From rare art to miniature car models, collecting has become a stylish obsession. Here, four enthusiasts share their passion<\/span><\/p>[\/et_pb_text][et_pb_image src=”https:\/\/flatplan-plus-content.s3.eu-west-1.amazonaws.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/6\/2024\/04\/HIGH-RES-IMG_1081-scaled.jpg” title_text=”HIGH RES IMG_1081″ force_fullwidth=”on” _builder_version=”4.20.4″ _module_preset=”default” global_colors_info=”{}”][\/et_pb_image][et_pb_text _builder_version=”4.20.4″ _module_preset=”default” global_colors_info=”{}”] Dr QIN HUILAN\u00a0 When 70-year-old retired doctor Qin Huilan walked the Miu Miu runway in Paris earlier this year, her Instagram following grew by thousands overnight. Those who hit the \u2018follow\u2019 button now bear witness to the daily posts of possibly the most stylish resident of Shanghai, China. What they\u2019ll also appreciate is her long-standing affinity to Prada and Miu Miu and the vast archive she\u2019s collected over the years.\u00a0<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n It all started when she borrowed Prada coats from her son\u2019s wardrobe. \u2018I worked in a hospital, wearing a white lab coat every day. But I love nice clothes and looking at magazines. I began wearing some of my son\u2019s Prada clothes \u2013 a lot I wear on Instagram are actually his,\u2019 she says. \u2018I began to understand Prada and Miu Miu and to accumulate my own collection.\u2019 Like any true fashion collector, she\u2019s got her own favourite runway collections: Prada S\/S \u201910 and Miu Miu S\/S \u201913, of which she owns several pieces. \u2018I\u2019m obsessed with the craftsmanship. Their designs never go out of style. I can still wear clothes from a decade ago,\u2019 she says.<\/span><\/p>\n <\/span><\/p>[\/et_pb_text][et_pb_divider color=”#111111″ divider_position=”center” divider_weight=”2px” module_class=”custom-divider” _builder_version=”4.20.4″ _module_preset=”default” custom_margin=”0px||0px||false|false” custom_padding=”0px||0px||false|false” global_colors_info=”{}”][\/et_pb_divider][et_pb_image src=”https:\/\/flatplan-plus-content.s3.eu-west-1.amazonaws.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/6\/2024\/04\/2405_NYM_GabriellaKarefa-Johnson_134-scaled.jpg” title_text=”2402 Shunui Spa The Greenwich Hotel” force_fullwidth=”on” _builder_version=”4.20.4″ _module_preset=”default” global_colors_info=”{}”][\/et_pb_image][et_pb_text _builder_version=”4.20.4″ _module_preset=”default” global_colors_info=”{}”] GABRIELLA KAREFA-JOHNSON There are plenty of collections you\u2019d expect to find in super-stylist Gabriella Karefa-Johnson\u2019s New York apartment. Shelves of designer shoes and racks of jolting pops of colour are the obvious ones. But the American fashion editor has also amassed a notable collection of vintage Black magazines and Memorabilia.\u00a0<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n \u2018I have a really, really good issue of Jet<\/i> magazine featuring Sidney Poitier. Legend has it that his character in Guess Who\u2019s Coming To Dinner?<\/i> was based on my grandfather, so naturally I\u2019m obsessed with him,\u2019 she says. \u2018I got that one three years ago at BLK MKT Vintage. As soon as I moved to South Brooklyn, I found the shop, which is essentially a vintage store filled with Black ephemera \u2013 things like VHS tapes of Hangin\u2019 With Mr Cooper. <\/i>It\u2019s like a time capsule.\u2019\u00a0<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n <\/span><\/p>[\/et_pb_text][et_pb_text module_class=”custom-quote” _builder_version=”4.20.4″ _module_preset=”default” header_2_font=”Libre Bodoni|||on|||||” header_2_text_align=”center” header_2_text_color=”#333333″ header_2_font_size=”40px” header_2_line_height=”1.2em” global_colors_info=”{}”] Once, Karefa-Johnson passed on a vintage Tina Turner book while travelling Europe, which is one of her great collector\u2019s regrets. \u2018I ended up googling Tina Turner magazine covers and found old images to start collecting instead of getting the big bound book. I very recently acquired an original copy of her first Rolling Stone<\/i> cover and \u00a0I found it at a rare books collector somewhere in the middle of America. It was so cheap, so maybe one man\u2019s trash really \u00a0is another man\u2019s treasure.