Twentieth-Century Collecting Article//Keno Twins!

[SecondhandSophisticate]

There is an excellent article in the September, 2007 edition of _Smart Money_ magazine by Renne De Franco entitled:  "Antiques Go Modern--Twentieth-Century furniture is officially collectibe. But how do you put a value on a lava lamp?  Time for a road trip with twin pillars of the antiques world." 

I found the opening paragraph to be of special interest to me, as I have been decorating my homes for almost 30 years with flea market, garage sale and thrift store finds in the mid-century modern genre, and I wanted to share some of it with my fellow thrifters:

[i]<<We're trailing closely behind...the Keno brothers. Upon entering, "we scan the store," Leigh Keno says. "We look, touch, pick up, feel, " adds twin brother Leslie, eyeing a $750 dining room table with a 1940s Danish look. Without missing a beat, Leigh is on his knees flipping over a companion chairs and inspecting its bottom.  Immediately, he questions its authenticity: "No difference between topside and underside, no abrasion to the chrome, and the edges are much too sharp," he says, borrowing Leslie's eyeglasses for a closer look.  "Here we are--'Made in Canada'.>> [/b]

It's why we, as purveryors of style and thrift, become the artists that we are, I think.  We do our own searching, our own digging, our own discoveries on the dusty highways and byways of the used, abandoned, and donated "stuff".  We are willing to live with chips/dings/pings/flea bites, the wear and tear of decades, because to us, those attributes translate into "character".   

The article goes on to say how the interest in mid-century modern--from Art Deco designs of the '20s to Hey-Wake's "Modern" line, to Arne Jacobsen and Vladimir Kagan (to mention just a few). 

As for the "in perfect condition" factor, De Franco writes:  <<...the Kenos are immediately drawn to a Heywood-Wakefield end table, priced at $3,000, in mint condition. But the truth is quick to come out: "The tag says 'fully restored', as if it's a good thing!" Leigh exclaims, explaining that he and Leslie would have left the table in its original state.  It's rare to find actual "fakes in a market so new, but restorations and reproductions are all to common. Sometimes a restoration is so extensive that a piece might as well be a repro...(when purchasing a vintage piece) always ask about the basics: Is the paint original? What about the finish? Has it been restored in any way? "Restoration lessens value, especially for products manufactured in a limited number, " says Leigh.>>[/i]
This article was entertaining and informative. It made me happy to see my passion finally getting a little respect  . When most people come to our home, they think my husband and I are poor and/or have "no taste".  I've had only one guest, a gentleman from Miami, who recognized my stuff for what it is, and spent time looking at and touching everything, asking me questions and dialoguing.

If _Smart Money_ isn't on your usual reading list, you may be able to check it out at the library for free to read the article.  The Kenos, BTW, found a set (Scott, are you reading this?) of four Knoll wire chairs by Bertoia. They get them for $292 for the four!
A week later, they see the same chairs selling for $500- a piece!

Happy Hunting, everyone!

SeSo

[Scott]

Oh, boy. Yes, I'm reading it! We've unsuccessfully been looking for a set of Bertoia's wire chairs (or a set of the similar Woodard designed chairs) to use on our patio.

What a great article. I'll have to go look it up. I'm a huge fan of the Keno brothers, and it is interesting to hear them speak on modern furniture, when they're really most known for early American. Great find -- thanks for sharing!

[Mattie]

My love for Hey-Wake is matched only by my love for the Keno boys. 

I have two Daystrom wire chairs in my laundry room, waiting for repair.  The chairs are splattered with paint and the cushions are shredded, but they're in good shape otherwise.  I've done some eBay research and they don't seem to be worth much, so I'll paint them and replace the cushions, and they'll look great on my circa-1950 patio.

[SecondhandSophisticate]

You're welcome, Scott.  I'd be curious to learn what you (and anyone else) thinks of the article.

Mattie, you taught me a new term today--Daystrom. Thank you!  It seems this article touches upon two of your passions 
 
I must confess to y'all, before this article, I knew very little of the Keno boys.  Whenever I watch ARS, they are always the experts (as you all know) on early American items, and since that is not my passion, I usually channel surf. I am now impressed with them (what you guys knew all along...)

   

[MrsGoodwill]

Is there anyone who doesn't love the Keno Bros.?

[Monimania]

i used to have a picture of the Keno brothers at my desk at work!

[Cookie]

We were lucky enough to meet Leigh Keno at Antiques Roadshow when it was here in Orlando. He was just about the nicest person in the world and did a very long interview with us that will be in an upcoming issue of The National Thrifter.  He said he thought thrift stores were the best places to find great furniture!

[genuineimitation]

i'm not into the keno twins, but i do have twins!javascript:void(0);

I've got a serious hay-wake jones. do we need to start a forum topic? i've got 2 dining tables, a coffee table and 10 dining chairs. i had a couple more pieces, but i got rid of it since they were beautiful, but badly designed for actual living. one of the dining sets was my parents -- i love it -- it's been in use almost continuously for 50 years (and shows it!). it's pretty much my whole reason for falling in love with mid-century modern. well.. that and The Fountainhead.

