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Nina Takesh - Designer & China Collector
1k Plays20 days ago
Today I’m joined by the inimitable Nina Takesh—a creative force whose work spans luxury baby boutiques, house flipping, bespoke interiors, digital media, and now, her own beautifully crafted furniture collection. With a global upbringing rooted in Iranian heritage and Parisian refinement, Nina’s aesthetic is shaped by architecture, elegance, and the art of intentional living.
She’s someone who doesn’t just design spaces—she curates them. Whether she’s sourcing antiques from estate sales, designing nurseries for celebrity clients, or collecting rare china with a deep sense of ritual and permanence, Nina’s approach is deeply personal and always thoughtful.
In today’s conversation, we explore the many chapters of her collecting life—from the ceremonious charm of porcelain to the quiet rebellion of craftsmanship in a world of mass production. We talk about how early exposure to iconic design shaped her instincts, what it means to turn a collector’s eye into a creator’s hand, and how her collections ultimately reflect what she values most in life and in design.
Nina Takesh - https://www.ninatakesh.com/
Nina's Instagram - https://www.instagram.com/ninatakesh?igsh=ejU1enJpdmVtc2h2
Cameron Steiner - https://www.instagram.com/cameronrosssteiner
Collectors Gene - https://www.collectorsgene.com
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Transcript
Embracing Everyday Beauty
00:00:00
Speaker
It really isn't about going to the fancy place to get the fancy things. It's about finding beauty and beautiful items that can appear in in the ordinary.
Introducing Collector's Gene Radio
00:00:13
Speaker
What's going on, everybody? and welcome to Collector's Gene Radio.
00:00:17
Speaker
This is all about diving into the nuances of collecting and ultimately finding out whether or not our guests have what we like to call the collector's gene. If you have the time, please subscribe and leave a review.
00:00:29
Speaker
It truly helps. Thanks a bunch for listening and please enjoy today's guest on Collectors Gene Radio.
Meet Nina Takish: A Creative Force
00:00:37
Speaker
Today I'm joined by the inimitable Nina Takish, a creative force whose work spans luxury baby boutiques, house flipping, bespoke interiors, digital media, and now her own beautifully crafted furniture collection.
00:00:48
Speaker
With a global upbringing rooted in Iranian heritage and Parisian refinement, Nina's aesthetic is shaped by architecture, elegance, and the art of intentional living. She's someone who doesn't just design spaces, she curates them.
00:01:01
Speaker
Whether she's sourcing antiques from estate sales, designing nurseries for celebrity clients, or collecting rare china with a deep sense of ritual impermanence, Nina's approach is deeply personal and always thoughtful.
00:01:13
Speaker
In today's conversation, we explore the many chapters of her collecting life, from the ceremonious charm of porcelain to the quiet rebellion of craftsmanship in a world of mass production. We talk about how early exposure to iconic design shaped her instincts, what it means to turn a collector's eye into a creator's hand, and how her collections ultimately reflect what she values most in life and in design.
00:01:34
Speaker
So please enjoy. This is Nina Takish for Collectors Gym Radio.
00:01:40
Speaker
Nina, welcome to Collectors Gym Radio. Thank you very much. My pleasure. First off, congratulations on the launch of your new furniture collection. And we're going to dive into that a little bit more later, but how exciting and each piece looks so beautiful and really thoughtful.
00:01:55
Speaker
Oh, wonderful. Thank you so much. I really appreciate that you brought it up. even My pleasure. Now, you are a serious powerhouse, my friend. I mean, you had your own luxury baby store for quite a while where people like Madonna and JLo and Gwen Stefani used to frequent. You flip luxury homes, you have an interior design studio, a media channel, and you just launched your furniture collection.
00:02:17
Speaker
And somewhere in between it all, you find the time to collect some pretty exquisite china. Yes, I do. I have an obsession. As most collectors
Roots and Inspirations
00:02:26
Speaker
do. So let's dive right in because I think your upbringing has a lot to do with the things that you love and where you are today, not in terms of all the great things that your father and grandfather accomplished, but rather all the things that you were exposed to, right? Your father was an architect and you and your family spent a lot of time in Europe. Tell me about that.
00:02:43
Speaker
You know, I had a lot of um influence growing up when it came to design and architecture, which I really appreciate and a lot of it exposure to different, I would say, not only, you know, artists. I had my family, my grandmother was a pianist.
00:03:04
Speaker
My aunt a great aunt, I should say, was a painter, a famous one in Iran, and they had a lot of creativity was sort of instilled in a lot of family members. And so just growing up with that, i think, was critical. And also having lived in Europe,
00:03:24
Speaker
you know, from Montreux in Switzerland, a little town by the lake, to Port-la-Galère, which is ah French, i would say, community where you had some incredible architecture and where Maison Bulle resides today, where they have so many interesting fashion shows and so on that i was lucky enough to really take it all in maybe not even realizing how lucky I was at the time, and then really being able to appreciate it even more so as time passed.
00:03:57
Speaker
Amazing.
The Art of Collecting China
00:03:58
Speaker
And now you collect China, and I find that to be such a delicate yet enduring medium. What first drew you to collecting China? and I mean, was it something that you inherited from family that kick-started this, or did you inherit this kind of by the way of your own sensibilities?
00:04:13
Speaker
I think I do remember my mom throwing so many dinner parties at the house and you know she's a she loves to cook and the dinner parties were always so elaborate.
