While many people were spending their COVID-19 lockdown making sourdough, Ryan Rush was making tables.

He’d always had an interest in woodworking and, with pandemic downtime, he finally opted to invest in some decent equipment—a planer, a joiner, band and table saws, a drill press—and set up shop in a barn in White Hall. Then he settled in to watch YouTube video tutorials.

“I’m 100 percent self-taught,” says Rush, who owns the Cockeysville-based packaging and foam companies Universal Packaging and Universal Foam Products. “I like being creative and working with my hands.”

Today, the 47-year-old Lutherville resident is sitting at a table of his own design in the Hunt Valley showroom of Carvers Creek, the business born out of that barn. The space is mostly pristine white, like a gallery, which is fitting, as each table propped against the wall is a work of art.

“Because of the grain of the wood, every table is unique,” he explains.

The wood is mostly black walnut, cherry, or maple, sustainably sourced from trees felled by local arborists. Once cut into slabs and dried, a pattern of burls, knots, and whorls emerges along with the beauty of the wood grain.

Tables can have a live edge (one that preserves the tree’s original curves) or a straight edge, and Rush uses a technique of poured resin to fill in around the natural contours of the wood, bringing out each piece’s natural beauty.

“The resin really allows the grain to pop, and I love the colors,” he says, adding that the resin is the consistency of Elmer’s glue and can be swirled and manipulated. “It makes for a more three-dimensional look.”

Rush is someone who likes to keep busy. Give him three balls to juggle and he’ll likely add a fourth. He laughs and blames his ADHD for the decision to turn his pandemic hobby into a business.

When he couldn’t keep his equipment in the barn (it was rusting with lack of climate control) he carved out a 4,200-square-foot workroom and showroom within the 70,000-square-foot industrial warehouse that houses his businesses. He was able to add a Laguna CNC, a high-tech, computerized router that allows him to mill large pieces and work with different materials.

From the gallery, which is open by appointment, Rush can take customers into the shop and explain how each piece is crafted, poured with resin, flattened, sanded, and oiled. While Rush can make wooden legs, he prefers metal supports because “it sets off the uniqueness of each table.”

At the request of his wife, Katie Rush, he also makes end-grain cutting boards from leftover wood. Each features intricate geometric patterns or designs and, after being treated with food-grade mineral oil, becomes a practical piece of art.

Everything in the gallery is for sale, but Rush enjoys working on custom pieces. And, never one to stand still for long, he is already looking at new ways to hone his craft. One thing’s for sure; the man loves a challenge.

We’re spending more time in our homes than ever before—and that means more time sitting on, using, and looking at our furniture. And for many of us, all of this sheltering in place has been a reminder that our couches and chairs need some serious sprucing up. With that in mind, Mark Schneider of Sofas Etc. thinks the home-furnishings industry might just get a boost when the pandemic is over.

“Overall, business had been fairly good up until the pandemic,” he says. “We’ve continued to serve customers and designers by appointment and phone orders during the outbreak. And it could very well return to the previous volume, God willing.”

Schneider, 68, knows a few things about furniture, home-décor fads, and economic cycles. Growing up, his family was in the furniture business, and his own company, Sofas Etc., with stores in Baltimore and Columbia, has been around for 27 years.

Schneider says his company sells mostly medium-to high-end brands, and its core business is living rooms and dining rooms, as well as bedroom furniture. His key to success, though, has been not just walk-ins, but working with interior designers, especially in upholstery and leather.

“Working with independent interior designers is a large part of our business,” he says, “but we have our own staff designers, as well.”

Running the day-to-day operations now is Mark’s son, Jeremy, 37, pictured, though the elder Schneider is still very involved, doing the buying, working with designers and salespeople, and going to furniture markets twice a year in furniture-centric North Carolina.

“Some of our most popular brands are Sherrill, Precedent, Rowe, Vanguard, and Elran,” says Jeremy, “but we carry lots of other brands, including Stressless, which does a lot of nice leather chairs and ottomans.”

One of the firm’s more modest offerings is office furniture, but the Schneiders see that as another area with potential for growth.

