Hastening Design Studio

Louis Shields has worn many creative hats – he might’ve even designed a few.  
“I have been an antiques dealer for 35 years. I am an interior designer. I design and fabricate custom furniture, and I am a contemporary painter with my own gallery, so I am always busy, never bored,” Louis says.
He has been involved in the process of art and design all his life. He studied painting at the University of Alabama, printmaking at the Washington Studio School and figure drawing at the Corcoran. He became a fashion designer in San Francisco and he opened a boutique of his own designs on 5th Avenue in New York City. 
He later moved to London to pursue a career in art but fell in love with antiques. He then spent 11 years in England dealing antiques and restoring early period houses before moving his family and business to Middleburg, Virginia in 1981. He currently owns Hastening Design Studio specializing in 18th century European furniture and his own contemporary furniture and works of art. His paintings hang in harmony in the studio with his carefully chosen antiques. 
As for current projects, he is working on a local estate in Virginia. “The main house was built in 1798, and we have researched and restored all the rooms to their original paint colors. We are using appropriate fabrics and 18th century period furniture,” Louis describes. Two other projects include the restoration and complete interior design of a 16th century villa in Florence, Italy (“wonderful silk fabrics and early Tuscan walnut furniture”), and a Middleburg home with an “incredible 20th century art collection,” all of the fabrics are contemporary and will be appointed with interesting modern furniture. 
When it came to picking pieces to bring to Market Hill, he says, “I am always drawn to furniture that has a historical architectural inspiration, balanced structural elements, and, if it is wood, then the surface, color and patina are extremely important.” 
On how he continues to find inspiration in his work, he says “I have been an antiques dealer for 35 years. I am an interior designer. I design and fabricate custom furniture, and I am a contemporary painter with my own gallery, so I am always busy, never bored,” Louis says.

To learn more, visit hasteningdesigns.com. 
 

Gallery Auctions

Vikki Vines is the top female auctioneer in Texas and, arguably, in the nation. Vikki started Gallery Auctions in Houston – “the best little auction house in Texas” – more than 25 years ago and has created a worldwide buying trip under one roof. 
A trip to Gallery Auctions, Vikki says, holds the same excitement that she feels when she’s in England, Belgium, Argentina, Spain, France or anywhere in the U.S. 
As the largest trade source in the southwest, Gallery Auctions has become known to dealers around the country as the place to go to for great variety of antiques and accessories from traditional French and English antiques to mid-century modern furniture to on-trend accents. 
“Volume and variety have always been a part of the Gallery Auctions experience,” Vikki says. “Every day is like Christmas since we unload and sell 10 or more 45-foot containers every month from all over the world. Each day is surprising and interesting. We get consignments from important estates and from Manhattan rug dealers frequently. There are always treasures to behold.”
Vikki runs auctions every Monday beginning at 9 a.m., and once a month on Sunday. She has since brought on her son Jon Goodling to assist with the business. 
When asked about Round Top, she says, “We are full tilt in this business every single day all year long, so how could we not be a part of this special show?”  
Gallery Auctions has been part of the Round Top scene for 14 years. 
“It is the single largest gathering in the United States of buyers, sellers and traders, and we are fortunate it’s only an hour and twenty minutes away from us.”
Vikki is a newcomer to Market Hill and is excited about the space. 
“Part of what I think is exceptional about Market Hill,” Vikki says, “is the design of the business itself. It is suitable for buyers and vendors. This is the most well-planned building! The management has a special vision. They are leaders in creating an environment that is appealing for shoppers and vendors and provide all amenities from the food, the lighting, the parking, the late shopping – the complete experience.” 
As for what to expect from Gallery Auctions at Market Hill, Vikki says, “Upholstered furniture, bamboo items, copper accessories, French flourishes, contemporary furnishings… there is so much. The highlight of this show is the monumental 7-½-foot tall bronze fountain featuring the Three Graces. It was acquired from a Southern estate. We are very happy to offer it at Market Hill.”
 