00:04:24
Speaker
It wasn't specifically her china that spoke to me. It was the way that the table was styled where you know she would stack all the beautiful plates and then she would, on another corner of the table, it was sort of a really elaborate table that was set up where people would come and grab their dishes and then they would you know, sit somewhere and have a conversation. And so she would, I loved the dessert sections ah predominantly as well.
00:04:51
Speaker
Now we're talking. Yeah, the silver sort of stem bowls. I don't know if you've seen them. And then she would create ice cream with berries on them. And they just looked so ornate, but they were so incredible.
00:05:04
Speaker
And she would make a lot of soups and she would have these big soups sort of with these gorgeous ladles that were displayed in beautiful China. And so it was really the art of eating and the art of entertaining that spoke to me. and In conjunction with wanting to do the same thing, I started thinking about, well, what kind of China would I want? And getting married relatively early, I was 25. think that's very early.
00:05:31
Speaker
i was, um you know, hunting for China myself for my registry. And so I think that that was really where the China bug started.
00:05:44
Speaker
I always find that collections can tell you a lot about someone, especially China, right? Very few collections have this ritualistic component to them. And most people use China for display only or only on special occasions.
00:05:57
Speaker
But it tells you about someone's past. If it's something that's been passed down, it tells you about colors that attract them, designs, materials, techniques like enameling. What do you think the China that you collect reveals about you and maybe your relationship to this more ritualistic and and permanence in your life?
00:06:17
Speaker
I have always been inspired by China. I spend many hours. I used to, certainly at Geary's in Beverly Hills, where they have a really great collection of China. Certainly even at Galerie Lafayette Maison, they have a huge collection there.
00:06:33
Speaker
And it's the patterns that intrigue me and how I can style the China back florals tell a story when I'm entertaining.
00:06:44
Speaker
So with that said, i would classify my taste in China as a classic. I have a very sort of classical sensibility. And so the China that I gravitate towards is something that is a little bit more timeless.
00:06:59
Speaker
I do love bringing in... in certain instances, color and china is where you will see color and pattern in my home. Typically, my furniture is usually very neutral and my art and my florals and my china are where I can have a little bit of fun.
00:07:18
Speaker
So I think what you know really says about me is, although i tend to be serious, I don't want to be taken too seriously. And I want to have that aha moment. So I really like to gravitate towards things that are very well made, hand painted. know that a lot of the China that I love is from Limoges. And when I found out that Limoges a déclassé, which is a little town for, well, in the town of Limoges, they have little stores for déclassé, which are the Chinas that were rejected by the, you know, the final, you
00:07:55
Speaker
count as they're being packed up, those that were imperfect. When I found out about this, I had to literally drive from Paris to Limoges, go to the store and buy as many pieces as I possibly could.
00:08:07
Speaker
don't blame you. i couldn't believe it I walked into this China store and there was the entire stack, just stacks on the floor, stacks on table, stacks everywhere as if it was a dollar thrift shop. But it was literally all the Limog patterns that I love from
Adventures and Reflections in Collecting
00:08:23
Speaker
Haviland, from, ah you know, all of those sub brands that Limog carries and they happen to have.
00:08:30
Speaker
my wedding china. And so I just went crazy. I grabbed it all. And my husband at the time said, how are you going to, what what are you what are you planning on doing with this? I was living in Argentina at the time. And I said, well, I'm going to ship it to Argentina. And he said, you you understand this is very delicate China.
00:08:45
Speaker
And we are in a de classe shop in the middle of Limoges. I just don't know if it'll make it. I said, you know what? I'm going to risk it. because I can't carry these with me, but I'm going to ship as much as I can. And it's definitely worth it.
00:08:57
Speaker
And in the end, a lot of it arrived. And I would say 20% of it had broken, which was heartbreaking, but a good 80% arrived. And you know with the value that I got, I just i was just floored. And ah keep meaning to go back to Limoges and do it all over again, except now I have no room.
00:09:17
Speaker
That's pretty amazing. I mean, 20% defective rate of your shipping capabilities is pretty solid. Pretty solid, it yeah. I mean, do they ship now? I mean, could you call them or send them an email and ask them if they would ship to you? But in today's world, I don't know. That might devalue the brand and the, you know, the Limoges, I think, um aesthetic.
00:09:39
Speaker
I really believe that you have to go to the town and you have to go in there and you have to grab them yourself. And, you know, some of them will be off by like ah a millimeter. You know, the plate size might be off or Or the painting might not be exactly perfect. So maybe a flower is, you know, two centimeters in the wrong direction.
00:09:57
Speaker
But you really wouldn't notice. And there's something about imperfection that I also love. I was actually researching last night. I, for some reason, all of my teaspoons have disappeared.
00:10:08
Speaker
All of them. So I don't know throwing them away or if they think it's disposable or, you know, over time. never the knives and never the spoons, but the small forks and the teaspoons disappear. And so now I'm forced to buy another set of daily ah flatware.
00:10:25
Speaker
So I was looking last night and this was a very difficult, I couldn't believe the amount of time I spent looking at flatware. And then I realized, you know, I am, I'm incapable of making this decision because I want Guy de Gren, for example, right? He's the in my opinion, one of the best, you know, flat makers from Paris, you know, he does the 1810 stainless steel.
