is also 10/10

@roselph Your short comics for “A Minor Victory” captured the fic perfectly! It was such a fun story and your art really fits the characters! Alien Victor is so funny!!

@aluhnim Long-distance relationships are hard. And you showed how strong Yuuri and Victor’s bond is, even though they live countries apart! How they show their support for each other, and promising that things between them will never change no matter how long or how much they are apart. *crying intensifies* 

@aurigaearts It’s so dark!! It’s so realistic though!! How did you do this? This is magnificent! For such a short piece, you did an amazing job delivering so many emotions with Yuuri and Victor. You gave us loneliness and hope and love with just two pages, and that takes talent! Thank you! 

@laurenbaldoart The gang exploring an alient planet with evidence of intelligent life! A movie, I say! Give this art a freaking movie! Phichit with a selfie is a must of course! Haha! Yuuri and Victor is especially sweet outside of Earth <3 <3 <3

@giftwrappingpaper Your fic was so much fun!! One of my favorites, definitely! Alien Victor falling in love at first sight at Yuuri’s true form is awesome. He definitely wasn’t disappointed. Yuuri also lowkey saving the planet earth from alien invasion possible doom is soooo him, hahaha!

@fatimajpeg I hope I got your new tumblr right! Your piece for this zine is incredible! I can feel Yuuri’s loneliness and depression. Bearing the whole of his country on his shoulders is such a huge burden, and you can really see him suffering from it. Your piece was beautiful, thank you.

@banacotta Yuuri, Victor, and Makkachin riding a boat through space! Or during an evening boat date while the starry sky is reflected on the water. This is so idyllic, I want to experience this! Your piece is so calming and such a beautiful scene of just relaxing in each other’s arms while the beautiful night sky frames their peaceful visage.

@haedraulics Astronaut x Astrophysicist/Engineer AU! And they’re engaged! Public displays of affection!! Outerspace wedding proposals!!! First meetings!!!! Everything in your comics is beautiful!!!! I LOVE IT.

@yuuris-piano your compositions are b e a u t i f u l, thank you, so very much 

@miupoke The cover you did for this zine is magnificent! The stardust that surrounded the two, emphasized by the glittering gold foil and the loving gazes made it perfect!

@nuupu The gang in outerspace wearing such fashionable astronaut clothing!! Even in outerspace, these fashion icons never disappoint! Your art is dark, but the details and their facial expressions are clear.

I assume that @roarsharktest @roadhouss​ @krayonela​ made some of the prints and/or sticker sheets? Oh gosh, I hope I did not forget anyone. If I made any mistakes, please tell me!

Thank you so, so much for this project! It has given me so much joy and happiness, and was a great early Christmas present for myself. The crew of @yoispacezine are all wonderful and amazing! Thank you for all your hard work!!! I enjoyed it so much!

[ripstocking]