To learn more, visit galleryauctions.com. 

Don and Marta Orwig Antiques

 This couple has made the 20-hour drive from Corunna, Indiana, to Round Top, Texas, for nearly 30 years. Each season, Don and Marta Orwig bring two semis filled with antiques. Don, long-time wheeler and dealer, is hesitant to show his hand on any particular pieces they’re bringing this time ’round, because he says customers will want to buy them before they can put them on the truck. 
“What we do say is that we bring the very best things we have found in the last six months,” Don says. We are known for unusual, odd and unique American pieces. We love old advertising signs and have some killer ones to bring this spring.” He adds, “We do have a barn find, an original red 1958 Chevy 3100 pick-up truck for sale.    Don’s affinity for barn finds goes way back. Raised in a farming family, Don would accompany his parents to auctions when he was just a boy. This is where he credits getting his start in the business of buying and selling, on a small scale, using his allowance money. It was in college at Purdue University in 1972 that Don made the leap into antiques after borrowing a few hundred dollars from his dad to score an entire lot at an incredibly low cost. He loaded and unloaded his Chevy truck nine times and used this haul to open his first store in Corunna. 

He began coming to Round Top in 1990 when Karen Anderson, a dealer from nearby Fort Wayne, Indiana, invited him to share a booth with her at Emma Lee Turney’s Antiques Show. Emma Lee Turney, “The Grand Dame of Round Top,” was, of course, the visionary and founder of the original Round Top Antiques Show. That year, he sold nearly everything he brought, and he’s been coming ever since. 
Don and Marta are happy to have found their home at Market Hill. 
 “We have been setting up at the Round Top shows for nearly 30 years. Having done shows from Maine to Colorado and all points between, there is no other venue anywhere in the U.S. that offers the quality and quantity that the dealers here at Market Hill do.” 
He says the amenities like air conditioning, the restaurant, public restrooms and being able to have a glass of wine are among the other perks for Market Hill customers. Being open for a good stretch of time helps too, for vendors and customers.  
“Most shows are only open for a day, maybe two or three. Being open here at Market Hill over the course of two weeks lets many more customers have the opportunity to plan day trips or weeklong trips to shop. It gives everyone a chance to buy and sell to a much wider audience.”
“Market Hill is just this kind of experience. A unique collection of some of the very best dealers at Round Top. Most have years of experience, generous personalities and a great desire to give the customers a warm and comfortable shopping trip plus the food at Market Hill is the absolute best of any of the fields.”

“Doing antiques shows is really our life. Our friends are mostly all in the business. We get to see each other every fall and spring. We socialize together, eat at our favorite restaurants, catch up on what each other has found in the last six months. We even get to buy from one another and try to ‘out-do’ each other in sales. Antiques dealers are really quite a special diverse bunch of very nice people,” Don says. 
According to Marta, “This is our home for as long as they will have us.” 

For more information, email martao@live.com. 

The Elephant Walk

Ender Tasci is the man behind The Elephant Walk. 
Originally from Istanbul, Turkey, he came to America 30 years ago to get his Ph.D. in international business. He also has degrees in economics, finance, human resources and restoration, which relates to materials, textiles, woodworking, metal work and construction. 
When he was asked to furnish an employer’s home, he went to Europe with the couple to bring back antiques and special pieces. Within eight months after his work for them, he had four new clients. This was the beginning of his business. 
“My passion comes from within,” Ender says. “You have to love what you do, and it has to be within your capabilities. Being an antiques dealer isn't for everyone; it requires massive amounts of knowledge and conviction to relay that message to someone else to create a demand for an item that is not a necessity.” 
“There is a difference between looking and seeing. l follow trends and news very closely. Antiques and home decor are just like fashion, they change constantly. Being able to see which way the trends are going is a secret to success in any business.” 
As for his personal style and eye, he says, “l love scale, texture, color and, most of all, drama. If the item you are selling is not serving those four purposes, it certainly isn't worth selling. I have been looking for pieces with very clean lines for the last couple of years, simple shapes with great color and texture in the right scale is the magical combo.”