00:10:46
Speaker
ah The designs are just magnificent, especially the sort of mid-century ones. And then I thought to myself, I know what's going to happen. Those little suckers are going to come, they're gono yogurt, and then they're going to throw the spoon into the trash accidentally. And then I'm going to be at a loss and hunting for that one spoon of on you know on eBay. So you know that's where my mind goes. it's not It's a curse, but it's also a blessing where you can enjoy things, but it just can really take a toll
00:11:19
Speaker
Yeah, for sure. I mean, there's so many different ways to go when it comes to, you know, China. You can go the Limoges route. You can go Wedgewood, Persian enamel. There's so many different options.
00:11:30
Speaker
Japanese. Japanese. I mean, and the best part is, is that they all kind of work together, right? You could really style all the different makers or regions together and it's never wrong. But something I really love about China is the ceremonious aspect of it, even if it's never used, right? you Anyone who sees that knows its purpose.
00:11:51
Speaker
Do you tend to you know utilize all the China that you you know have collected you know the same way that you did when your mom used it? Or is it kind of sitting on the shelf as more so to look at these days?
00:12:02
Speaker
Oh, no, no, no. i use my china. I don't use it daily. i have very strict rules about that. you know The daily china is for daily wear because you know i have kids, although now they're older, but they still don't appreciate china like I do. So i will have it at a dinner party. I like it to be washed by hand because a lot of them have sort of the gold leaf and you can't put it in the dishwasher. So my daily china changes regularly and I tend to throw it out every two years. People think it's crazy, but it chips and you know things go missing. And so every two years I get a fresh new set. It's nothing crazy, but I enjoy it and then I get tired of it and I move on.
00:12:39
Speaker
But when it comes to the china that I collect, I love to entertain and bring different patterns out. Sometimes I mix them. you know I'll have maybe, i have a set of white ah Bernardo, and that works really well with all my Haviland. So I'll mix. I'll bring Festivité, which has the little flowers on it, and then I'll bring Alleroyale, and then it's really fun to be able to mix them and that's how I purchase them as well.
00:13:08
Speaker
So I'll buy things that I know will work in conjunction with one another because it's impossible to buy ah set of 24 or a set of 18 or 16 because it's so cost prohibitive.
00:13:19
Speaker
But I'll buy a set of 12 and then I'll buy another set of 12 down the line that I know will work with the original set of 12. So now I've got a set of 24, which you really need even for a smaller dinner party, because you need several.
00:13:34
Speaker
Sometimes, you know, you you want to use one as a charger under the salad plate, or sometimes you have dessert and then you have a, um you also have a an appetizer. So you need a lot of plates from the same grouping. And so I love to be able to um artfully put them together.
00:13:52
Speaker
I love it. Something I've started doing for our newborn daughter, and this may sound crazy, but there's a method to the madness because she's six months old as of today. But yeah yeah I've started to buy some of the Hermes Cheval China plates.
00:14:07
Speaker
Oh, that's wonderful. And put them aside for her. So instead of buying her, I mean, there's so many toys here and and stuffed animals and all that stuff. you know It's like she has so much of that already that to bring another one of those in almost feels wasteful, right?
00:14:21
Speaker
Yeah. and So I've started to, for special occasions, buy her a plate here and there from the Cheval collection um or or another Hermes collection and put it aside. And then one day she'll have a full set.
00:14:32
Speaker
That's the goal at least. No, I didn't think of that. But then again, I have boys. But you could do, I mean, it's horse. Horses are, yeah think um I think, ubiquitous. And what a wonderful idea. I wish I had done that. Because I have a lot of china for babies.
00:14:47
Speaker
You know, Tiffany has the little plates. And I had been given those as gifts. But, you know, what are you going to do with that? Really nothing. I think your play is much better.
00:15:00
Speaker
When you're thinking about what to add to your collection next, are you strictly on instinct or do you do a crazy deep dive into what you want to add or does it have to have a specific visual component?
00:15:11
Speaker
What does it take for a piece of China to end up in your home? Well, I love going to estate sales. It's no secret. And I have purchased a lot of different sets in estate sales.
00:15:24
Speaker
And For that reason, if I'm at an estate sale and I find, you know, just this weekend I was at an estate sale and i was actually blogging as well. And there was, um you know, Villaroy and Bach, which is, you know, I would say more mainstream, more daily plates, but still, you know, very well made, you know, in Germany.
00:15:45
Speaker
And I bought the Petites Fleurs. I don't know if you're familiar with that pattern. They're tiny little flowers. and And it feel it's very country. And I had a country moment at some point and I bought them.
00:15:56
Speaker
So I was at this estate sale and there was an entire set for $1,200 for, I don't know, for like 12 people. It was, it was a lot, but I already have a set, i think probably for at least 12, if not more.
00:16:11
Speaker
And I was debating, do I buy it? Do I not buy it? Do I buy it? do So sometimes I'd like, I like to, um Sort of, I like to add to an existing collection so that's even bigger so I can have maybe a bigger event or maybe an outdoor event, I kept thinking, because it's Petite Fleur and it's more country and it's a little bit more casual. So I thought about that.
00:16:31
Speaker
And I was going to go back the next day when it was half off and buy it. And then I forgot. I just remembered as I'm telling you the story. And now I'm a little annoyed. I might have to call. It's gone. so Definitely need to call and see if it still exists. Right?
00:16:44
Speaker
Oh my God, I'm so annoyed with myself. um And the other thing I like to do is, you know, look, touch, feel, find something interesting. Again, it has to tell a story. it has to work with some of the pieces I already have.