“Even before the pandemic, we were seeing an uptick in business for home offices as more people wanted to work remotely,” says Jeremy. “And now that so many more people have learned to work remotely, that could be a strong sales area in the months and years to come.”

As anyone who has lived in a college dorm or white-walled rental can attest, the right furnishings turn a house into a home. Not only do furnishings make a space more comfortable, they show off personality. Are you more into a bold, minimalist loft with clean lines and pops of color, or a bohemian rowhouse with exposed brick walls and layers of color and texture?

From stocking sofas that will squeeze into Canton’s notoriously narrow rowhomes to custom-designing a table that works for a vast, open-concept kitchen and living space, local business owners know their clients and their city, making furniture shopping (even more) fun for customers.

And when it comes to a significant investment that you’ll be using daily, there’s really no substitute for experiencing furniture in-person before you buy. That’s why we’ve compiled this ode to independent brick-and-mortar furniture stores, from high-end modern design studios to quirky antique shops, and everything in between.

Contemporary & Traditional

BECKET HITCH
After moving Becket Hitch into its new, larger spot in Greenspring Station this spring, owner Kohli Flick is finally able to stock more of the larger items she loves but that wouldn’t fit in the store’s prior home. That means more furniture—from upholstered cocktail tables and couches to supple leather side chairs. A MICA grad, Flick stocks the shop with the perfect finishing touches to infuse a room with your personality, from textured, woven throw pillows to nautical wall decor and rustic dishware. 2360 W. Joppa Rd., Lutherville-Timonium, 410-296-4818

DREAM HOUSE FURNITURE AND DESIGN
Whether you need help picking the color and style of a new couch or want a full home makeover, Dream House Furniture and Design can make your vision a reality with its combination of thoughtful design services and furnishings from Cassandra Senn Vaira, Wendy Flynn, and Mary Beutler. Nestled on downtown Frederick’s Patrick Street, home to vintage, clothing, and other boutiques, Dream House stocks furniture from American Leather (known for its decidedly chic recliners) and CR Laine (for those embracing color and texture in upholstered furniture) alongside everything else needed to outfit a room, from lights and art to wallpaper and rugs. 102 E. Patrick St., Frederick, 301-360-0680

MCLAIN WIESAND
Channeling the ethos of the great 18th-and 19th-century artisans and ateliers, custom furniture designers at McLain Wiesand craft ornate pieces that would look at home in the most decadent, historic buildings—and clients often commission them just for that purpose. Owner David Wiesand’s maximalist aesthetic has been on display at his Mount Vernon by-appointment showroom and personal apartment above for nearly two decades. Wiesand’s one-of-a-kind creations include gilded mirrors, hand-painted details, intricate metalwork, and ornate faux finishes. 1013 Cathedral St., 410-539- 4440

SHOFER’S FURNITURE
With more than 70,000 square feet of show- room over five floors, Shofer’s Furniture has one of the largest selections of furniture in Maryland, making it an easy first stop for any budget or style. From its original Federal Hill location (a former Hecht’s Department Store acquired by Harry Shofer in the 1930s), attractively styled living room and dining room scenes beckon shoppers inside, where third-generation owner Henry Shofer and his team steer loyal patrons through more than 200 brands to find the perfect fit. 930 S. Charles St., 410-752-4212

SU CASA
Su Casa hits that perfect balance between fun and sophisticated, stocking every- thing from quirky kitchenware to upholstered couches and one-of-a-kind furniture and decor from local makers. With two decades in the business, Nick Johnson knows his customers. Each shop (Fells Point, Ellicott City, Bethany Beach, and Ocean View, Delaware) takes inspiration from its location, and white-glove delivery from a crew that’s used to narrow doors, awkward stairwells, and tight spots means getting your new space together faster. 901 S. Bond St., and other locations, 410-522- 7010

URBAN THREADS
Like an interior-design Instagram feed come to life, this boutique carries bedding,
draperies, and throw pillows, along with select on-trend furniture—think a rattan
peacock chair, luxe velvet accent chair, and a rustic, live-edge coffee table highlighting the wood’s natural shape. Owner Jane O’Donoghue moved Urban Threads from Ellicott City to The Shops at Kenilworth earlier this year. You can even design your own custom pillows for the ultimate finishing touch. 800 Kenilworth Dr., #854, Towson, 410-769-8485

