I used to buy a lot more vintage than I do now.
But since my book came out, my focus has shifted. I’m less interested in bringing everything home and more interested in showing people what’s out there — what’s worth noticing, what holds value, and what most people walk right past.
So a lot of what I find now, I don’t keep.
I catch it, recognize it for what it is, and leave it for someone else to take home.
Now, don‘t get me wrong: I still go thrifting constantly and I often buy things, but over the past year, the focus has been on buying things I want to feature in my next book. Also, I shop so often there’s simply no way I could bring everything I love home.
But I sure do have some regrets.
I rounded up some of the pieces I have come across and not stopped thinking about since — plus, why I said no and what their resale value might have been.
The Object: An oversized ceramic vase in the manner of Picasso
This thing was huge — truly, I would have needed to buy it its own airplane seat to get it home (I saw it in an antique mall in Cleveland last year).
The form was incredible with that sculptural, almost playful quality you see in Picasso ceramics — bold but still grounded. It’s by the artist Rodo Padilla, who does oversized ceramics stamped with the Picasso signature (this was around $300 and they sell for over $1,200 on 1stDibs). Pieces like this don’t show up often at that scale, and when they do, they tend to anchor a room immediately. A true statement, in the best way.
I passed purely for logistical reasons (how would I have gotten it home on short notice?). But this is the kind of piece that makes everything around it look better.
What to look for:
Hand-formed shapes (not perfectly symmetrical)
Painterly, slightly naive motifs
Larger scale — the bigger, the better with pieces like this
Resale note:
Large-scale, sculptural ceramics in this style can be surprisingly valuable, especially when the form is strong and the size is substantial. Depending on maker (or attribution), similar pieces can range anywhere from $300 to well over $2,000+. Scale is what really drives value here — the bigger, the better.
The Object: A pair of vintage caricature drawings (framed)
I found these in a small antique shop in Woodstock, Vermont, tucked in among a bunch of great antiques and art (Woodstock is an excellent place to shop for antiques but it is pricey!)
These are technically caricatures, but the execution is so good they read more like modern line drawings — slightly exaggerated, but the kind of thing that looks like it may have come from an art gallery rather than an antique gallery.
They were around $150 each, which gave me pause at the time.
In hindsight, that’s exactly the kind of purchase I shouldn’t overthink. Good original works on paper — especially as a pair — are harder to come by than people realize, and they add an enormous amount of character to a room. I also think vintage caricatures, in general, are great to thrift (I’ll work on some content about this!)
What to look for:
Confident, intentional line work (or more overtly cartoonish, if it’s whimsy you’re after)
Compositions that feel balanced, even if they’re playful
Pairs or pieces that can hang together
Resale note:
Original works on paper like this can vary widely, but strong vintage drawings — especially when sold as a pair — often resell in the $300–$1,000+ range depending on size, subject, and presentation. The appeal is in how they look on the wall, not just who made them.
The rest of this list is for paid subscribers — including a Vladimir Kagan sofa and a Maitland-Smith mirror — and exactly what I look for when I find pieces like this.
