Sourcing the perfect piece…

One of our favorite aspects of the business at Milne’s At Home Antiques is sourcing the perfect piece for a client, a piece that has alluded them for (in some cases) decades… We had such an opportunity recently for a client right here, in Kingston NY, in the Hudson Valley. One of our favorite clients, who has truly become a friend over the course of the last year, mentioned to us that he had been looking for an original Kas for many years. We told him that we would love to find him one and if we ever came across the perfect Kas he would be the first to know!

Sometimes, even in business, fate takes a hand, and that’s exactly what happened in this case! We were in PA to visit Seamus’ parents soon after this fateful conversation and my Mom, Judy, never being one to let an opportunity pass us by, told us to stop and see her friends in Pittsburgh that had some amazing antiques! We were very excited as we made our way to their house that day, knowing if Judy said they had an impressive collection, it must be!

Nothing could have prepared us for what we encountered in their loft in Pittsburgh that day! They had the most unbelievable collection, Seamus and I were awestruck… As we were looking around we mentioned that we had a client that was looking for a Kas. Low and behold, they told us they happened to have an original one, in one of their 3 (!!!) storage units about an hour and a half away!!

We would have gone out there immediately, but our friends were not able to travel that day, so pictures and another trip (with Judy AND Jim) ensued and then another, with just Seamus and I and a 20 foot box truck in a snowstorm (of course) to pick up the Kas and the other incredible antiques they deaccessioned to us!

The Kas was packed lovingly and (a little absurdly) well in our truck and traveled back to Kingston with us, me not letting Seamus drive over 50 MPH the entire time. We unloaded it at the shop and stood back, really taking in, for the first time, its overwhelming beauty, both aesthetically and in the craftsmanship. We waited anxiously see learn if our client would be as in love with it as we were…

Our client came in and fell in love, just like he knew he would when he found the perfect piece! We all went out to dinner to celebrate that night and in the celebration I realized that we are all so blessed to be doing what we love, but also sharing what we love with others. Antiquing, can be so much more than just buying and selling beautiful or interesting objects, it is about carrying on history, in the most fundamental way, story to story, from person to person…

Amazingly, the Kas fit in his 18th Century home, under his original beams, by an 1/8 of an inch… Sometimes, rarely, but sometimes, fate takes over and it’s just meant to be…
Google+