My obsession of objects of the past really began in the closet of my bedroom on the 4th floor of our home in Ingomar, Pennsylvania in 1955. The home was built in 1903 with 4 bedrooms, the largest being the entire 4th floor. At the top of the stairs was a closet that was set into the eaves of the roof. It was papered with antient Egyptian motifs. As a five-year-old, I thought that closet had ties to the Great Pyramids and my love for things old began! I spent many hours hidden in there fantasizing about life at those times. I read books and watched documentaries and truly dreamed of being an archeologist and digging up hidden treasures...little did I know I would spend years searching for and collecting antique treasures to remake or sell.
The first floor of our home had beautiful build-ins on each side of the fire place and the house was graced with beautiful hardwood floors and full of charm. I knew one day I would own an old home...and I did. Our home also had a basement...a little dark and creepy but I knew there had to be treasures buried down there...and there were, from my father’s machine shop.
I was constantly caught rummaging through metal scraps and shavings to pair with the pretty quartz rocks I found outside and create bright and shiny things out of anything I could find and glue together. I made many paperweights and I did not realize until recently that I was creating assemblages by the age of nine.
Entrepreneurial at heart (I always knew I would be self-employed and I am) I sold these to my grade school friends for pennies. By junior high I was creating jewelry and always getting into trouble for sneaking down to the basement to use my dad’s drill press and sander, although I was smart enough to stay away from the bandsaw which could cause me major damage.
I moved to Houston in the early seventies, got married, and had four children. By the late seventies I had this need to be creative again and developed a love for flower arranging and opened the first all silk shop in Houston, Texas. All our flowers were handmade and as a designer, I was way before my time. My style did not really hit popularity until the early nineties, so I was often stuck with producing the current and boring trend. In the early eighties
I also became obsessed with collecting and selling vintage jewelry much like my mother wore and probably had one of the largest collections in the city. But by the early nineties life got serious and I was pulled in another direction, being the sole bread winner. With the sudden and tragic passing of my children’s father, I had to be more serious about creating income, so I took over our management consulting firm. Blessed with enormous talent and human understanding, it was a natural fit and I have spent the last twenty-six years assisting companies and their leadership go to the next level of success. Although I know I have made a difference in the world, my heart still aches to design and create art.
Art and jewelry making may have become a hobby out of necessity of making a serious income, but my collecting has not and has continued for the last forty years...no, I am not a hoarder...I just continued preparing to come back to my art when life allowed me...and here I am, an artist again and limiting my consulting to my favorite clients.
After a six-year stint living in beautiful home built in 1904 in McKinney, Texas just north of Dallas (for my husband’s job,) I have moved back to Spring, Texas just north of Houston. I have leased a store front and have named the business Patina Lane where I am curating it to showcase and sell my creations. I still love antique and vintage pieces, but I love giving them a new life even more. “Re-imagine, Re-design and Re-love” anything old is my moto, my focus and my love. Now that I am almost an antique myself, I have even a deeper appreciation for the art of the past and keeping old things out of the city dump. I want to appeal to the desires of the present-day buyer and must put a new twist on every old treasure I collect. That’s who I am and that’s my art!
Patina Lane - Specializing in curated, miss-matched vintage china, glass and crystal, jewelry, linens, re-purposed furniture, art, accessories and a line of custom re-designed vintage champagne, pilsner and toasting glasses for weddings and special occasions, holiday and gift needs. Opening in September 2019!