00:02I'm at Vintage Junction, LA's biggest antiques market, and this place is huge.
00:10It's over 50,000 square feet!
00:13The collection here is an incredible mix of authentic and eclectic.
00:17It's filled with high-end antiques and quirky one-of-a-kind pieces.
00:21As an interior designer, I love shopping here for pieces with that architectural digest look and feel.
00:28There's a lot to see. Ah, I've already found something.
00:30Okay, this is an umbrella stand. It would have been brass originally, but the brass is all but worn off,
00:37and so now it's copper underneath.
00:39I'd use it as an outdoor ice bucket, because it's already beaten up, so keep it outdoors.
00:43This won't be watertight because it's a little rusted at the bottom, but hang on.
00:47Okay, perfect.
00:50You get like a glass vase like this, and you...
00:53Oh my god, this fits perfectly.
00:56You pop it in there, fill it up with ice, bam!
00:59Bottle of champagne. That is a very civilized outdoor ice bucket.
01:04Another thing you could do, that could be a vase when you have really high ceilings.
01:09Again, liner on the inside, big flowers. It'd be kind of amazing. I like it.
01:15Alright, let's move on.
01:16Woof! This place is dusty.
01:20I love a wicker basket, and I love a trash can.
01:24That's a very decent trash can.
01:26If you've been watching, which I hope you have, I talked about ice buckets,
01:30silver ice buckets in particular, as trash cans.
01:33So that was the super high-end version.
01:35This is the really down-to-earth version.
01:38Wait, this one is...
01:40Ironically, this one's $48.
01:42And some of the ice buckets we saw in London were like 25 pounds, so...
01:46There goes that logic. This is more expensive than the silver one.
01:49You never know what you're gonna get when you go thrifting.
01:56Alright, back to work.
01:58The crazy thing about this place is, they literally have like absolutely everything.
02:02There's literally something for everybody.
02:05It's kind of like, I've set myself a challenge when I come here,
02:09to find 10 things that I think would work in like a really high-end interior space.
02:14Even though there's a lot of sort of thrifty, kind of super vintage-y things.
02:18So it's about using your imagination.
02:21You certainly have plenty to work with.
02:30Low dining tables. Massively underused. Massively underrated.
02:36This is the way to dine.
02:38I find a high dining room table and high chairs to be sort of intimidating.
02:43This sort of low dining setup is so much more relaxed.
02:47And I think the Romans were probably onto something,
02:49because they used to eat lying down.
02:52Which sounds ideal to me.
02:54And I'm thinking about Harry's Bar in Venice, which is very, very famous.
02:59Their tables, they're low like this.
03:01And the chairs are low and they're super, super comfortable.
03:04It makes you want to linger and chat and just enjoy your meal instead of being super sort of uptight.
03:12And then the wheels on these are freaking awesome.
03:18Check this out.
03:20Standard dining chair height.
03:23Low dining room chair.
03:24That would be comfortable, chill, relaxed.
03:27This is not bad, but it's just, I feel a little more like I need to be present at the
03:32dinner party
03:33and have intelligent conversation.
03:38Now I don't care so much.
03:40But I think it's fantastic.
03:42I love it.
03:44All right, let's keep shopping.
03:49Damn.
03:51That's good china.
03:52This is so stunning.
03:54My rule about no everyday china that's white and sad and mass produced.
04:00This is my solution for you.
04:01This is a full set.
04:03It's made in France.
04:04Maple & Co.
04:05Absolutely freaking beautiful.
04:07Sets that include serving dishes are massively exciting.
04:12And these are so beautiful.
04:13Roast potatoes.
04:16Peas.
04:16Put the salad in that.
04:18Even sounds good.
04:19And I think you should be using fancy china everyday because it has personality.
04:22It's fun.
04:23It makes bad food look good.
04:25So if you're not eating well, at least the plates will look good.
04:29There's a great website called replacements.com.
04:31So when you find a china pattern that you like, you look at the back at the maker's mark.
04:37You'll figure out who makes it.
04:39And then you can go on the Google and you can Google it and you can find replacements and you
04:43can build sets out.
04:44You can buy a plate here, a plate there and slowly build a full set.
04:47And also, you can keep it on display.
04:49Like it doesn't have to be hidden in cabinets.
04:51You can actually like, show it off.
04:53Ready.
04:56So a really fantastic thing about the disjunction is that they have a lot of variety when it comes to
05:02full sets of china.
05:03It's also way more cost effective than you think.
05:05This tea set is $250 and it's legitimately like, exquisite.
05:11For 250 bucks, that's a great buy.
05:13This set, which is a lot of pieces and it's Limoges, is $350.
05:20For Limoges!
05:22Limoges!
05:23Oh wait, hang on.
05:24This is fun.
05:25This is a toast rack.
05:27They're great for toast, but I like them in an entrance hall on an entry table to put my phone
05:36in.
05:36You should have a party and when your friends come, they should be forced to put their phones in the
05:41toast rack so that they can be present and we can like stop being on the phone.
05:45I have one on my desk in my office and I use it for letters and mail and bills.