Los Angeles: Joel Chen’s eponymous shop on Highland Avenue in Los Angeles is a mental and visual whirlwind. 30,000 square feet of seemingly endless space is filled to capacity by a sprawl of hand-chosen furniture and decorative arts that represent virtually all periods and every country. With another 20,000 square feet spread over two other locations, Joel’s ever-expanding enterprise is on its way to becoming the Noah’s Ark of furniture and decorative arts. A Shanghai native, Joel got his start as an antique dealer in Los Angeles in the 1970s, and has spent the last four decades diversifying and developing his interests, and creating a wildly eclectic but singular perspective on design. Joel’s circus of objects was built by thousands of craftsmen and designers who have laboured away, throughout the centuries and across the globe, perfecting their crafts. While Joel is unwavering about the fact that he doesn’t curate his shop—he brings together the widest range of objects with the best possible provenance, so that designers and collectors can do the curating—his home is another story. Joel’s abode, which he has shared with his wife Margaret for over thirty years, is a depository for the objects that he holds dearest. Each object marks a memory of his days travelling the world in search of antique treasure, and a narrated tour of these possessions by Joel releases a crystalline universe made up of samurai craftsmen, ancient philosophers, 18th century guildsmen, Frits Henningsen, Ruth Asawa, and many more past and present personas. Where did this all begin: your shop, your collection, a life engulfed with objects? It was the mid-70s; I was working for my father who was a wholesale jeweller in downtown LA. It was a really cutthroat environment. You sold a ring for $50, some one else was selling it for $49, and so you cut your price to $48.50. It was that kind of competition. Anyway, I drove down Melrose Avenue one day and saw an antique store. It was closed, and when I knocked on the window the guy kept signalling me away, so I just asked, ‘Why?’ He opened the door and said he was open only to the trade. So I asked, ‘What’s the trade?’ He explained that ‘the trade’ was made up of interior designers, architects, or other antique dealers. I thought it was a racial thing. So I went back to my father and said, ‘I want to open an antique store,’ which I did. Where did you first open up? On Melrose Avenue, which is now the Marc Jacobs store! I think I had around 800 square feet. By the time I left Melrose I had 6,500 square feet. I started with Chinese antiques. My father co-signed a bank loan for me. I borrowed $6,000, went to Hong Kong and filled a container with pure junk! I had no idea what I was buying. Slowly I started snooping into other people’s stores and found out there was a lot more to it than the junk I was buying. So where did your interests first expand to? First I branched out to other Asian antiques, then I started looking at European antiques, Italian painted furniture, be it Genoa or Piedmontese, and then there was a time when English Regency and Brown furniture were popular. Along the way I discovered modern furniture. I am totally self-taught. I learned by going to other people’s stores and auctions and by travelling. I was going to Italy, the Czech Republic and Slovenia. I would go to Hungary looking for Bauhaus furniture. But it was already slim pickings, because immediately after the fall of communism the Italians started trucking all the good furniture and propaganda art out of Eastern Europe. Over the years you became a generalist, interested in furniture at large, across periods and style. Few design museums—actually none that I can think of—have as eclectic a collection as you. But your collection, if we could call it that, is always moving, changing and expanding… There are pros and cons to selling so widely. The pro is you can focus on the best examples of each era or historical period. But the con is that you’re going to be running out of money because you can’t concentrate on one thing that people will come to you for. An 18th century Italian console comes in, and I have to buy it, or a beautiful 11th century Gandhara piece, I have to buy that too. When did contemporary design enter the mix with all the historical work? So after Bauhaus I turned to the ‘50s and ‘60s, but I basically stopped in the ‘60s. I skipped the ‘80s entirely, because I don’t care too much of what I call glam art, which happened in the ‘80s and ‘90s. Now I represent contemporary artists, I worked with Paul Johnson, and we brought in Max Lamb and Kwangho Lee. This is where things get really kaleidoscopic… you put these things next to each other, and there’s little-to-no program in terms of what can go next to what. You’ll have a Joe Colombo sofa, next to 18th century Chinese cabinetry, next to 19th century toy trains—the kind Eames would have loved—next to Carlo Molino. This creates an exhilarating shuffle of unexpected encounters, which I’ve experienced before in the sprawl of furniture that populates your shops. Likewise for my house; here is a Danish table from the ‘60s, then scarce armchairs by the Chicago architects Krueck and Sexton, and we have a 19th century Anglo-Indian box with a red camphor wood and ivory inlay. With such broad interests, how do you identify the pieces you will buy, collect and sell, aside from quality, what’s the red thread, what draws you to them? I actually don’t look for anything. I stumble onto things, and that’s an incredible feeling. I don’t know what I’m looking for. Every time, I find something that speaks to me, I struggle not to buy it, but I always lose. Quality is an extremely important criteria for me. I don’t look for crudity. Everything has been gradual of course, like my career; the things I have become interested in have developed over time. Like this little articulated crayfish, an 18th century bronze from Japan, I discovered them and loved them. Each little part of its body works and moves, and each of its parts were cast separately. But I’ve stopped collecting them. The man-hours it would have taken to train to make such a piece, and then to actually make it… Astonishing. The craftsmen who made these, back in the 19th century in Japan, had been masters of making weaponry and armour, but with the slow demise of samurais and shoguns, these craftsmen were left without work. With nowhere to go they started making bronzes. I can’t imagine anybody who would want to make that today. So labour-intensive. In your home and in your shops I sense the millions of hours of labour, poured into so many objects, from so many periods, and I get the sense of being in an enormous labour bank, as if all the time people spent designing and making these things were somehow captured here. You can really feel the presence of people who cared about something, who stood for something. They spent the time and perfected everything. See that? (Joel points to a torso-sized rock, ornately shaped with a cavity in its centre.) It’s a natural Chinese scholar’s rock. Its surface is eroded and formed by lake waters over thousands and thousands of years. And then here, this is a man-made scholar’s rock carved by hand from