Until recently Ender’s home was in central Florida where he lived with his wife and children, maintaining a farm – raising sheep, chickens, peacocks and emus – and managing his permanent showroom in Orlando, The Elephant Walk Interiors and Antiques. Last year, he sold the space to relocate to Round Top, specifically, to a ranch where he will do some farming and do the Antiques Fair twice a year.  
      “We have 20 years of great experiences with educated, loyal clients that love what we bring to them,” Ender says. 
    “I believed in Paul’s concept of bringing comfort to the Round Top experience. Our venue provides an incredible amount of the most reputable dealers with an exceptional selection of merchandise. Our climate-controlled showrooms, food and all the other amenities make it a refuge for so many people visiting Round Top.”

The pieces Ender is most excited to show this spring include “an old French linen press with great color and texture, a simple silhouette at nine feet tall gives us all the drama any room could ask for. It has the coolest interior with pigeon hole shelves and paper labels for the maid to place the items in the proper hole. Next is an 18th century Madonna life-size, carved with great patina and Lady of the Lourdes with roses carved under her feet, a great statue.”
    He also has something new to show, “I love glass, and I have been collaborating with a glass studio from Mexico to create modern glass wall installation. I hope to have samples in for the upcoming show.” 

Ender is definitely someone you will want to meet at Market Hill. For more, visit elephantwalkantiques.com. 

BoBo Intriguing Objects

Mark Sage is the man behind the brand BoBo Intriguing Objects. The story of how BoBo came to be spans two decades and multiple continents. His middle-class upbringing in Nebraska was very typical, very stationary. The intriguing part of his life – traveling the world as an antiques dealer – would await him. 
Mark earned an MBA with an emphasis in franchising and was brought on by a hair salon company. Climbing the corporate ladder, he rose to VP of International Development and split his time in Moscow and Paris opening hair salons and selling hair products and cosmetics. The Nebraska boy was living the dream, working in his field of study and seeing the world. Then the company was bought out, and his position was eliminated. He was given a severance and kept his apartment in Paris.  
Now unemployed, Mark began running around the city with his antiques dealer friends. BoBo was what they called him, “bourgeoisie bohemian,” Mark says. “They know you have some money and lead an artistic and self-employed life, so you’re bourgeois, but when they see you, you’re like a bohemian.”  
While in Moscow and Paris, Mark always enjoyed the flea markets. He would buy trinkets, bring them back to the states and sell them to friends in Atlanta where he had maintained a home base for three years before his promotion and big move to Europe. It occurred to him that he could explore doing this on a larger scale. Living in Paris, buying antiques, shipping them to the U.S., selling them in Atlanta. 
Over the years, as the Atlanta-based BoBo Intriguing Objects has evolved into mostly reproductions (about 80% of his business), the thrill of the chase is still as exciting to Mark as it was 20 years ago.

 “It’s that ‘magic pill’ vocation for me,” Mark says. “What would you do if you could swallow a magic pill and do anything you wanted? Being an antiques dealer takes me to small towns in exotic places. I buy antiques each year in France, Belgium, Holland, Germany, India, Asia, Brazil, Nicaragua and Argentina – 22 containers last year alone. You are always finding something that you’ve never seen before. The people you are in contact with overseas who are selling antiques run the gamut from gypsies to royalty and everything in between. It’s simply a blast to rummage through barns and castles, to meet these people and learn their stories.”
    BoBo has been at Round Top for the last two shows, both at Market Hill. 
“For us, what sets Round Top apart from other shows is the energy, and the diversity of the people who attend the show. BoBo is primarily a wholesaler, we sell most of our antiques to businesses that resell the product. At Round Top, you’re dealing with a much more diverse crowd. It’s a party. It’s a pilgrimage,” he says. 
“It really does have a unique vibe unlike any other antiques show in the world. Plus, the area is simply beautiful.” 
Mark has spent a lot of time over the years doing just about every show, and he says Market Hill is the easiest for him as a vendor. “Level floors, wide doors, HVAC, being out of the elements. It’s all been well thought out and planned. The assortment of dealers at Market Hill is also very well curated. Paul has really chosen very nice dealers with great antiques.” 
As for special finds he’s bringing to Market Hill, he says, “I just returned last night from a two-week buying trip to Europe. I bought three containers that are going directly from Belgium to Round Top. I really don’t ‘edit’ the pieces I bring to Round Top. Cool, beautiful finds at a great price will sell in any market.” 