Modern

DESIGN DISTILLERY
The pieces at this chic storefront are hand-selected with Baltimore urban living in mind. Brought to life after owner Karen Graveline began a search for modern furnishings for her own digs, Design Distillery continues to stock furniture that feels at home where Baltimoreans live, whether that means a loft or narrow rowhome. From its origins as Home on the Harbor 15 years ago, Design Distillery has grown physically (it moved to new, 9,000-square-foot digs off Key Highway in 2016) and in scope. You’ll find modern pieces from brands including Gus Modern, Knoll, Masaya, and Blu Dot arranged into floor sets that make it easy to envision them in your space. Best of all, the team is happy to coach customers in their design choices to make furniture shopping fun. 1414 Key Hwy., 410-433-1616

INDOOR FURNITURE
Don’t let its big-box exterior scare you away—Indoor Furniture in Columbia has been sourcing contemporary, modern, and Scandinavian-inspired furnishings for the Baltimore and D.C. area for more than 30 years. Its 35,000-square-foot showroom brings together high-quality home and office furniture, from family-owned Danish brand Skovby, known for pioneering extension systems for tables, to its best-sell- ing, sculptural Estelle dining chair from Vermont-based Copeland Furniture. 8895A McGaw Rd., Columbia, 410-381-7577

MIY HOME
Michael Ryan Wright and Seth Barkman live by the motto, “What’s mine is yours.” It inspired the name of their modern furniture shop in Fells Point, MiY Home. The showroom—in a triple-wide rowhouse—spans four levels, plus a rooftop deck highlighting outdoor furniture. The cozy showroom stocks versatile, modern essentials for urban living, many of them sustainable and made in the U.S. Wright and Barkman’s recommendations are based their expertise, not product descriptions—many of the pieces they stock also furnish the couple’s home above the shop. 1605 Eastern Ave., 410-881- 0187

ANTIQUE, VINTAGE, & RECLAIMED

ANNAPOLIS MARITIME ANTIQUES
Nautical lovers, rejoice! This Eastport shop offers maritime-themed home decor, artisan jewelry, high-end antiques, and rare artifacts from around the world. Does it sell tote bags with anchor and nautical knot prints? Sure. But this shop, owned by Navy veteran Tony Kime, goes beyond the typical preppy coastal decor trend to stock authentic antiques such as an 1800s-era anchor used by watermen on the Chesapeake Bay, perfectly weathered ropes and pulleys, vintage sailing instruments, and an extensive collection of historic photographs from navies around the world. Kime also creates custom furniture that incorporates nautical elements. 128 Severn Ave., Annapolis, 410-268-7490

ANTIQUE EXCHANGE INTERIORS
From antique furniture to consignment and new items, Antique Exchange on Chestnut Street in Hampden has it all—and somehow makes old and new fit together effortlessly. The whitewashed brick rowhome stocks brands like Worlds Away, Jonathan Adler, and Dwell Studio alongside classic antiques sourced by co-owner Tom Finnerty, like a Dutch cabinet from the early 1800s and Victorian-era painted ceramics. With nearly 30 years in business, Finnerty’s shop has evolved from strictly antiques to an eclectic mix of classic and current pieces, including gifts and smaller home-decor items such as candles, coffee table books, and pillows and throws of all patterns and textures. 3545 Chestnut Ave., 410-532-7000

BAREFOOT DWELLING
Stroll in or by appointment, this treasure trove in downtown Annapolis is chock full of the elements interior designer and owner Lisa Quina favors when putting together a comfortable space that’s full of a client’s personality: mid-century modern furniture, industrial lighting, and vintage textiles. Like an elevated vintage shop, Barefoot Dwelling explodes with color and texture. Its walls are lined with quirky paintings in rustic wood frames, and pillows in vintage fabrics and patterns are stacked up on top of teak chairs. 65 Maryland Ave., Annapolis 443-603-4386

CEDAR & COTTON
The best furniture styles of the past half-century have found a new life at Cedar & Cotton, a vintage home-furnishings company in Southwest Baltimore. Friends and decor lovers Raina Smallwood and Nasira Latif lovingly source and refurbish vintage finds, from classic upholstered teak dining sets to bohemian bamboo and cane barstools—even retro sofas with funky fabrics. 208 S. Pulaski St., Ste. 2A, 443-990-1427