\u2019 Does she have an obsessive character? \u2018I know what I like and there are very few things that will stop me from getting there. When it comes to being obsessive about design and aesthetics and making sure that my point of view comes across in my home, I absolutely am. I think we all should be.\u2019<\/span><\/p>[\/et_pb_text][et_pb_image src=”https:\/\/flatplan-plus-content.s3.eu-west-1.amazonaws.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/6\/2024\/04\/2405_NYM_GabriellaKarefa-Johnson_147-scaled.jpg” title_text=”2402 Shunui Spa The Greenwich Hotel” force_fullwidth=”on” _builder_version=”4.20.4″ _module_preset=”default” global_colors_info=”{}”][\/et_pb_image][et_pb_divider color=”#111111″ divider_position=”center” divider_weight=”2px” module_class=”custom-divider” _builder_version=”4.20.4″ _module_preset=”default” custom_margin=”0px||0px||false|false” custom_padding=”0px||0px||false|false” global_colors_info=”{}”][\/et_pb_divider][et_pb_image src=”https:\/\/flatplan-plus-content.s3.eu-west-1.amazonaws.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/6\/2024\/04\/CT_2103-scaled.jpg” title_text=”CT_2103″ force_fullwidth=”on” _builder_version=”4.20.4″ _module_preset=”default” global_colors_info=”{}”][\/et_pb_image][et_pb_text _builder_version=”4.20.4″ _module_preset=”default” global_colors_info=”{}”] JESSICA M<\/b><\/span>c<\/b><\/span>CORMACK<\/b>\u00a0 Entering one of Jessica McCormack\u2019s stores is akin to stepping into an art gallery. \u2018My father was an art dealer and auctioneer and I feel like I inherited my obsession from him. I can see a piece and immediately know the perfect home for it,\u2019 she says.<\/span><\/p>\n There are paintings and sculptures at every turn, but does she have a favourite? \u2018That\u2019s like choosing between my children!\u2019 she quips. \u2018But, in all honesty, it changes all the time. There are a few pieces that feel really special and have been a part of the Townhouse [her Mayfair store] for years. <\/span>We have some black-and-white photography by Sally Mann, which hangs upstairs, which I will always love. And a huge Laurie Simmons piece called The Love Doll\/Day 36 (Geisha Tattoo)<\/i>, which is very special, and a bronze and steel sculpture by Louise Bougeois, which is a forever favourite.\u2019\u00a0<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n The collection is a shared effort between McCormack and her business partner Michael Rosenfeld and one of the recurring artists in the collection is the British painter Frank Bowling, known for his large-scale Map<\/i> works. \u2018When the Townhouse first opened, we had two wonderful Bowlings hanging \u2013 Serpentine<\/i> and Benjamin\u2019s Mess<\/i> \u2013 they were so perfect for the space. Both then went on loan to Tate Britain for its Bowling retrospective in 2019, which was pretty cool.\u2019 Some other artworks made it from her store straight into her own home, such as a piece by the French photographer Val\u00e9rie Belin. \u2018I\u2019m always looking for newness, especially now that we have our Sloane Street store too. There\u2019s so much wall space to play with and I have a long list of dream pieces.\u2019\u00a0<\/span><\/p>[\/et_pb_text][et_pb_divider color=”#111111″ divider_position=”center” divider_weight=”2px” module_class=”custom-divider” _builder_version=”4.20.4″ _module_preset=”default” custom_margin=”0px||0px||false|false” custom_padding=”0px||0px||false|false” global_colors_info=”{}”][\/et_pb_divider][et_pb_image src=”https:\/\/flatplan-plus-content.s3.eu-west-1.amazonaws.