Then he adds, “Storks! There are 50 of them from the Alsace region of eastern France. They are stone, from a zoo that opened in the 1930s. Each stands on its own with mounted metal legs. I like unique collections of things. These would look amazing in someone’s garden.” 
Intriguing objects indeed. Come meet Mark, and see what other unusual finds he’s brought to us. 

To see what else Mark Sage is working on, visit bobointriguingobjects.com. 

Antica Collection

Texas native Lisa Strait Vanpoucke has been coming to Round Top since 2002. 
“I like the fact that we are able to reach so many people in a short period of time and bring them home a little piece of history,” she says.
Having been a collector herself for the past 20 years, Lisa’s passion for rare and desirable objects has taken her all over the world, to France, Italy, Spain and Portugal.
“I find inspiration in the history and culture of faraway lands, in architecture and in great design from all periods,” Lisa says.  
 “My creative process is simple. I buy what I love. If I wouldn’t put it in my own home, I usually skip over it. For me, quality is a must, along with great design.” 
Lisa met her late husband Eric in the business and she credits him for turning her love of collecting into a way of life. He is also the inspiration for her new line of signature candles.   
“I created the line as a love story. Released this month, “Who’s My Love,” is a gold candle, very sexy and feminine, and its counterpart “C’est Toi,” is silver, which is more masculine. It’s very personal to me. My late husband Eric who was French would ask me the question, in English, ‘Who’s my love?’ I would always respond with the question, ‘Me?’ And he would answer back in French, “C’est toi” (“It’s you!”). I’ve always been attracted to scent and the memories it evokes. For me, a beautiful scent goes hand-in-hand with a beautiful experience as well as a beautiful home.” 
 The addition of a home fragrance collection is part of Lisa’s desire to push herself creatively. 
“I’m always evolving and trying to be as cutting edge as possible. The longer I’m in the business the more simplified I’m becoming, but my passion is continual as I never tire of beautifully hand-crafted things,” Lisa says. “My purpose is to extend that passion into my clients’ home decor and encourage a life well lived.” 

“I love the relationships I have with clients and with others in the business that most would consider competitors, but they become your friends too, because you have this common denominator you can share things with, and they, like you, become excited about what they can buy, and it’s fun.”  
“As a vendor at Market Hill, Paul and his family treat us like one of their own.” For the customer, they have what it takes to make everyone feel at home, including good food, wine and a relaxed atmosphere,” she says. 

Lisa shares just a few details about the special pieces she’s bringing to Market Hill on this trip. 
“I’m most excited about an 18th century Rococo cabinet I found from Sweden. It’s untouched and pure in every way. The paint is gorgeous and so is the wavy glass. It looks like a ballerina in furniture, graceful in every way.” 
There is also an incredible walnut Italian table, also from the 18th century, with one single board for the top and an original iron stretcher. At the joining of the top to the legs is a carved shell motif. “It’s perfect for a large desk – and what patina!” she adds excitedly. 
She won’t include a photography of it here, as she doesn’t want to spoil the surprise, so you’ll have to come see it for yourself – and meet Lisa – at Market Hill. 

For more information, visit anticacollection.com. 