MARY KAY’S FURNITURE
Frequented by local interior designers looking for high-end estate pieces, Mary Kay’s Furniture brings together fine Danish, Art Deco, and mid-century furnishings acquired from across the country on Falls Road. With an encyclopedic knowledge of furniture, owner Mary Kay can tell you the designer, era, and often the history of the pieces she sells. Find statement lighting, like a five-tier spiral clear-glass chandelier by Venini or like-new teak scissor lounge chairs by Swedish designer Folke Ohlsson. 6245 Falls Rd., 410-852-4896

OFF MAIN
Just off Main Street in Ellicott City, this appointment-only and online shop from Lyssa Balick and Kelric Goodman lovingly sources and restores mid-century, retro, and Americana furnishings. Follow them on Facebook for posts about each piece as it comes in, from Bassett dressers in rich wood tones to vibrant vinyl couches and lounge chairs in attention-grabbing colors. If you’re looking for something specific, let Balik know—she has a running list of clients looking for certain items and will email them when one comes in. 417 Oella Ave., Catonsville, 443-851-3221

PARADISO
Tucked between Voodoo Glass Company and The Food Market on The Avenue in Hampden, Paradiso’s ever-changing window in its chartreuse-green storefront shows off the mix of antique and modern furnishings and decor inside. From husband-and-wife team Sharona Gamliel and Ric Martinkus, the eclectic store offers everything from a rare 1950s bar cart by Cesare Lacca for Cassina to Art Deco posters and mid-century modern leather sofa and chairs by Brazilian designer Percival Lafer—all in pristine condition. 1015 W. 36th St., 410-243-1317

RYAN’S RELICS
If you enjoy the hunt, there’s no better place than Ryan’s Relics. With two locations on Belair Road in Nottingham, this store has been bringing affordable estate furniture to Baltimore since 2004. Wander through the tight aisles stacked high with furniture to find anything from a painted Japanese screen to an upholstered cedar chest and mid-century dining sets. Because Ryan Chandler and his team liquidate estates, there’s constantly new merchandise, including other interesting and sometimes bizarre items, such as vintage games and toys, jewelry, musical instruments, and even used vacuums. 7900 and 8100 Belair Rd., 410-870-6493

SECOND CHANCE
A nonprofit that salvages materials for repurposing by the public, Second Chance’s massive warehouse stocks everything from doors and windows in various sizes and colors to rows of vintage and retro appliances, furniture (everything from mahogany credenzas to ’90s-era sofas), and original architectural details saved from Baltimore-area buildings (think ornate fireplace mantles, reclaimed hardware, and brass door knockers). You never know what you’ll find at Second Chance, and that’s part of the fun. 1700 Ridgely St., 410-385-1700

URBAN INTERIORS
Kathleen Anguera has a knack for arranging furnishings to make a space feel like home. It’s a skill she perfected after living in five countries around the world and studying interior design in England, and one that she continues to perfect as owner of Urban Interiors. Anguera landed in Baltimore in 2015, opening her antique shop just off The Avenue in Hampden about a year later. Filled with mid-century pieces (from an arc floor lamp to a matching rattan couch, chair, and ottoman), the brick-walled shop offers statement pieces at affordable prices. If you’re not sure what your space needs, Anguera is happy to lend a hand rearranging the furniture you already have and adding new elements for a total refresh. 1200 W. 36th St., 434-907- 3168

VINTAGE MC
Step through this Frederick shop’s bright teal door and enter a world of mid-century finds, from Danish teak dining sets to an Eames-style chair and ottoman duo. Clearly, the “MC” in the shop’s name means mid-century, but it’s also the initials of owner Mindy Cawley, who opened her ode to home goods from the mid-20th century in 2017. After outfitting her Frederick 1950s rancher in era-appropriate furnishings, Cawley began selling furniture from booths in Cannon Hill Place Antiques before making the decision to open her own store, attracting fans of the Mad Men aesthetic from D.C., Baltimore, and beyond. 103 S. Carroll St., Frederick, 240-514-8623

