Curators of Style

MARTIN MATTOX

On our way home from Lake Tahoe we stopped at Trove in Roseville.

  

I'd been hearing about this place from several friends for months now.

  

It's a large antique mall with many dealers but one dealer in particular stopped me dead in my tracks.

 Everything about this space wowed me.

I think they nailed it when they coined themselves, "Curators of Style".

  

These "Curators of Style" are Tim and Lisa Arbogast, a husband and wife team out of Sacramento.

  

Here's their story...

 "The Christmas before we were married Linda scoured antique and vintage stores to find 12 alarm clocks, each one set for a different hour and enclosed a note saying it's time to say "I love you".

 "I will never forget it and honestly the sight of that many alarm clocks made me realize I loved "things" in mass.

"We have since collected and curated "things" for ourselves, clients and Martin Maddox".

"We call them instant collections, we find the pieces and you get a curated collection of "things" whatever they may be, our muse 

our inspiration".

We are blessed to be doing what we love and we love finding that "thing"... the start of a new collection."

 I think these two are a match made in heaven!

I could spend hours in their space taking in each and every detail.

  

It was a unique shopping experience as I was at once fascinated by their offerings yet equally enthralled by their presentation.

  

So many stores just throw merchandise at you without taking the time to demonstrate how to display or showcase the items/treasures/collections.

 They seemed intent on creating an environment worthy of their collections.

  

The backdrops, the wall treatments, the unique lighting, and the rugs all came together to make the the collections of "things" really stand out.

 It was quite powerful and made MARTIN MATTOX an unforgettable experience for me.

  

After all...

a house full of "things" isn't living well.

  

Yet a house full of interesting, meaningful, historical things, that speak to you...

and are displayed in a way that does them justice and creates a pleasing design aesthetic,

lifts you up and makes you happy and comfortable in your environment. 

I know for myself that I feel a soul connection to my treasures and get pleasure from living with them.

When I was younger I was content to collect lots of things and try to live with it all.

  

But, as I've gotten older I've come to understand the concepts of "edited" and "curated".

It's more restful.

The eye can appreciate more.

 An edited room is much harder to achieve.

It takes restraint.

I'm constantly striving to edit my environment.

 It's challenging.

At first I feel funny...

  

a little uneasy.

I have to tell myself to relax, live with it for a few days.

  

My initial reaction is always,

"I don't like it".

  

 But after a few days, which is not easy for this Virgo, I usually have adjusted to the change of having less and I love it!

 How about you?

Are any of you striving to live with less?

As many of you have guessed I'm going to be opening a shop with 3 friends where I'll be selling many of the treasures that I've collected and cherished over the years.

I'm very excited and grateful for this new door that is opening for me.

I will be learning lots of things not the least of which is learning to let go.

I've thought long and hard about why I love the thrill of the hunt and even tried to stop several times but,

 had to accept that it makes me happy.

It's a passion. 

I don't need anything more for myself,

  

but hopefully have found an outlet for my passion and a way to contribute to our family finances and our son's college education.

I'm looking forward to this new venture and will keep you posted as the store gets closer to opening.

Most of all I want to thank each and every person who has followed my journey through this blog and has taken the time to leave me comments, email me, or just silently and anonymously read my posts...

it's in great part to all of you that my dreams are coming true!

  

Your love, support, and belief in me has brought me farther than I ever imagined.

  

I know we all say how much blogland has enhanced our lives,

  

but it is sooo true!

There's nothing like the connections and friendships that we make through blogging.

Where else could we find so many like minded individuals who share our passions and "get us?"

And so...

as I stand poised to begin a new journey what's foremost on my mind is gratitude.

Thank you for being a very important part of my life.

 I treasure each and every one of you!

Please keep me in your prayers

 and wish me luck.