Paul Michael Company

From Little Rock, it’s a straight shot on US 65 South to Lake Village, Arkansas, along an entirely flat highway lined with farmland as far as the eye can see. This is the route people take, mostly just passing through, to Louisiana, Mississippi, Alabama and Florida, but, for those who know, there is one place to stop: Paul Michael Company, a 30,000-SF shopping destination filled with beautiful furnishings, fine handcrafted pieces, antique rugs and original art. In addition to the flagship Lake Village store, founded in 1993, there are stores in Lafayette and Monroe, Louisiana, and Canton, Texas. 

Paul got his start selling jewelry at Canton Trade Days. His wife Debbie tells the story of how that came to be. 

“Paul had the opportunity to go to college at Louisiana Tech for his math skills,” she says. “But, somewhere along the line, his father said to him, ‘You’re wasting my money, and you’re wasting your time.’ This was the ’70s and, true to Paul’s nature and entrepreneurial spirit, he set out west in a hippie van.”

It was on this journey that Paul was inspired to make and sell his own jewelry, which he would sell or trade for other pieces and take it all to Canton Trade Days. 

Years later, at the height of his jewelry business, Paul was selling sterling silver jewelry to Dillard’s, Nordstrom and Macy’s in more than 700 stores.

“He has always been able to forecast trends,” Debbie says. “More than his ability to make or build stuff, he gets women. He understands what they want before they do.”  

Paul and Debbie met in Nashville, Tennessee, where she owned Betty Boop’s, one of the first vintage clothing stores in the country. Sharing a love of antiquing, the couple formed a bond and eventually a business. Paul Michael Company will celebrate its 25th anniversary this year.   
In Paul’s world, his principles are reclaim, reuse, recycle and redecorate. It was important to him to do something that separated Paul Michael Company from other businesses. This was the inspiration for Paul Michael Exclusives – 100% American made pieces constructed of mostly architectural salvage and reclaimed wood that Paul has been collecting for years. In Dermott, Arkansas, the woodshop is open seven days a week, developing, manufacturing and designing original pieces. Paul believes everybody is creative; they just need an opportunity to explore and express it. This is the place where that happens.  

Paul Michael Company’s newest creative endeavor is Market Hill in Round Top, Texas, the 130,000-SF space with seven buildings under one roof, including a restaurant. 

“Paul and I have been attending [Round Top] as customers and avid collectors for 10 years,” Debbie says. “Owning four stores required us to have a veracious appetite for curiosities, visual display pieces and items that could be recycled and reimagined into new tables, mirrors, tables and home decor. That was in the beginning of the upcycling and repurposing of antiques. It was also the beginning of the farm-to-table movement and anything that was farmhouse or cottage was so ‘in.’ Round Top was a treasure trove of all of those things. It was and still is a place of fantastic creativity.” 

“Shopping Round Top, it occurred to Paul that the simple logistics of picking up the stuff you bought, the difficulties for the antique dealers setting up, and lack of clean restrooms, led him down the path to creating Market Hill,” she says. 

“Something as simple as a way for [vendors] to hang a chandelier, designing a building to have the ability to use an 18-wheeler to transport their merchandise to the market, and more importantly a controlled environment for their customers to shop in comfort,” Debbie says, are the things that make Market Hill unique and attractive for vendors and shoppers alike. 

“The combination of the best antique dealers and artists in Round Top attracts the highest end customer who enjoy all the amenities.”

As for the creative process involved in selecting pieces for Paul Michael Company to bring to Market Hill, Debbie says, “Paul does not consider himself an artist per se, but he is always constantly involved in some creative process, in his artisan bread-making, designing a cooking utensil, and finally and most importantly with his furniture designs. Like most artists, a simple sunset can influence a color, an early masterpiece can inspire a new design for a table or, of late, natural stones and rocks tell him what shape a new table will look like. After that, listening to his customers’ reactions to the new pieces and the influence of the market helps him decided what to design and what to bring to the show.” 

Paul won’t reveal too much about the special pieces he has set aside for the spring show: “Heavy, large, natural, mineral, stone, involves welding, something no one has seen.” 

Come meet the man and woman behind Market Hill, Paul and Debbie Michael. For more, visit paulmichaelcompany.com.