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/6\/2024\/04\/B0007912WillSanders-scaled.jpg” title_text=”\u201cThe Designer Erdem Moralioglu\u2019s 25 Busts\u201d” force_fullwidth=”on” _builder_version=”4.20.4″ _module_preset=”default” global_colors_info=”{}”][\/et_pb_image][et_pb_text _builder_version=”4.20.4″ _module_preset=”default” global_colors_info=”{}”] ERDEM \u00a0MORALIOGLU Erdem Moralioglu\u2019s house is home to many different characters. But at least 25 of them are part of the designer\u2019s extensive bust collection. \u2018I have been collecting them for around 12 years now,\u2019 he tells Grazia<\/i>. At one point, his husband, Philip Joseph, asked him to stop. But he didn\u2019t.\u00a0<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n It all began with \u2018a bronze bust by the German artist Wilhelm Lehmbruck, who was a contemporary of Br\u00e2ncu\u015fi. I bought it from a local auction in the UK and now <\/span>I have four Lehmbrucks in the collection.\u2019<\/span><\/p>\n <\/span><\/p>\n <\/span><\/p>[\/et_pb_text][et_pb_text module_class=”custom-quote” _builder_version=”4.20.4″ _module_preset=”default” header_2_font=”Libre Bodoni|||on|||||” header_2_text_align=”center” header_2_text_color=”#333333″ header_2_font_size=”40px” header_2_line_height=”1.2em” global_colors_info=”{}”] But not all of Moralioglu\u2019s collection comes at auction-level gravitas. Some of his finds are as accidental as stumbling across them at markets on his travels. \u2018The least expensive one I own is a wooden bust that <\/span><\/p>\n <\/span><\/p>[\/et_pb_text][et_pb_divider color=”#111111″ divider_position=”center” divider_weight=”2px” module_class=”custom-divider” _builder_version=”4.20.4″ _module_preset=”default” custom_margin=”0px||0px||false|false” custom_padding=”0px||0px||false|false” global_colors_info=”{}”][\/et_pb_divider][et_pb_image src=”https:\/\/flatplan-plus-content.s3.eu-west-1.amazonaws.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/6\/2024\/04\/LIPR-East-London-Cloth-Gemma-Moulton-Packaging-Collection–scaled.jpg” title_text=”LIPR – East London Cloth – Gemma Moulton Packaging Collection -” force_fullwidth=”on” _builder_version=”4.20.4″ _module_preset=”default” global_colors_info=”{}”][\/et_pb_image][et_pb_text module_class=”custom-gallery-caption” _builder_version=”4.20.4″ _module_preset=”default” text_font=”Akshar|600|||||||” custom_margin=”-15px||||false|false” global_colors_info=”{}”] Part of Gemma Moulton\u2019s packaging collection<\/span><\/p>[\/et_pb_text][et_pb_text module_class=”custom-header-centered” _builder_version=”4.20.4″ _module_preset=”default” header_4_font=”|||on|||||” header_4_text_align=”center” hover_enabled=”0″ global_colors_info=”{}” theme_builder_area=”post_content” sticky_enabled=”0″] The joy of establishing a collection is that it is slow and curious. \u2018Developing an active interest and giving yourself time to explore is key. Don\u2019t rush things,\u2019 advises Stephanie Crosland-Goss, a former art buyer for the Tate. A collection doesn\u2019t need to be of high value. \u2018To me, the most fascinating <\/span>collections are those that are inconsequential materially but are vessels for memory and storytelling,\u2019 Julia Jeuvell, founder of cult stationery shop Choosing Keeping, says, who (of course) has a large personal collection of vintage stationery.\u00a0<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n Gemma Moulton, founder of East London Cloth, started collecting as a child with football cards and little glass animal ornaments. Now, \u2018almost by accident, I\u2019ve fallen into collecting packaging. It started from a collection of 1920s menus and paper bags I was given, such magic and attention to detail in each one.