00:17:01
Speaker
Because serving platters, as you know, i love Christophe. ah serving platters. So all of my serving platters are silver. And I did that so that I wouldn't have to have China serving platters. Cause then there's, i mean, you would have to have such a big room to house all of this.
00:17:18
Speaker
I know it's crazy. Yeah, it's crazy. So I have to now limit myself, but I think to sort of answer your question,
00:17:29
Speaker
what speaks to me has to be very unique. It has to be original. It has to be different at this point in my life because I've already been down the petite fleur road, right? With Villaroy. And I've already been down the, you know, get get the Santa scene um or the little village scene for, you know, little Thanksgiving event.
00:17:49
Speaker
So now I want something that is, and i already have the wedding china with just the plain white and the gold. So now I'm looking for something that is hard to get. that nobody has and everybody wants.
00:18:01
Speaker
And that is where my interests lie. And that's going to have to be, you know, that's going to have to be sourced. That's to have to be deep sourcing, either an estate sale, maybe an auction or something I fall in love with in Paris as well. That could work.
00:18:17
Speaker
That's easy to do. yeah but Falling in love with anything in Paris is pretty easy to do. Yeah, exactly. In an era of you know fast interiors and mass production, collecting China almost feels kind of radical, right? Like it's this slow, intentional, lasting thing.
Design Philosophy: Vintage vs. Mass-Produced
00:18:37
Speaker
Do you think your collection serves as kind of a quiet resistance to to modern design trends? Absolutely. And I appreciate the fact that I'm still sourcing vintage pieces And my mom, every once in a while, will give me something from her collection because, you know, she realizes that she doesn't really entertain as much. and And so i i you know, I feel blessed when I get a vintage piece.
00:19:04
Speaker
I can look at the piece and think about the history that that piece might have had. Like how many dinner parties, you know, has this plate been through? i think about this. And I think it's so much more interesting and so much more fun to have something that has some kind of texture and and some kind of you know weather detail. And ah you know we threw an event last week at my house for the launch of the party and they brought flatware that were all mismatched and antique.
00:19:33
Speaker
And I thought, you know how beautiful that that looked on the table where, and they were rented. you know they i So I assumed there was going to be the plain flatware that ah that you just get from a restaurant or a caterer. But instead, they brought these beautiful sort of vintage mismatched cutlery. And I thought that that was so pretty. So I think it's so much more interesting to do that than to just buy new and place it down.
00:19:59
Speaker
And that's why I have difficulty buying new because... It just doesn't, first of all, the quality isn't there and they chip a lot easier.
00:20:10
Speaker
don't care if it says it's bone China. It doesn't feel like bone China. It never feels the same. Do agree with me or what, right? Yeah, it's, I don't know what it is. You know, i I look at so many things that are being produced today and and I talk about this with people often.
00:20:26
Speaker
And I look back at some of these items and i'm like, this was made so well back then and was so much cheaper back then. We have better technology. We have better, I don't know that we have better artisans today, but we have better technology today.
00:20:39
Speaker
How is it one more expensive to worse quality? It just doesn't make sense to me. Exactly. And that's why finding, you know, these old, old, old, and you've seen how long they've survived as well. That tells you something.
00:20:53
Speaker
And that is what um really, i think, speaks to me. you ever feel that collecting China has influenced how you design furniture or interiors, especially when it comes to, you know, scale and proportion and the
From Collector to Creator
00:21:06
Speaker
details? Do you ever have a client that collects China too? And you're like, okay, I'm going to kind of design the space this way to let the China kind of sing for a little bit.
00:21:14
Speaker
Oh, absolutely. You know, there's a place setting by, um, free for cap v forka I never say it properly. You probably can say it better than me.
00:21:25
Speaker
Yes. I, I know who you're talking about. P P U P U I F O r C A T C A T. So yeah. That one. Um, and I don't know what the exact, but the proper pronunciation is at this moment, but ah it has this one pattern that I believe is vintage. And it's this geometric pattern that is so unbelievable and so Art Deco and so beautiful that it inspired me to design the entire dining room in this Art Deco sort of vibe solely based on the dinner plate.
00:21:57
Speaker
Triforque, I think I want to say, but in any event, it is, ah and of course it dictates that you have to have sort of this art deco flatware and you have to have art deco perhaps, you know, candlesticks and you can really just create this amazing um room. And there was a lot of time when I was designing for my baby store, we would make, you know, little patterns for dresses and things like that for babies and little layette. And
00:22:30
Speaker
a lot of my inspiration and a lot of the inspiration for my bedding came from China. So if you were to look at my mood boards from back in the day when we would design a collection for like Babies R Us for bedding, we would literally put plates on our mood boards and then those would turn into baby bedding because it's just...
00:22:50
Speaker
great design and a beautiful stenciled flower or, you know, a geometric pattern or any of those things relates ever more to design than anything else, in my opinion.
00:23:03
Speaker
I love it. Yeah. You know, it's, it's so interesting when designs kind of come together off something that's maybe a little bit more simple or something that's less obvious, like a piece of China, you know, but when something is that special to someone, it does kind of you know, take over a space or deserves its kind of moment to, to, you know, that moment of praise, if you will.
00:23:25
Speaker
Right. Yeah, absolutely. And I find the art deco thing to be something I see a lot of designers doing more of these days just because it, it lasts. And it's almost like we forgot about it a little bit ago and everyone's like, Oh wait, art deco is amazing. And, and it works in in any interior and works in any space, you know?