[Scott]

Two dining room tables? Sheesh! You're hogging them all for yourself!

I have a great idea, though. Why don't you donate one to a thrift shop down by me ... my wife and I are looking for a dinner table of that era, and Hey-Wake would be perfect! We've spent the past month thrifting all over the state of Illinois liiking for something -- anything -- in the modern style from the mid-20th century. This experience is just adding credence to my theory that if you're looking for something specific, you're probably not going to find it.

[genuineimitation]

i just switched the tables out - the "family" one is now for homework, and the one bought at auction is our "new" dining table. it has a big - like 5" round - area in the middle where the varnish has just gone away. so, it's covered with a tablecloth. however, the chairs are all refinished.. not in the usual blonde finish, but rather unvarnished oil (no gloss) they are beautiful! i love them as much as the regular/authentic way. i'm thinking about doing all of my pieces like that, just to get rid of the bad finishes. because, after 50 years, and two generations, stuff starts to look a little used..javascript:void(0);

and i totally agree with your theory.. thrifting for specifics is useless. It's more like allowing the universal energy to direct your car to the correct thrift shop, and being open to what you will find.

[Mattie]

i got rid of it since they were beautiful, but badly designed for actual living.

I'm curious...what were the pieces you got rid of?  What made them badly designed for living?  Hey-Wake is so gorgeous, it seems to be naturally designed for comfortable use. 

[moonie]

get this.. When we bought our 1951 ranch house, a year and a half ago, we bought it from the original owner.  She was a crazy old lady, it was a forced sale thing.  Anyway, she and her dead husband designed the house.  They were big Heywood-Wakefield fans I guess, as they built a neat divider/plant stand that was stained to match their housefull of HW furniture.  This is the worst part....  The daughter had a garage sale before we bought the house (we had never seen the house furnished, mind you).  She said they drug all of the furniture out to the end of the driveway and put $400 on all of it.  Dining set, end tables, two full bedroom sets (one with the vanity), everything.  I missed that garage sale!!  The only justice in this story is that some friend of the family came by and told them that this stuff is very valuable and need not be in a driveway.  It was taken down to Des Moines to a fancy pants antique place called the Majestic Lion.  We keep in touch with the previous owner's daughter.  They say they keep getting big checks from the Lion. 

I can't believe I missed that garage sale.  That WAS nice of the family's friend to tip them off, though.  Hey, I did get to keep the  built-in!

I too am waiting for a dining room table to come to me.  It doesn't need to be HW.  Just special.  And under $50.00 would be nice.  Preferably before Thanksgiving.  I hope there is an auction this weekend, or I'm out of luck!  In my area, no one really wants mid-century design.  The demographic here is people that have lived with that stuff forever.  They are either dying or they want something new.  I, on the other hand, love it and tend to find stuff cheap as free.  Rural auctions is where the action is.

[Scott]

I too am waiting for a dining room table to come to me.  It doesn't need to be HW.  Just special.  And under $50.00 would be nice.  Preferably before Thanksgiving.  I hope there is an auction this weekend, or I'm out of luck!  In my area, no one really wants mid-century design.  The demographic here is people that have lived with that stuff forever.  They are either dying or they want something new.  I, on the other hand, love it and tend to find stuff cheap as free.  Rural auctions is where the action is.

We're in exactly the same pickle, Moonie. Too many people coming over for Thanksgiving and too small a table! I'm not stuck on Hey-Wake, either. Anything along those lines though ... Modernmates by Leslie Diamond for Conant Ball; Russel Wright's American Modern for Conant Ball or Modernage for Statton; Paul McCobb's Planner Group; George Nelson; Heywood Wakefield; Etc. I'd be willing to spend up to $400, though ... think we have something here in under a week?

[genuineimitation]

the pieces i've gotten rid of are an end table that rotates like a lazy susan and a headboard for a bed and.. it seems like something else went by the wayside, but i can't remember! the lazy susan was unusual, but also kind of useless since it was way too big and always moved! it was funny to switch drinks on people, but only for a little while. the headboard never worked right - it had built in end tables that would open whenever you got into or out of bed and slam and scare you. we took the headboard out, and just used the end tables but, again, they kept falling down once your feet hit the floor. we tried everything to fix them - finally gave up.

[Cookie]

We recently had a major super duper score here at our house.  We found a Broyhill Brasilia men's and women's matching dresser set, and the women's dresser still had the mirror in perfect shape, PLUS two nightstands, all for only $200!  We've been looking for a bedroom set like this for about 6 years and we're thrilled to have found this one.  It's not in mint condition, and there are some very minor dings but all in non-obvious places.  So it's in very good condition overall.  Now we just need the matching headboard.   Here's the exact same men's dresser on eBay.

http://cgi.ebay.com/Mid-Century-Modern-Dresser-Chest-Broyhill-Brasilia-NR_W0QQitemZ260164095241QQihZ016QQcategoryZ20478QQrdZ1QQssPageNameZWD1VQQcmdZViewItem