\u2019<\/span><\/p>\n DO YOUR HOMEWORK SEEK A NEW NAME <\/span>Amy Rollings, from Rialto, a new design store in London\u2019s Hackney Wick, has some lesser-known makers in her collection, including Gemma Smale, Gunn Ceramics and Giuseppe Parrinello, while Crosland-Goss features artists including Jenni Stuart, Rebecca Hardaker and Rossanne Pellegrino on rental art platform Interrupted Art.<\/span> <\/span><\/p>[\/et_pb_text][et_pb_text module_class=”custom-quote” _builder_version=”4.20.4″ _module_preset=”default” header_2_font=”Libre Bodoni|||on|||||” header_2_text_align=”center” header_2_text_color=”#333333″ header_2_font_size=”40px” header_2_line_height=”1.2em” global_colors_info=”{}”] HUNT IRL<\/strong>\u00a0 Art and design fairs, from the Affordable Art Fair Hampstead (8-12 May) to London Craft Week (13-19 May) to degree shows, including those at Central St Martins, Chelsea Art School and Glasgow School of Art (June), are great places to see new works.\u00a0<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n For vintage furniture, car boot sales and off-the-beaten track antiques centres, such as ones outside Holt in Norfolk and in Levenshulme, Manchester, or markets such as Newark, Nottinghamshire or Ardingley, West Sussex, make great hunting ground.\u00a0<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n USE YOUR HOLIDAYS<\/strong> REMEMBER WHY YOU COLLECT<\/strong> <\/span><\/p>\n <\/span><\/p>\n <\/span><\/p>\n <\/span><\/p>[\/et_pb_text][et_pb_divider color=”#111111″ divider_position=”center” divider_weight=”2px” module_class=”custom-divider” _builder_version=”4.20.4″ _module_preset=”default” custom_margin=”0px||0px||false|false” custom_padding=”0px||0px||false|false” global_colors_info=”{}”][\/et_pb_divider][et_pb_text module_class=”credit-texts” _builder_version=”4.20.4″ _module_preset=”default” text_font=”|||on|||||” text_orientation=”center” global_colors_info=”{}”] Words:<\/strong> Henrik Lischke. Photos:<\/strong> <\/span>Annie Schlechter for New York Magazine, Chris Tubbs, Will Sanders\/The New York Times Licensing Group\/Redux<\/span><\/p>\n <\/p>[\/et_pb_text][\/et_pb_column][\/et_pb_row][\/et_pb_section]\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" THE CULT OF COLLECTINGFrom rare art to miniature car models, collecting has become a stylish obsession. Here, four enthusiasts share their passionDr QIN HUILAN\u00a0DOCTOR TURNED MIU MIU MODEL When 70-year-old retired doctor Qin Huilan walked the Miu Miu runway in Paris earlier this year, her Instagram following grew by thousands overnight. Those who hit the […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":6,"featured_media":2852,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"_et_pb_use_builder":"on","_et_pb_old_content":"","_et_gb_content_width":"","_lmt_disableupdate":"","_lmt_disable":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[14],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-2851","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-casa"],"acf":[],"modified_by":"akindell","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/flatplanplus.io\/grazia\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2851","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/flatplanplus.io\/grazia\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/flatplanplus.io\/grazia\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/flatplanplus.io\/grazia\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/6"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/flatplanplus.io\/grazia\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=2851"}],"version-history":[{"count":9,"href":"https:\/\/flatplanplus.io\/grazia\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2851\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":2873,"href":"https:\/\/flatplanplus.io\/grazia\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2851\/revisions\/2873"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/flatplanplus.io\/grazia\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/2852"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/flatplanplus.io\/grazia\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=2851"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/flatplanplus.io\/grazia\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=2851"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/flatplanplus.io\/grazia\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=2851"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}