00:23:45
Speaker
Yeah, I mean, if you look at any of my content or any of the, you know, YouTubes that I've done over the years, that's really my go-to. I find that 1920s, 10s, 30s period one of the most fascinating, certainly in in obviously where it was born um in France and the influence it's had time and time again, decade and decade again.
00:24:08
Speaker
with the transformation of it, but still it it was such a strong movement and it was so edgy that to this day it feels and looks fresh and has now become timeless in a way. So yeah, it's everything.
00:24:23
Speaker
Let's talk about your new furniture line for a bit because it really marks your shift as a going from a collector to a creator. How did years of sourcing and curating inform what you chose to design and maybe also what not to design?
00:24:38
Speaker
Well, thank you for asking. And I would say that, you know, it's all about learning and then unlearning and then learning again when it comes to design.
00:24:49
Speaker
You think you have it all figured out in your twenty s and you're like, I know what's great and I know what's cool and I know great design. And then you spend your thirty s rethinking it and trying to sort of grow.
00:25:00
Speaker
And then by the time you're my age, which is early 50, you have to unlearn everything. And then the best version of you comes out, which is everything you thought you knew, plus everything you actually learned, plus all of your experience bottled up and into everything.
00:25:18
Speaker
what I would say is my furniture collection. So it's a proud moment for me to have been able to actually accomplish this because it's something that I thought about for years. I mean, I've thought about this for a good decade and it took me a good two and a half years just to be able to not only just draw it, but then get it fabricated and made. So this wasn't just a quick, let's let's do a furniture collection. I mean, this is year years in the making and many, many, many hours of studying.
00:25:47
Speaker
you know As they say, with matt um you know ah Gladwell always says you need, what, ah was it 10,000 hours? I think I have maybe 100,000 hours of studying furniture or more. I'm just throwing out a number there. Yeah.
00:26:03
Speaker
yeah The point that want to make is that I have spent so much time looking at every piece of furniture, every room, every design, every magazine, everything that I could possibly get my hands and eyes on, not only just at home, but also while I'm traveling and while I've been living and going into people's homes. And all of this work has culminated into this moment where I was able to create what I thought was the perfect edit.
00:26:33
Speaker
So the perfect sofa that works with the perfect table that works with the perfect poof that works with the perfect, you know, it just, it's just delicious that way. It's like a great dessert that comes together with the right amount of whipped cream and the right amount of sugar. and you know, that's how I see it. And it's been really a dream come true. And the response has been incredible,
00:26:55
Speaker
And i've just I feel very, very blessed, very, very lucky to actually be sitting here telling you about it and um being surrounded by it Because right now the entire collection is at my house and I just love surrounded.
00:27:09
Speaker
surrounded by it. It's going to leave soon, which I'm very sad about. I'm actually having sad moments. I'm going to have to have a funeral for these pieces as they leave. yeah It's going to be a sad moment, but most likely I will ah probably make of most of these pieces for myself as well and and bring them into my home just because you know they're me.
00:27:29
Speaker
You've moved between you know the fashion world and nursery design and high-end interiors and digital media. Would you say that collecting is kind of your constant creative tether across all these worlds?
Collecting as Creative Inspiration
00:27:40
Speaker
Yes, definitely. It's what gives me energy. If you told me there's a great estate sale right now around the corner, I'd be like, let's meet, let's go. i mean, I can't think of a weekend that I don't think about it. I can't think of a time that I don't have to go and look at it ah and And I also love going to the flea markets as well. It doesn't have to be, you know, at the D&D for it to be, or at the you know Pacific Design Center for those that are in the West Coast or East Coast.
00:28:10
Speaker
It can be a thrift store. I have found the most, I found a Murano chandelier. And ah as I was driving by the thrift store in Santa Monica Boulevard, I saw a gentleman hanging what looked to be a Murano chandelier.
00:28:27
Speaker
I quickly pull over, I run in, and he's about to put the last glass on. Because Murano chandeliers have glass sculptures that you thread through the metal. You know how they are.
00:28:40
Speaker
So he was putting the last piece on. I said, wait, how much is it? He said, $300. I said, I'll take it. And he goes, I was just about to put the last piece on. Now I've got to take it all apart.
00:28:51
Speaker
you know He was kind of kidding. i was like, I'll take it right now. So It really isn't about going to the fancy place to get the fancy things. It's about finding beauty and beautiful items that can appear in in the ordinary.
00:29:07
Speaker
And i love I love that. That's not only just the thrill of it, but it also is bringing in a $10 wicker basket that sits on top of a you know a Mila Vogtman credenza. I mean, how good is that?
00:29:22
Speaker
How good is that combination? Can't beat it. Yeah. I'd be lying if I said i I don't think about auctions and estate sales and and antique stores all the time too. I mean, I'm i'm in auctions every single day for various things.
00:29:36
Speaker
Are you? Oh my God. We got to share all day deep secrets about that. Yeah. Because a lot of times I'm also watching things that I'm not even buying. I just know that like I'm interested in and I want to see what it goes for and and what the hammer price is. And you go to a live auctioneer for that or you just go to specific...
00:29:54
Speaker
Yep. All sorts of those those auction aggregators, live auctioneers, invaluable, you know, ah jewel in French. yeah Yeah. I tend to watch less of the Sotheby's Bonhams Christie stuff because I always find that there's never a deal, right? There's never an an exciting hammer price or someone not paying attention at those places, right?
