Thingy Thursday: Lynn Goldfinger-Abram

 Lynn Goldfinger-Abram, the woman behind the marvelous online store the Paris Hotel Boutique, is legendary in my brain. I have admired and coveted her business concept and collections of hotel silver and other paraphernalia ever since I saw an article in Mary Engelbreit's Home Companion magazine back in 2003. Little did I know at that time, that 7 years later, I would have the privilege of calling her my friend. I realize that sounds kinda "name-droppy" and smug, but, it's really just through bewildered appreciation that our paths ever had the opportunity to cross. Her beautiful shop carries more than just hotel silver though, her well-edited collections of vintage jewelry, books and furniture are well-curated and trigger an unbecoming drooling problem in me. Lynn prides herself on finding items that can't be seen everywhere, "the unique find" is her specialty. In today's Thingy Thursday, I would like to introduce you to Lynn and her collections and celebrate her undying passion for the glitz and glamour of bygone eras.

So, without further delay, I'd like you to meet Lynn and read her answers to a few nosey questions I posed:

What was your first collection?

My first collection(s) began when I was a young girl; everything including stationary (we had limited to choose from back in the day), stickers, beads, food-shaped candles, blown glass animals, happy face pinback buttons (yes, this was the 1960's/'70's), and much more than I can remember!

The latter years I was living the single life and not much into collecting.  Once I was in my 30's, I resumed my collecting. The first collection were some wacky 50's inspired lamps made by the Moss Lamp Company. Crazy figurines on lucite bases that moved, with funky lampshades. Then other
collections followed such as antique French crowns, Bakelite jewelry, lady portraits, mannequins and more. The one that "stuck" and still remains a fixture in my home is my hotel silver collection.

How did this collections come about?

I was perusing this fabulous shop in San Francisco and saw a vignette of hotel silver. I had never seen it before and was drawn to its fancy logos of grand hotels, fine craftsmanship & design, and the patina of these old pieces, once used by white-gloved waiters serving the hotel patrons.

I purchased my first piece that day. A large old handled serving dome with the name "Ernie's" engraved in script across the front. Ernie's was an old well-known restaurant in San Francisco.

What's the history or story of your collection?  What's the draw - do emotions, design or function or something else make these items appealing?

There was no history or connection when I initially purchased my first piece of hotel silver, but it quickly followed. I found myself seeking out any hotel silver I could find. Pieces from the Fairmont Hotel in San Francisco where several members of my family were married. Soon, many of my pieces of silver had memories of places that I had visited or knew the history of. And yes, the design makes these pieces so very appealing as well.

How many pieces of hotel silver do you own?

I have probably over 200 pieces of hotel silver in my collection.

Do you use, display or store them?

Fortunately we live in a 1930s home with a breakfast nook that has built-in open-face cabinets. I keep the silver mainly concentrated in this room. I do store some of it, as it needs frequent polishing, and when natural light hits the silver it tarnishes quickly. Not fun!

What is the most you've paid for a piece of hotel silver?

I don't really remember, but I'm guessing around $500-600.

What is the least you've paid for a piece of hotel silver?

I have paid as little as $20.

What is your favorite piece of hotel silver?

A large Victorian water pitcher from the Fairmont Hotel in San Francisco.  It's quite ornate and extremely rare.

Any tips for collecting hotel silver?

Mix and match – All of my silver is assorted. I buy pieces that I like, so most of the teapots, creamers and pitchers in my collection are strictly decorative, not for serving purposes.

Some collectors strictly want hotels that have personal meaning, others go for design alone, and some just want to use pieces for serving and want the hotel quality and grade. Go for what you like and what strikes a cord.  Raised crests, cute shapes, monograms are always popular.

Look for manufacturers such as Reed and Barton, Gorham and International Silver Company. They produced most of the hotel silver in the USA.

Where do you find hotel silver?

Scour antique shops, flea markets, auctions and online.

What other collections are you building?

Hmmm...I am trying not to, as I have no more space and hate living in a cramped and crowded environment! But, I have a small collection of vintage oil paintings of San Francisco that I add to once and awhile.

Would you sell or pass on your collections?

Actually, I do sell selected pieces from my collection on my website. I found that it grew so much that I had to start selling some of it. It's difficult to part with, but I just can't have it all!

Photos courtesy, Lynn Goldfinger-Abram, Paris Hotel Boutique, Kate Sears, Home Companion, and Parisian Events

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Finding My "Happy Place"

The past few weeks I have felt like I was diagonally parked in a parallel universe. I have had a series of weeks in which everything has gone perfectly wrong. For instance, I am apparently incapable of operating the United States Postal Service - i.e. I sent birthday presents to a couple of friends . . . YAY! . . . . Sent both presents to one address . . . BOO! My soccer Mom van's check engine light came on, luckily I was right in front of a service station that could fix it . . . YAY and WHEW! . . . the repair clocked in somewhere around $1200 . . . . BOO! And, to make things completely unbearable, my "happy pill" Rx needed renewing, which meant I had to have an office visit, but didn't have the time or the inclination to show up for that gig. So, I decided to see if I could bypass that with a tragic sounding phone call explaining the lack of time and the broken ride, yada, yada, yada.