WISHBONE RESERVE
On nice days, Wishbone Reserve’s roll-up garage door is open, beckoning passers-by with unobstructed views of its bohemian collection of Persian rugs, vintage furniture, and quirky, retro furnishings. From the wooden-boat-turned-planter outside to the salvaged movie-theater sign compelling shoppers to “Fall in love with Wishbone Reserve” and “Vote! Vote! Vote!,” this vintage, antique, and consignment shop man- ages to feel like a hip friend’s home that you want to hang out in for a while (and whose style you want to copy in your own home). Arriving in Hampden by way of Mt. Washington last year, design-obsessed friends Athena Hoffberger, Julie Lilienfeld, and Ryan Haase make the shop available to local artists as a gallery, too. 3811 Falls Rd., 443-961-3376

Consignment

THE CLEARING HOUSE
For more than 30 years, The Clearing House has been giving Towson-area residents’ furniture a second life. Its 7,000-square-foot showroom stocks both antiques and newer items, like Arhaus sectionals, Oriental rugs, and fine china sets. Sisters Lisa Hudson and Cara Derr are the second generation to run this beloved shop, which sees the same customers returning to sell and buy for years. 200 W. Padonia Rd., #5, Timonium, 410- 561-4546

GREAT FINDS & DESIGN
A consignment store with the feel of a boutique design studio, Great Finds & Design arranges its unique furniture, jewelry, and home-decor items into styled vignettes, so it’s easy to picture each piece in your own home. Sisters Camille Quillen and Dianne Doccolo bring in like-new items that fit the contemporary and transitional design aesthetic, from brand names like Restoration Hardware, Blu Dot, Crate and Barrel, Mitchell Gold, and more. Items are priced fairly and are reduced by the amount of time they remain for sale on clearly marked tags. 1924 Greenspring Dr., Timonium, 410-561-9413

OBJECTS FOUND
Drive down Egges Lane in Catonsville and a sea of statuary (from aliens and goblins to Buddha and St. Francis) catches your eye. Lawn art is a summertime best-seller for Objects Found, a consignment store overseen by veteran antiques dealer Reggie Laskauskas. From quality mid-century furniture to quirky knick-knacks from the past 50 years, Objects Found is filled to the brim with items worth a look and wading through the sea of treasures (think old-school video games, Baltimore Colts memorabilia, Shaker furniture, and vintage glass bottles) is half the fun. Call Laskauskas and her team before moving or redesigning—it’s likely she’ll find value in items you may have already thrown in the box marked “donate.” 11 Egges Ln., Catonsville, and other locations, 410-744- 9000

THE TURNOVER SHOP
A consignment store serving Baltimore since the 1940s, the family-run Turnover Shop sells high-quality furniture, home decor, art, and estate jewelry out of a tidy white rowhouse with blue trim on Roland Avenue. Mother- daughter team Alice Ann Finnerty and Alice Ann Martin hand-pick the best items from estates and downsizers to consign in their shop, from a DWR patio set to a set of turquoise wicker chairs and a 19th-century mahogany chest. 3855 Roland Ave., #1, 410- 235-9585

TWIG
After running a gift shop for many years, Olga French was looking for a more sustainable business model. In 2011, she opened Twig, a consignment and antiques shop in Columbia offering a second life to statement furniture (a pair of smoked Lucite, mid-century tulip chairs), tabletop wares (retro fondue pot, anyone?), and lighting (Tiffany- style to modern). Drop in during the week for consignment appraisals, or by appointment on Saturdays. French also sells local art out of Twig, like the colorful, textural paintings from Sandra Wexler. 9170 Old Annapolis Rd., Columbia, 410-740-221

RUSTIC & INDUSTRIAL

HOUSEWERKS
From the 1880s-era former headquarters of the Chesapeake Gas Company, Ben Riddleberger has been collecting and selling salvaged architectural, ornamental, and decorative antiques for nearly 15 years. Stained-glass windows, industrial ceiling lights, salvaged tile and ceramics, and vintage signage makes up just a fraction of the character-laden items at Housewerks. If you’ve already got a piece that needs a little TLC, Riddleberger can help restore it, too. This past June, Housewerks hosted the inaugural season of the Pigtown flea market. 1415 Bayard St., 410-685-8047