00:30:17
Speaker
Yeah, that's true. So I watch those less often. you know I watch those for a lot of the like vintage watch auctions and that sort of stuff. But when it comes to design and furniture and glass and and a serveware and all that stuff, i'm I'm always in these small auction houses in the middle of France or Italy and all that. oh my God, we're going to have to share lists.
00:30:40
Speaker
Yes, 100%. 100%.
00:30:43
Speaker
Let's talk about a few of my favorite pieces from the new furniture collection. And maybe you could tell me the inspiration behind each one, aside from, you know, their translated names in French and maybe more about what they were really inspired
Innovative Design Inspirations
00:30:55
Speaker
by. So let's start with the, the cause chair, which is cross in French. And you could see the cross on the bottom as the base, but what was the inspiration here?
00:31:04
Speaker
Well, I'm very glad that you picked up on that because I wasn't sure that people were going to make the connection. So you are, of course, very well-traveled and you know you're a collector. So thank you for noticing. I appreciate it So ah the Quaset is by far one of the most interesting pieces in the collection because it is so different. I mean, I haven't seen anything like it. It it literally came out of my brain in the middle of Italy at some point.
00:31:31
Speaker
for no no reason. And, um and of course, I refined it many times over until it became buildable, because some of the things that you think about, not are not necessarily buildable.
00:31:42
Speaker
ah But the closet was very much like that, um when I thought of it. And It is about the base, I think, more than anything else. The base is so, um you know, these are solid pieces of wood that have been carved. This isn't like a hollow anything.
00:32:00
Speaker
And so um when you when you look at it in person, it's hard to tell in photo. You feel its weight. and its function as well it's a very comfortable chair everything is very comfortable i wanted it to be useful and usable and the back sort of has a you know really beautiful moment because it's not straight it's not a 90 degree it has a bit of a pivot towards the back and so just to be able to create that is um you know is is take skill
00:32:33
Speaker
And the base is, you know, solid wood that's been beautifully sort of hand shaved and sanded and turned into a crisscross. And the fabric, I think, is is exponentially, you know, beautiful.
00:32:50
Speaker
Yeah, easily one of my favorites. Kind of works in any space. It's great, you know, in the corner of a bedroom ah for a little seating area. It's great in a living room. Yeah, really, really, really beautiful.
00:33:00
Speaker
Thank you. Thank you. Next one is the Noir's chair, which is cloud in French, which is obvious from the back part of the seat. But yeah where did you see this cloud that inspired you to make this?
00:33:13
Speaker
You know, i think this is a combination of clouds and maybe the subconsciously the Alhambra van Klee collection that's on my wrist that I look at daily. Or it's a shape that I hadn't seen on a chair before.
00:33:31
Speaker
So it was very hard to come up with something original, to be honest, because everything that I thought of, I felt that was ah it was already out there. And, you know, that's the reality of of furniture design.
00:33:44
Speaker
You know, how many... how many types of legs and chairs can you possibly come up with? So it's it is difficult. And this was something I hadn't seen. And this was something that I thought would be not only beautiful to the eye and unusual, but also comfortable because it sort of envelops your back, it hugs your back, and the seat is also really nicely done so that it has a you know cushion that you can sit on and people can have great conversations as well. So I'm excited about that one.
00:34:15
Speaker
Yeah, absolutely love it. I'm curious to know with your previous background in high-end nurseries and and luxury baby design, you know, all that stuff. Was there any part of you when designing this that was like, okay, this would also be amazing in a nursery?
00:34:30
Speaker
You know, that's funny you say that. I did design a cloud bedding back in the day, which is so on the nose for baby, but no, it did not occur to me for one second. And the reason is that I was so immersed into the baby world for so many years and I did so many iterations from you know the the royal family in Bahrain to the Al Sauds and and Saudi Arabia. I mean, you name it, I did it.
00:34:58
Speaker
That I literally, it didn't even occur to me until you brought it up. No, I didn't. Well, it would look great. I'm proud of it. I don't know why. I'm just so, I was just so tired, I think.
00:35:12
Speaker
of always designing for a nursery, that this was so invigorating to be able to do it for other rooms because I designed furniture furniture trip for nurseries for many years and never thought about an adult room. So for me, this was, okay, this is going to be adult.
00:35:26
Speaker
I love it. Well, it certainly works in any room as well. Thank you. The third one that I absolutely love, which I'm sure you could guess, is the Melange Credenza, which is blend in French. And obviously, it's a blend of materials that you're using.
00:35:41
Speaker
But it's Art Deco. It's almost got this ah Italian feel to it. It's absolutely gorgeous and would be such a statement in any any home.
00:35:54
Speaker
Thank you. Thank you. You know, that's my favorite piece of the entire collection. and And I didn't realize until it was made that it would be this beautiful because, you know, when you, when you draw it out, it's one thing.
00:36:05
Speaker
And then when you do CAD, it's another, ah you try and do a ah visual sort of rendering, know, that's okay. But then when you see it in person because of its craftsmanship, and if you look at the edges of the drawers of the doors, they're perfectly rounded. You know, if this isn't, this is just craftsmanship at its absolute finest. And,
00:36:27
Speaker
And so is the marble because to do curved marble, as I'm sure you're aware of, it's very hard because marble is cut, you know, as a straight material. So you have to cut it and paste it and cut it and paste it and cut it, you know, until you get the curve. And then you have to, I mean, it takes many, many, many, many hours to do so. And so um i was thrilled with this piece. And this is a piece that I already um ordered from my own home.