<\/b><\/span>DOCTOR TURNED MIU MIU MODEL<\/strong><\/p>\n
<\/b><\/span>STYLIST AND CONSULTANT<\/strong><\/p>\n\u2018WHEN IT COMES TO AESTHETICS IN MY HOME, I ABSOLUTELY AM OBSESSIVE\u2019<\/span><\/span><\/h2>[\/et_pb_text][et_pb_text _builder_version=”4.20.4″ _module_preset=”default” global_colors_info=”{}”]
JEWELLERY DESIGNER<\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n
<\/b>FASHION DESIGNER<\/b>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n\u2018WHEN IT COMES TO AESTHETICS IN MY HOME, I ABSOLUTELY AM OBSESSIVE\u2019<\/span><\/span><\/h2>[\/et_pb_text][et_pb_text _builder_version=”4.20.4″ _module_preset=”default” global_colors_info=”{}”]
I bought at a market in France. Its features make it look almost like a Modigliani painting rendered in 3D.\u2019 And given his wish list, there\u2019s no end to his collection in sight any time soon. \u2018I have many alerts from auction houses across the world and I check them every morning. [There are] so many that I regret not taking home, but I do have to limit my collection.\u2019 At the same time, he\u2019s \u2018always on the hunt for Frank Dobson busts, if you see any\u2026\u2019\u00a0<\/span><\/span><\/p>\nHOW TO START YOUR OWN COLLECTION<\/h1>[\/et_pb_text][et_pb_text _builder_version=”4.20.4″ _module_preset=”default” global_colors_info=”{}”]
<\/strong>\u2018The challenge with collecting is where to start,\u2019 Crosland-Goss admits. The first tip is to swot up. Paul Middlemiss, founder of the vintage emporium Merchant & Found, says, \u2018I spend hours on Google, I read all the catalogues I can find on a certain producer or style and absorb as much history as I can.\u2019 Moulton, meanwhile, has multiple Pinterest <\/span>boards dedicated to her packaging obsession \u2013 which leads to obscure websites. <\/span><\/span><\/p>\n
<\/span><\/strong>Look for more obscure designers for a more personal collection. \u2018Everyone knows about Ercol furniture now (thanks partly to Margaret Howell making it cool again),\u2019 Middlemiss says, and instead suggests researching Baumann, a French 20th-century producer, and Michael Thonet, known for his Bentwood chairs. <\/span>\u00a0<\/p>\n
<\/span><\/p>\n\u2018DON\u2019T WORRY ABOUT VALUE \u2013 COLLECTING SHOULD BE A JOY<\/span>\u2019<\/span><\/h2>[\/et_pb_text][et_pb_text _builder_version=”4.20.4″ _module_preset=”default” global_colors_info=”{}”]
<\/span><\/span>After a thorough online deep dive, you need to see pieces \u2018in real life to appreciate their true colour, texture and quality\u2019, says Crosland-Goss. It\u2019s also an opportunity to tap up dealers\u2019 knowledge. \u2018Most are more than happy to talk,\u2019 Middlemiss says.<\/span><\/p>\n
<\/span>Holidays can be key, says Rollings. \u2018When my partner and I travel, we plan trips to cities just because we\u2019ve heard about a great antiques or flea market. @kissa.vintage.paris is a great Instagram handle to follow to get all the best intel into the Paris flea market scene.\u2019 Jessica Horton, founder of Deorling, an interior design and antique-sourcing studio, recommends \u2018The Sylvain Brocante on the edge of Le Mans \u2013 although sometimes you have to wait for the owner to show up.\u2019<\/span><\/p>\n
<\/span>Don\u2019t worry too much about value, it should be about the joy a collection brings you. For Jeuvell, her stationery collection \u2018gives access into past people\u2019s lives, because objects are the expression of human existence\u2019.<\/span><\/p>\n