Strange Closets

Thanks to Backgarage blogger Katherine Raz for contributing today’s guest post about my favorite topic Decoratus Absurdum.  I love the lead photo of Katherine visiting her grandmother’s final resting place . . . with her grandmother.  It perfectly captures the essence of Decoratus Absurdum, which interprets the macabre in often humorous ways. I signed up [...]

When the Found founder Albert Tanquero learned that Forbes Magazine put the smack-down on Chicago (calling it the 3rd most miserable city to live in, possibly the most ridiculous thing I’ve ever read in my entire life), he sent out an email response that I found to be quite delightful.  Naturally I asked if he’d [...]

Thanks to The Found owner Albert Tanquero for contributing this piece. In addition to dealing in vintage photos on Ebay and at shows, Albert uses the images to create greeting cards, paperweights, trays and a variety of other interesting products. I met Albert at the Chicago Antique Market in May and have continued to be [...]

This week, I’m kicking off, “Expert Advice,” a semi-regular column written by experts in their field. You’re probably thinking, “I thought you knew everything?” And that’s a very smart (brilliant, really) assumption, because yes, I do know everything. But I’m also very tired, and I relish turning the keys over to somebody else for the [...]

Albert Tanquero, a creative Tour de Force whose medium is the old and broken (ephemera, religious kitsch, old magazines, doll parts, vintage labels, you name it) opened his first booth this year at the Chicago Antique Market on Randolph. And judging by the crowd gathered around his booth, things went very very well. He’s like [...]