INDUSTRIAL HOME
Veteran designer Christopher Ritchie honed his skills with clients including Starbucks, Bryan Voltaggio, Neiman Marcus, and Restoration Hardware before pouring his passion into Industrial Home. Since opening in 2013, the Frederick business has outfitted industrial-chic homes and businesses with its own line of custom furniture and rustic home decor, from buttery leather sofas to live-edge tables and adjustable metal barstools that look like they were pulled from an old-school science lab. While the aesthetic is decidedly rugged, Ritchie’s designs look just as at home in a log cabin as a light-washed modern loft. 154-A N. Market St., Frederick, 301-360-0600

CUSTOM

CRUMP & KWASH
Combining sculptural and architectural elements, the pieces from design-build studio Crump & Kwash are functional works of art. Founded by business partners Justin Kwash and Paul Crump in 2015, the duo’s modern-retro aesthetic has landed its furniture in numerous interior design publications (from Domino to Architectural Digest), and even in the bedroom of actress Ashley Tisdale (custom-finished Phillip nightstands). After moving into a new workshop in Hampden earlier this year, Crump & Kwash will open a showroom to the public this fall. 1525 W. 41st St., 410- 537-5184

OLIVR STUDIO
Master craftsman Tony Oliver arrived in Baltimore by way of Extreme Makeover: Home Edition, where he was a lead carpenter. After meeting his wife during the filming of an episode in Baltimore, he relocated to Charm City and launched Dylan Design Company in 2012. Last year he paired the move to a new workshop space with a new name: Olivr Studio. His minimalistic designs let the materials sing, from the English bridle leather-wrapped Cale Settee to the stone-topped Maeve console with geometric, stained-wood legs and bronze hardware.

BLISS WOODWORKS
A class on woodworking taken at the Station North Tool Library set Kate Christian on a path that culminated in the launching of Bliss Woodworks. Christian’s custom-furniture company offers a variety of luxe furniture combining meticulous details (brass inlays, rounded corners, and a variety of finishes) with reclaimed materials. Find her work for sale at retailers that support local makers, like Trohv in Hampden and the Made in Baltimore store in Station North.

CAMPOS IRON WORKS
This workshop crafts industrial, metal, and reclaimed wood creations from a studio in the Crown Industrial Park between Brewer’s Hill and Greektown, but sends its custom pieces to corporate and residential clients across the country, thanks to a healthy online following on Etsy and Amazon Handmade. Founded in 2012 by designer and engineer Marcus Comfort, Campos Iron Works’ pieces expertly com- bine form and function. Most, like the popular adjustable drill-press stool or stand-up, sit-down office desk and stool combo, feature welded steel and moving parts in a French industrial style. 4401 Eastern Ave.

SANDTOWN FURNITURE COMPANY
Since 2010, the skilled craftspeople at Sandtown Furniture Company have been saving old-growth pine lumber from demolished buildings in Baltimore and repurposing it as high-end furniture. Each piece, from the modern, square-beam Ellwood coffee table to the classic, trestled farmhouse-style Hamilton dining table, takes on a unique quality from the wood’s character. Baltimore pride flows through Sandtown, from furniture named after neighborhoods to the signature pewter emblem on each finished piece, declaring it “built with pride from wood with character in Baltimore.” You’ll find Sandtown’s work in local businesses as well, like the communal tables at the new Broadway Market in Fells Point. 1830 Belt St., 410-299-9833

A retail store lasting for 20 years is no small feat. For Nick Johnson, owner of décor and furniture company Su Casa, the key to thriving has been support from the Baltimore community—through unpredictable weather, new locations, and everything in between.

After a long period of personal and product-driven growth, the team at Su Casa has no immediate plans for expansion and is focusing efforts on its current locations in Fells Point, Ellicott City, Bethany Beach, and Ocean View, Delaware. Collaborating with local artisans like Max’s Candles, Oak & Iron Designs, and Charlie Barton, Johnson places huge emphasis on the importance of small businesses supporting and sustaining each other.

We sat down with Johnson to chat about the history, evolution, and future of the interior design company.