05:49You could even put a little photograph of the one that you love in there behind your audit from the
05:56tax man.
05:57Oh, no way.
05:58What the hell is this?
05:59Is this another toast rack?
06:01Whoa!
06:02Winner!
06:03It's a toast cart!
06:04I mean, it's so cute.
06:08I mean, that's pretty amazing.
06:11Yeah.
06:12Look at...
06:12Oh, Jesus.
06:13That's fucking heavy.
06:15Ugh!
06:15All right.
06:16Look at this.
06:17It's a sculpture.
06:18But it's bronze.
06:21I always do a little tap test.
06:24You can hear if things are well made because they sound good.
06:27It's a bit like when you watch the British Bake Off and they listen to the cake and they're like,
06:30yeah, it's done.
06:31I don't know anything about that, but I do know that if you tap good things, they sound good.
06:36I would put this in my entrance hall table.
06:40Oh, people are gonna be mad at me for throwing that.
06:43But yeah, this is what I would use to smoke.
06:45I think it's kind of a great thing to put your keys in.
06:49And your phone if you don't want to use a toast rack.
06:52I like random boxes.
06:53This one is kind of cool.
06:56What's in here?
06:57No way.
06:58Check this out.
07:00This is a Mahjong set and it's made of Bakelite, which was the original plastic that was invented in Yonkers
07:07in New York in 1907.
07:08It's a full Mahjong set, which is almost impossible to find because these pieces, they're so pretty that people would
07:15buy these and then they would turn the little tile into jewelry.
07:18Bakelite was also very popular with Coco Chanel and Elsa Schiaparelli.
07:22They used it for their costume jewelry and also for buttons.
07:27Even though it's plastic, because it was the original plastic, it was a very innovative product at the time.
07:32And so it was kind of desirable.
07:33And it's very beautiful.
07:36Frames, frames, lots of frames.
07:38Actually, not bad.
07:40Bar stools, windows in case you need a window.
07:43Oh, wait, hang on. This is great.
07:45Come to papa.
07:47Tramp art.
07:48I'm a big fan of tramp art.
07:52The name, however, is a misnomer.
07:55They were not made by tramps.
07:57They were made by crafters and hobbyists.
07:59It's layers of wood that are sandwiched together and each layer is notched out using a pocket knife.
08:05The reason that they were made was because in the Civil War, whoever was taxing stuff taxed cigars.
08:11And so cigars had to be sold in a little wooden box.
08:14And so there were these cigar boxes everywhere and people started collecting them.
08:17And then notching them and turning them into frames and boxes, grandfather clocks, furniture.
08:23I mean, it's amazing the kind of stuff that they've built and it's totally built out of cigar boxes.
08:27But great frame.
08:29Pop a vintage mirror in this and it's perfect for a powder room.
08:36Ceramic garden stools.
08:38I'm in love with these things. I think they're fantastic.
08:40They're so easy to use. They're massively versatile.
08:43Obviously, these are super maximalist.
08:45So Judy, who owns Vintage Junction, told me that she pulled these out of Sierra Towers,
08:50which is a very famous apartment building in Beverly Hills.
08:53And it's where a lot of really famous people have lived, including Joan Collins, Elton John, Cher.
08:59If you're into things that are kind of loud and make a statement, this is the way forward.
09:03They would be great either side of a sofa.
09:05You could use them inside. You can use them outside.
09:07If you have a huge shower, they're amazing in a shower instead of a shower bench.
09:13I think they're great.
09:14Okay.
09:15Now we've hit pay dirt.
09:16These are all Arts and Crafts copper trays.
09:20Wow. Actually, hang on. Check this out.
09:24That's Stickly.
09:25So Stickly is a very, very famous American furniture company.
09:29And you can see on the back here, there's the maker's mark that proves that it's Stickly.
09:35And if I dust this off, you can see the surface is uneven.
09:40It's got this undulation.
09:41Those are intentional hammer marks.
09:43The reason that those are there is because in the Arts and Crafts movement,
09:47what people were trying to do was celebrate the fact that things were made by hand.
09:52The Arts and Crafts movement is sort of a reaction to the industrial revolution
09:56and the fact that everything...
09:57Oh my God, look at my hands.
09:59Everything was becoming machine-made and mass-produced.
10:02So the Arts and Crafts movement came along to celebrate human-made things that were special
10:08and had a real sense of craft.
10:11They're all so insanely beautiful.
10:13This one is great.
10:14I mean, you could just hang that on a wall.
10:16You don't even need to use it as a tray.
10:18And I think it's quite stunning.
10:23This one is $1,000.
10:26So that's really pricey.
10:30Buy it.
10:30But wait, this one's only $2.85.
10:33That's the look for less.
10:47Let's keep going.
10:48We're in a whole other wing of Vintage Junction.
10:52It just never ends.
10:55All right, Tiffany candlesticks.
10:57Yeah, that Tiffany.
10:58But these are really, really old.
10:59In fact, if you turn them over at the bottom, scratched into the bronze, it says 1887.
11:04That may or may not be true, but Tiffany's been around since 1837.
11:08So these would be the second generation of Tiffany's.
11:12This is the son who was a genius.