00:36:52
Speaker
And I will not live without. I just can't. It's it's pretty spectacular. It's it's so grand, um yeah inviting and cozy. It's a really perfectly executed masterclass piece of furniture. Absolutely.
00:37:07
Speaker
Thank you. That means a lot. In designing furniture, you know do you ever look at this collection that you made and and think that you're shaping future collectibles?
Legacy and Future Collectibles
00:37:16
Speaker
you know There's not going to be a ton of these pieces made.
00:37:19
Speaker
And you know these are going to be pieces that people keep in their homes for forever. These aren't going to be Facebook marketplace pieces or you know these may end up at auction one day sort of things. I mean, how do you think about permanence and what makes something worthy of being collected generations from now?
00:37:37
Speaker
Well, I love how you mentioned that because it's sort of my legacy in a way. You know, I have a little stamp inside each piece. We did it on, you know, a brass metal that's been sort of pressed into the brass with my logo.
00:37:54
Speaker
And it's in it's sewn on the upholstery, but it's ah the on the case goods. It has ah little logo. And so I don't know. There's something about that that's comforting.
00:38:06
Speaker
That even though right now it doesn't have that sense of history yet because it's early days, but to know that one day this could be at auction, it's just, it means a lot. It means a lot to me.
00:38:22
Speaker
And these are really heirloom pieces. They're made to be handed down from generation to generation. and And it would mean a great deal to me. um looking from above down, knowing that someone's enjoying these pieces and fighting over them and wanting to pay more.
00:38:39
Speaker
I love it. i'll be I'll be in the auction pumping up the bids for sure. do Please do. Not that you'll need it, but... You've spent a lifetime collecting and curating objects that speak to history and craftsmanship and emotion.
00:38:55
Speaker
When you look at everything that you've done, what do you feel they collectively reflect about maybe what you value most in life and in design? A feeling. A feeling you get when you walk into a space.
00:39:09
Speaker
You know, a lot of reason why I collect is because I want to share it with people when they come to the house. So I'm not collecting, for example, lingerie. lingerie that nobody's gonna see, right? That doesn't interest me.
00:39:21
Speaker
I'm collecting things that people are going to be interacting with when they come to my home. So it's always about sharing and enjoying together and telling a story. So i just, I love it. I love being able to you know add a piece here and there when it becomes available.
00:39:43
Speaker
i love also displaying them. And then I take things away sometimes and I bring them back. I have moments where, you know, I'll have a, I have a big collection of Seguso and Vanini vases, all in different colors. And then color disappeared for ah moment and i put them away because i just thought, oh my, that's just too much color. You know, even as it as a designer, you fall for these, these trends.
00:40:11
Speaker
So I put them all away, but then now um I'll bring them out, but I'll bring them out in a curated way. If I'm doing a powder room dinner, you know, i always style the powder room for a dinner party, depending on what's happening at the dinner party.
00:40:27
Speaker
So if I'm having um lavender florals in the dining room, I might then grab my saguso that's in lavender and put some... So it always it always has a life and it always tells a story. It always comes and goes. And it's always about the moment or the conversation you might have with somebody about that piece.
00:40:47
Speaker
And, you know, it's funny. Some people see it. And they have, you know, we have conversations about it. And some people don't even notice it, which is really interesting. And that's just the type of person that, not to say that they're ah good or bad person. It's just, you either can see these things or you don't see them at all. My son doesn't see any of it. He's like, what?
00:41:09
Speaker
you buy another vase, mom? Like, we have so many objects that I could use. If someone were to break in thank God you bought another one. You know, for him, he's just No concept. He's like, he has no, he doesn't see it.
00:41:22
Speaker
So that also is a different way to look at things. But for those who see it, it's ah it's fun to share with. Seguso as a ah protective weapon from an intruder isn't the worst headline to make it.
00:41:36
Speaker
Right? right I love it. That's great. You know, it's funny though. The powder room in a home to me is often such an overlooked ah space, unless you're a designer, right? Designers know like powder rooms, a special place. You got to design it really well.
00:41:53
Speaker
But I was speaking with the photographer, Douglas Friedman. And I said, what's your least favorite room to shoot? And he said, the powder room, just because it's the angle. It's the angle. It's tough to get in. It's, it's often the most overlooked by, by folks, you know?
00:42:07
Speaker
That's my favorite room to design. It would be mine too, because it's where you really get to do something different from what you're doing in the rest of the house, but make it cohesive. And it's where you can convince the client to give up some of their control and say, listen, let's have some fun.
00:42:24
Speaker
Worst comes to worst. This room is, you know, maybe 20 square feet, like give up, give it up, give it up. Let's do it. Right. yeah I love it. Nina, let's wrap it up with the collector's gene rundown. You know the drill. You can answer these questions based on any of the things that you collect, whether it is China, whether it's a Gusso vases, whether it's a client that you wish that you could work with. So the first question is, what's the one that got away?
00:42:49
Speaker
You know, I don't know if this is a good thing or bad thing, but I would say Diddy.
00:42:55
Speaker
I think now it's a bad thing. Yeah, didn't age as well as people thought it would. Yeah, exactly. No, but to I toured his house and we were going to get hired. This is long before any of the scandal. and And then in the end, he I don't know who he ended up hiring, but we weren't we weren't chosen. And of course, now I'm i'm all too glad. okay Yes, i think it worked out in your favor in the end.