When I’m on the phone with my doctor, the pressure’s on to convince her that I’m not really a "happy pill" junky. To accomplish this, I decided to go with my “business-sounding-I'm really-not-a wack-job-voice” which is a cross between an impersonation of my Mom and the queen of England. It sounded a little something like this;

" . . . aaah Doc, here’s the deal . . . I’m not in my "happy place" right now . . . I don’t have any more medication, and I’m due for an office visit and, uhmm . . . I was thinkin' we could just bypass the office visit and maybe you could just call in the refill? . . . . cuz, rubbing my blanky against my cheek and sucking my thumb isn't really working anymore . . . . and my family is getting a bit afraid, they kinda have that 3 little pigs look about them and I'll give you 2 guesses who I'M CAST AS!"

My doctor heard my alarmingly “Joan-Crawford-no-wire-hangers” tone and knew she had to take action, thank goodness . . . . She called my pharmacy and renewed it without an office visit . . . YAY! . . . I pulled up to the pharmacy drive through and wouldn't ya know it . . . they were closed . . . BOO!

Luckily, the November issue of Coastal Living was waiting in the mail yesterday, serving as a delightful distraction. A glass of wine, a good long soak in the bath with my magazine, and I was all inspired and returned to my "just-a-bubble-and-a-half-above-anxiety" level. Coastal Living's 2009 Idea House in Seawatch at Sunset Harbor, a new development near Southport, North Carolina, is simply marvelous and was just the escape I was looking for! The greens and grays chosen by interior designer Phillip Sides for the master suite, are especially enticing, as are the rest of the rest of the design team's contributions including builder Mark Saunders Luxury Homes, and architect Sam Guidry. The Cape Cod-inspired look with its gambrel roofs and cedar-shake shingle siding has a gi-normous 5,800 sq. feet with three levels and 14 beds, a downstairs rec room, a top level sleeping porch, and outdoor kitchen and deck. All of which has views of native loblolly pines, live oaks, and marsh grasses that back up to Mercer Mill Creek and more than 20 miles of nature trails for walking, running, or biking. I think the words I'm looking for are YOOWZA! and SIGN ME UP! You can watch all of the video tours of the house here.

The Idea house is open for tours through November 29th and proceeds from the tour ticket will benefit The Boys and Girls Homes of North-Carolina. Tickets can be purchased for $10 at the door or online here.






Another of the many pieces that transported me to a happier place was the piece on Emmy Award-winning, Sherry Bilsing's California bungalow. The TV writer of Friends and The New Adventures of Old Christine, asked designer Jackie Terrell to stage her real-life family home with vintage finds, and inject a little color, while still maintaining the kid-friendly style. The bungalow that she shares with her husband and son is new, but was built to look decades old. It is sandwiched between L.A. and the ocean in Santa Monica, California, with views of The Santa Monica pier from the master bedroom. Sherry’s penchant for vintage style and her sense of humor were interpreted quite well by Jackie by using schoolhouse-looking things, like the glass-shade pendant lamps, maps, and globes from different eras. More photos and info can be found here.





Aaaah . . . . Now that's better, my universe is making a little more sense . . .

Photos courtesy Coastal Living, photographers Tria Giovan, Dominique Vorillon and stylists Heather Chadduck and Char Hatch Langos

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Ukulele Gal

This morning I’m chin deep in fellas dressed in short sleeved white button downs, black ties and pants and pocket protectors. I just threw up in my mouth a little bit and my head is beginning to spin, but it's my computer that is doing the better Linda Blair impression and truly messing with my world! However, my knights in shinning VW Beetle are here!

So, to calm my mind and soothe my soul I need to be transported to a kinder gentler place - one without RAM, CRASHES or SYSTEM ERRORS. And the remedy has been supplied by a fellow “old soul” and favorite friend. He introduced me to an amazing artist that I would like to share with you, and her name is Janet Klein. I think she is quite possibly one of the most charming people I've ever been introduced to!

I have discovered that it is virtually impossible to listen to singer, chanteuse Janet Klein and her band, The Parlor Boys, without smiling. Her love of lost classics, vaudeville melodies, and Yiddish songs of a bygone era are brought back to effervescent life through their stylings. Klein might seem at first to be a novelty act, with her sleek bob hairdo and vintage clothing, but when she opens her mouth to sing the obscure, naughty songs from the 1910s, 20s and 30s, her amazing talent and passion for curating these tunes is evident.

Her debut album, 1998's Come Into My Parlor, is almost a solo record, with Klein's vocals and ukulele occasionally supported by, John Reynolds' guitar and producer and husband Robert Loveless' accordion, mandolin, harmonica and triangle. Klein's second album, Paradise Wobble, was credited to Janet Klein and her Parlor Boys, and, like the first album, was bedecked in vintage photos and perfect replications of early 20th century graphic design. Subsequent albums, including her newest release, Ready For You, can be found here.

She performs with her band mostly in the Los Angeles area and continues to utilize her collection of vintage photographic matter in graphic design projects, including two miniature books, "Love is A Boomerang" and "Take A Picture of the Moon", and has plans for a DVD of musical film shorts and live concert footage. There are two must see videos that perfectly illustrate Klein’s charm and eccentricities. The first is Klein singing an Irving Berlin tune entitled, "Cohen Owes Me Ninety-seven Dollars" at the West Coast Ragtime Festival in Sacramento, California - it’s hilarious! The other is an instructional Ukulele video that can be found here and is a charming example of her manner and gentle spirit. Her Facebook and MySpace pages will lead you to her site where you can find their tour dates. This Sunday, April 26th at 7 pm, Janet the boys will be "Backstage" at the Coffee Gallery in Altadena, California.

There . . . all calm . . . now, to find my Ukulele.