Pearle's Perspective #8: The Hunt
The Roman goddess Diana—the Huntress—is a triple-deity badass I connect with more deeply than any other. Diana is considered the patroness of nature, forests, wildlife, childbirth, crossroads, the night, the moon, and the hunt. She’s typically shown wearing groovy sandals, with a deer or dog by her side.
She has the ability to control and speak to animals, which is a power I like to believe I have—much to my daughter’s embarrassment, as I stop to chat with every living creature I pass.
I too am a huntress, far less noble than dear Diana. I happen to be a huntress of home goods and furnishings. I seek to find treasures once owned by others, lovingly cared for or worn to bits. If the bones are there, I can see through the wear and tear and visualize the piece fully restored.
The best “hunting” happens for me in my old Midwest stomping grounds with my two sisters. Scouring thrift shops, antique malls, charity shops, flea markets, antique stores, auction houses, rummage sales, estate sales, and old-school garage sales makes my heart skip a beat. I quickly turn into a huntress—focused and all business.
When the Johnson girls walk into a store or a flea market, we survey the land for the best place to begin. Typically Darbie goes left, I go right and my middle sister will walk in the direction of a piece that catches her eye. She’s the logical one.
Midwestern hospitality and manners fly out the window when I spy a fellow shopper looking at what I am holding. And in turn I will stalk people I see who have something I want. I slink past or linger a little longer at a shelf, waiting and hoping that they set it back down. My sisters and I have been known to hide a lamp or cover a piece of furniture with a stack of old quilts to throw people off the scent. We can identify the competition a mile away and if someone appears to be interested, we will guard one another’s finds like our lives depend on it.
I miss the days of grabbing things off the street. Lamps, rugs, furniture, restoring and patiently bringing the pieces back to life. Unfortunately, I no longer cherry pick off the street because I am terrified of termites and bed bugs. I have also witnessed my dog lift a leg on an old sofa which officially brought my street picking days to an end.
But before the ick factor went into full effect I found these arm chairs on the corner of Orlando and Fifth. I’ve had them 19 years, they’ve been reupholstered three times. I am thinking about a fourth.
Two arm chairs recovered Nine Muses Textiles
There are not many deals in the Los Angeles metro area anymore. Estate sales seldom offer appealing prices unless you go in the last hour of the last day—and by then, things are so picked over it’s not worth it.
We do, however, have some delightful flea markets. The Rose Bowl Flea Market is the mother of them all. If you go really early, fully caffeinated, you can find some treasures. And if you’re willing to fight traffic and drive deep, deep into the Valley, you’ll be rewarded.
Facebook marketplace vintage clock
Currently, Facebook Marketplace is my main hunting ground. This is the result of my husband staging a footwear and handbag intervention. He had never commented on all the packages arriving at our doorstep—after 20+ years of buying the “Oh, this purse? I’ve had it forever” line, when he finally said I had a “problem,” I realized I needed to cool it.
The nightly scroll on The RealReal had gotten out of hand.
So I promptly replaced one vice with another, and Facebook Marketplace is now my main scroll—easily justifiable as part of my design work. This, too, may be coming to an end, because dragging Adam to a random parking lot in Encino or down to the marina to pick up a table is not scoring me any points. Especially after the time he went to pick up a chair while I was out of town—it didn’t fit in the car, and I got a crabby call about having purchased throne because a normal chair was not that big.
I admit I check the site way too many times a day, but the desire to wheel and deal is in my blood. So I am posting a few of my recent finds that I thought were great looking. You LA folks are now my competition.
However, midwestern hunting grounds will remain anonymous. I want to be in the good graces of my sisters and they would kill me if I told anyone. Soon the Pearle & Co. site will be up and ready for business so you too can get in on some of the items I hunted down.
XO P&P