00:43:22
Speaker
I think I'm in trouble with that NDA, but I think he's got other things to worry about. Yeah, i don't i don't I don't think he's worried about it at this point. How about the on-deck circle? So what's next for you in collecting? Maybe this is something that you're hunting after.
00:43:38
Speaker
You know, I am literally hunting as we speak for a Paris apartment. So yes, and this would be the biggest, I think, ah most valued collection that I could possibly stumble upon, hopefully.
00:43:55
Speaker
And it's going to take time because since it's a pied-à-terre, it needs to be perfect. And so I am hunting and i will let you know once once it's there.
00:44:07
Speaker
What's your ideal arrondissement? So I love the 8th. I love the 16th. But I think the 7th is also very special because it has you know a lot of those art galleries and furniture stores, and it's kind of my area.
00:44:24
Speaker
But even the first, you know if I can get an apartment, any of those arrondissements, I'll feel very lucky. How about the unobtainable? So this is one that is just too expensive in a museum, private collection, just complete unobtainium.
00:44:37
Speaker
I guess Jonas would, you know, everybody hits their head and say, why didn't I, why didn't I, why didn't I? And so it's now unaffordable, unfortunately. And I wish i had gotten one back in the day.
00:44:50
Speaker
Right. There's a, there's a lot of those for sure. a lot. I look at someone like, you know, someone like Mr. Chow who just became friends with Warhol and Basquiat and Keith Haring and exchanged food for custom artwork. And you know now he just has these one of ones you know that he gets to live with. And he's built an amazing collection past that. But yeah I just think about the sentiment of that and and the foresight to say, yes I can i could put my ego aside and give someone free food for a piece of artwork.
00:45:21
Speaker
What about Picasso's Gardner? I mean, that's even maybe even more incredible scenario. Yeah. yeah Even past that, I would say maybe even the restaurants and vendors that would allow him to exchange a quick drawing for whatever goods and services they had to offer because he didn't have the money.
00:45:42
Speaker
Yeah. And anybody that kept that stuff was is just, you know. Mind-blowing. Those that didn't value it maybe and gave it away or threw it out. I mean- Oh, I'm sure so many pieces were thrown out.
00:45:54
Speaker
The worst thing that's ever happened to me. Well, a lot of bad things have happened, but but one of them was nothing too bad. But there was a competition in school and and and art. and um i we had to draw on a T-shirt, something cool. And I drove and i drew ah this woman sitting on a car. It was the 80s.
00:46:13
Speaker
And one of the judges, well, there was a judge, and I won second prize for that T-shirt. And the judge signed this T-shirt.
00:46:24
Speaker
And it was Andy Warhol. Oh, my goodness. I have no idea where this T-shirt is. Because at the time, he wasn't... you know, I was a kid high in high and whatever. And it's a French school, so you can't say high school, but it was grammar school or what do you call it?
00:46:41
Speaker
Whatever. It must've been fifth or sixth grade. And to this day, I am so irritated that I have no idea what happened to this t-shirt. Just to have a t-shirt signed by Andy Warhol that I won the second prize and an art exhibition. One a kind.
00:46:55
Speaker
Can you imagine? That thing would be screamed and in my entrance. Amazing. Yeah. yeah Yeah, you know, it's funny. I interviewed um John Edelman, who was the ex-CO of Design Within Reach, and now he's taken over Heller Furniture again. But his family started Edelman Leather back in the day, who would you know sell leather to the likes of Herman Miller and Knoll.
00:47:20
Speaker
And they would give Fornicetti plates every year out as gifts, and they would have Andy Warhol do the designs. And, and this is just before he was anything like similar story. And, you know, you just think of all the what ifs, right? What if, what if I could find that t-shirt and my mom absolutely everything except for this t-shirt.
00:47:43
Speaker
So it's always that thing. Yeah. It's gone. All right. The page one rewrite. So if money was no object and you could collect anything else besides China, what would it be? If money was an object, anything else but China, it would definitely be art. I think that's, if especially if money isn't an object, then I could just get the most incredible pieces because that really polishes up a room.
00:48:08
Speaker
I think so too. Yeah. How about the goat? Who do you look up to in the collecting world or who do you think is a great collector? Well, I, you know there are so many great collectors out there, but the collection that I think I admire most is probably, you know, the broads.
00:48:27
Speaker
Edith, I mean, should they have Warhols, they have Coons, they have, I mean, everything, anything and everything you could think of they've got. So that's a good one. If they were my parents, that would be ideal.
00:48:38
Speaker
Just ask. Just ask. I'd love to inherit all that, please. Thank you so much. The hunt or the ownership? Which one do you enjoy more? Definitely the hunt.
00:48:51
Speaker
Nothing like it, right? Nothing like it. And most importantly, do you feel that you were born with the collector's gene? What do you think? 150%. That's definitely, yes.
00:49:04
Speaker
and it's definite yeah I love it. Nina, thank you so much for coming on Collectors Gym Radio today. was such a pleasure to get to know you better. And you opened up a whole world of a rabbit hole for me to go down in in terms of China and going to France and to Limoges and all this. And I'm screwed.
00:49:21
Speaker
and You're going to have to go you're gonna have to go to France and get in a car and drive and drive to Limoges. Well, thank you for having me. It's been an absolute pleasure. And I've had great fun chatting.
00:49:35
Speaker
All right, that does it for this episode. Thank you all for listening to Collectors Gene Radio.