a solid piece of marble, it was made to simulate and imitate the natural scholar’s rock. With the expanding categories and quantities of objects, I feel that you have crossed the threshold into being a singular museum, like the Henry Ford Museum, or the Museum of Jurassic Technology, you have created a very particular brand of museum… Yes, but it’s my worst nightmare. I’m running out of space for it! So I now have five different buildings storing and keeping it all. A lot of the pieces can’t be seen because they’re in storage. My wife says I have to slow down. Some people might say such a focus on material things is unhealthy. The TV show Hoarders comes to mind. Where does your connection with these objects transcend the materialistic? I think all objects are really just borrowed, because when you’re dead, you’re not going to be carrying them with you. So you get to spend time with an object for a while, and then if you’re like me, you sell it because you can’t carry it with you to the next world. And what does it contribute to your space and life while you do live with it? The quality experience actually comes from when I travel, gathering so many things along the way. Then, when I have the pieces at home, they bring me the memories. I think life is basically memories. You construct a memory and you remember the year, the moment. Travelling constructs a lot of memories for me and I bring things back with me that keep those memories close. Tangency seems to be important to you. You have a way of placing things next to each other that invokes humour, curiosity, and surprise, where the collective arrangement changes the meaning of the individual pieces. Yes, like here, I put a tiger-patterned velvet pillow on a Hans Wegner chair. Hans is so paired down, where it was all about shape and how the carved parts come together so carefully, all for comfort. The pillow is 19th century decor, from the guild culture, and I love to put it on the chair. In your Highland Avenue shop I remember seeing two dining chairs, a Friso Kramer and a Jean Prouvé, flanking a premodern Chinese table. Next to the old table, the two mid-century chairs seemed like brothers from different mothers, like a couple of young rebellious dudes. I found it all very funny! Yes, brothers, except one is $550 and the other one is $15,000! But even Kramer is getting depleted, and more expensive too. You used to be able to buy Kramer for nothing, like $90 when I first got them, nobody wanted them because they were made for schools and hospitals, and there were so many of them. The wide net you cast brings in some incredible things that don’t end up in traditional design museums. I was really excited to see—and get to lie on—Bruce Hannah’s day bed for Knoll which you had in the shop last summer. He was a professor of mine at university, so I had studied his work through images. I like to think of your shop as a place where furniture is given a second or third life. More like sixth or seventh life! Bruce Hannah is under the radar. Nobody is collecting it, and it’s really very reasonable. It’s a good design and it is comfortable, the day-bed especially. Within your widely varying array of furniture and objects, you keep a very neat space, even at your home I have the feeling of being in a showroom. It’s always like that. When I read a book, I always close it up and put it back in its place. So when I want to re-read it, I know exactly where to go. The only bad thing is in my store, I have no control over it. I have five guys moving things constantly. When a sofa is sold, I replace it with another one. Recently I started placing similar things together, which I’ve never done before, so now black leather goes with black leather… Sorry to interrupt, but can you tell me about this crew of baby Jesus figures you have standing at the entrance to your home? El Santo Niño Jesús. Each one is from a different place—Columbia, Italy, the Philippines… You can see how huge the influence of Catholicism was in those days, across the globe. This one is a survivor; it is a remnant from a fire, you can see the char marks on its legs, and it's missing a foot. Many of the pieces you collect hold great spiritual value within their cultures. What draws you to this class of object? There’s always a story. They had certain values. With the scholar’s rock for instance, the scholars would spend time contemplating this object, and from it they took inspiration for poems and novels. The rock pushed them to further achievement, and increased creativity. I used to travel more than I do now, and, back in those days, I travelled and carried pieces with me that I loved. It was less about a prize than finding something that was significant within a culture. Finding these objects is about living in the present, and once I have them they help me remember my past. The pieces in my home may seem random, but they are here to remind me of certain stages of my career. Why have you slowed your travel schedule? I used to travel to fill containers, but now, the things I seek are more universally dispersed and rarer thanks to the computer. People are online all the time. This is positive and negative. Positive because if you want to find something you will find it, but negative because the prices have become universal. There is no such thing as a bargain anymore. All the designers go for the same price no matter what website you go to, maybe they deviate 20 percent but not more. And so now that you spend more time in LA, what’s changed in your approach to collecting and buying? I spend time trying to find emerging and local artists, coming out of the gentrified districts of Los Angeles. I’m looking for the next wave. I don’t like the idea of the next wave, but business-wise you need to be keen on all that. I think antiques are coming back in a big way, more to the point that they are affordable—these days you’re buying 16th century pieces for less than you pay for a 20th century piece. I just bought a new building and I’m thinking of doing more shows than ever. Profit or no profit, that comes after. Anyway I can’t look at my Aladdin lamp and know what will be profitable and what won’t be. Los Angeles is still young in a certain way, it’s growing up but is not yet mature, you can see all the galleries coming up on my street, on Highland Avenue, and that gives you a lot of hope that things will have a good ending. Of the thousands of objects that have passed through your doors, is there one in particular that may have taught you something significant? When I first started out in Chinese antiques, I came across a pair of elaborately carved Imperial throne chairs of zitan and burl, they were 18th century, from the Qianlong period. The carvings showed a phoenix and a dragon on opposite ends. I had them in my garage for like ten years, and one day Sotheby’s came in and said that they wanted them for auction, and low and behold they brought in $200,000. I recognised them enough to buy them and store them, but I didn’t really recognise them for what they were. They were museum pieces. It was an important lesson for me. I overlooked them. It taught me that I shouldn’t judge an object by what’s popular in interior design or style