In this episode, vintage curator and shop owner Cheryl Gudz shares:

What it’s like to own a vintage store, and how displaying the pieces well can create a wonderful remembrance for people.

What it’s like to be a collector and finding that one missing piece.

Appreciating beauty in design.

How you just need someone who thinks about that one thing, more than anybody else, just to sort of nudge you and inspire you to embrace it in your space.

How the difference between being a curator and a hoarder is a fine line, and how being on the right side of that line involves story.

The difference between buying entire estates and being a curator. How curating helps us treat every piece with more care and attention, and how that allows us to speak to the history of the pieces. 

How nostalgia can work in several ways: It can create fond memories, it can also remind us of things that were harder to work through.

A question of distance: Is there a need for distance from the original owner in order to embrace an object? For example, can you embrace your mother’s old Pyrex? Or do you need it to belong to a stranger to appreciate it?

A question of time: There’s something to be said about finding things in your adult life, that remind you of the past, but now you can put your print on them.

Good design VS consumerism: Even though mid-century modern design and craftsmanship may have been lost to consumerism, vintage pieces are the gateway back to having great design.

Circular Sustainability: Woods like teak, walnut and rose wood are not sustainable, yet, buying vintage furniture made from those woods is sustainable. So shopping for second hand furniture allows you to acquire great pieces of furniture without damaging natural resources.

Charles and Ray Eames: what it feels like to add an Eames piece to your space.

How ‘Pickers’ can play a key role in finding really amazing items in a sea of what looks like junk.

How having someone help you see things differently can be so transformative. It can be as simple as taking a piece of artwork, putting it in a new frame, and suddenly you can love it again.

The joy of presenting products in ways that shows their true value.

A quick history of plastics: Today most plastics are just single-use and disposable products. But at one time, plastic represented incredible modern designs. Furniture and design items made from acrylic and lucite were revered; but now plastic is seen as garbage that no one wants to keep it.

The disposability of products today is something that is very upsetting; it’s our duty to think about the value of items. We shouldn’t be afraid to use nicer items like china, crystal and silver.

Treasure: What it’s like to be gifted a huge collection of vinyl albums.

Belief: People actually want to be better consumers, and they want to learn to love their spaces. Marie Kondo and the art of letting go is helpful. She encourages us to take the time to sit with our items, and teaches us how therapeutic it can be to say goodbye.

FULL EPISODE NOTES | PDF