11:14And he's famous for Tiffany lamps, which sell for like well over a million dollars at auction.
11:19The Tiffany that we think of today is jewelry, silver, gold, diamonds.
11:24But this is the kind of Tiffany that I like to look for.
11:27It's the home goods.
11:29And it's specifically home goods from the Art Nouveau period.
11:31It's not easy to find because it's massively collectible.
11:34These are a sensational find.
11:37The good stuff is behind the glass.
11:39These, which I almost don't even want to pick up because they're so good, are mycen.
11:43Mycen was the first European porcelain.
11:46From the 7th century, the Chinese and the Japanese were the only people who knew how to make porcelain.
11:51But eventually the Europeans figured out beginning of like the 1700s.
11:55So these are mycen and you can tell that they're mycen because they have these crossed swords painted on the
12:01bottom.
12:01That is one of the first trademarks in the world.
12:04These are figurines, but the company used to make tableware.
12:08So plates, bowls, dishes, all of that sort of stuff.
12:10But when they really got super famous was when they started creating these figurines.
12:14Because if you couldn't afford to buy an entire dinner service, which is like crazy, you could buy a figurine.
12:21You'd put them on a dining room table in between flowers and everything else to really dress your table up.
12:26I'm so nervous holding these.
12:28These are amazing.
12:29They're so beautifully crafted.
12:31They're all hand painted.
12:33One of her boobs is out.
12:34They were kind of lusty actually, but that was sort of intentional.
12:36The big thing that they used to make were sort of saucy shepherdesses.
12:40She's a saucy musician, but yeah, there's a little bit of filth everywhere.
12:44Oh wait, one more thing to say about Meissen, which I think is really cool.
12:47Meissen is probably the oldest luxury brand in the world.
12:51It's still in production today, as is this, which is Sèvres, which is the French version of the German.
13:00And it's equally good quality to Meissen, but it's a little louder.
13:05It's particularly famous for all of this heavy gilding and their ground colors, which were very intense.
13:10So this very, very like sharp cyan, I guess you could call it, is very typical of Sèvres.
13:15Their stuff is still being manufactured today, but this is old, really, really good stuff.
13:20What I want to do with this is take the lid off.
13:22You could fill it up with living herbs.
13:24You can have like basil and thyme and rosemary and have that on your kitchen island if you've got a
13:29really big kitchen island.
13:30This is something that you would see at Versailles.
13:32In fact, it's manufactured just outside of Versailles and has been since the 1700s, like since 1740.
13:38This is probably not from 1740, but the company has been around since then.
13:42So yeah, it's literally the kind of stuff you would see at Versailles, minus the dust.
13:48Something I'm noticing here is there's a lot of Stickley furniture and Stickley is kind of important.
13:53It's arts and crafts furniture that was started by Gustav Stickley in 1890 in Pennsylvania and New York.
14:00It's very, very beautiful.
14:01And these pieces are all original.
14:03It's so solid.
14:04Stickley is kind of like an American icon.
14:06It's still in existence today, but it was at its peak sort of around the turn of the century and
14:12really was the leader in the arts and crafts movement that eventually became craftsman architecture.
14:17So you'll see it all over the States.
14:19It's just very special.
14:21Sometimes you'll hear it referred to as mission style furniture, and it's all about the craftsmanship.
14:27They want you to make sure that you're seeing that it's made by hand using natural materials.
14:33So there's the maker's mark and it says Gustav Stickley.
14:36But it also says Ostich kann, which was the company's kind of slogan, which was Flemish.
14:41And it means all I can or essentially to the best of my ability.
14:46And the reason that that was the company's slogan was because everything they made, they made to the best of
14:52their ability.
14:52There's something really beautiful about that.
14:54It's not just a piece of furniture that's made for profit.
14:56It's a piece of furniture that's made with intent and purpose instead of just like marketing something as luxury.
15:05It's actually luxury because it was meant to last not one lifetime, but to be an heirloom.
15:11And yeah, 125 years later, this is an heirloom.
15:14It's a pity it's here and not in somebody's house.
15:17If you look at what's happening now with the world, we're all terrified that AI is going to take our
15:21jobs.
15:22The arts and crafts movement was a response to the industrial revolution where everything was becoming machine made.
15:29So 125 years later, we're in the same boat.
15:32But what was interesting about this as a response to the industrial revolution was that craftsmanship was prized.
15:38And it became very collectible and people wanted to buy this kind of stuff.
15:42So let's hope we learn a lesson from history.
15:46I love that great places like this still exist and that people are interested in buying vintage again.
15:52Quality, character, idiosyncrasy and durability all matter.
15:56And so does history.
15:58Buying vintage protects crafts from the past for future generations.
16:02And in our very modern world, handmade will matter more as it becomes increasingly rare.
16:10You've been 1915 years old.
16:10Brought to you as a participatory director.
16:10Look at rot and beauty, friends, you're trying to buy launches to the world.
16:10But I love to bring you back, make sure you're seeking gold.
16:10For everything you are in the same boat, I wish you'd be making gold.
16:11You're going to bring your money.
16:11Nothing with a birthday.
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