What was the initial inspiration behind Su Casa?
Back then, we had this model all centered around the Big Iguana. It was basically a hippie store, lots of clothes, jewelry, accessories, and then we started doing candles, candle holders, and art—that sort of thing. Our model was to open a new store based on the parts that are doing really well. We wanted to sell more artwork and accessories and small pieces of furniture than would fit into this little hippie store. So, we created Su Casa. I would have never thought 20 years ago that we would end up with four stores, two warehouses, and this customer service model. We just wanted to sell more mirrors and glassware. Then, whoops it became serious.

How has the community in Baltimore treated you over the past 20 years?
We’ve loved it. I think part of it is our focus on the customer. We’ve never been the typical furniture store. It’s never about having Fourth of July or Memorial Day sales. We don’t do any of those things. Our customers have been super supportive, they come back to us over and over. We built policies around taking care of the customer first and the business second. We’ve moved with people and, when you take care of the people, they then support you and do whatever they can to help you out.

The flood in Ellicott City is the perfect example. The second time around was a lot harder for us than the first time, except that we knew what the challenges were and what we would have to do to overcome them. But in the end, we got an incredible amount of support, so we feel we’ve built a much better business the third time around because of the support we received.

What did you have to do for the Ellicott City location after the flooding occurred?
The first time around, we had to do a lot of actual construction because it had never happened to that store before. In the rebuilding, we did things like half-jokingly put in a waterproof floor and we’re like, “Oh, if it ever happens again, the floor’s going to be great. Because it will never happen again.”

And then it happened again. We were truly all set to leave Ellicott City because we had inches of mud covering the entire first floor. And we didn’t know if we could go through this again. We literally, in three days, took every piece of inventory, floor to ceiling, walls, everything, out. Then, the landlord said, “The store looks great, when are you going to reopen?” The store looked terrible. But as it turns out, he understood the importance of businesses coming back and so he jumped into action, cleaned out the store for us, made it happen, and then everybody that supported us financially and emotionally made it so we could come back.

Just like you expanded into furniture, do you plan on expanding the business into anything else in the future?
I would leave that up to my wife. If there’s one person who is more driven than me, it’s her. She has four different businesses right now and she keeps expanding. I love what we do. Other people are like, “You work seven days a week?” But at the same time, I love being at work. I don’t have any crazy ideas of how to pull a concept out of this store and create its own concept right now. But that being said, we have a history of doing that. So, who knows?

Do you have any advice for someone just starting out?
Work hard. Ultimately, some of the areas where we’ve had challenges I’ve overcome it by plowing into it and putting in the hours. I worry that a lot of people these days who start businesses don’t understand that you can overcome a lot just by putting more of yourself into that business. You can overcome being short on cash. You can overcome being short on staff. You can overcome losing the identity of your business, by being your business.

What has Baltimore meant to you?
The city is a great place. It has a lot of challenges right now. But I always end up remembering how fortunate we are to be in this area with things like Johns Hopkins, University of Maryland, Under Armour. They drive a lot of the economy here and being in the city is a part of that. Because I don’t think you get that elsewhere. You don’t have these main drivers in employment and in an economy in every region. So, the city has been great for that—people shouldn’t take that for granted.

Why did you choose to incorporate local artisans?
That has been the most fundamental change for us in the last five years. Some of the things I’m most proud of are the people who started off making things in their garage who wanted to sell it. There are a few stories like that I really love where it’s people who end up aligning what they do with what we do. It becomes a symbiotic relationship where we feed their business, they feed our business, and their business grows into other people’s stores.

Do you have any goals for the next 20 years?
We eventually want to open more stores. We’ve really embraced this idea of being a part of a community and I think that’s the hardest thing to replicate. We don’t want to lose focus on how important a business is to a neighborhood. You can’t just open a new store and suddenly be a part of that. We look at areas where we know we have some influence or we have some support from customers or staff. We’d love to expand into Annapolis or go back up to Towson. But longer term, it’s growth, being mindful of the impact we have, and how we can support and help the communities we are in.

Are you doing anything to celebrate the anniversary?
We hope to throw some sort of party. But being in four different locations, it’s tough figuring out how to handle that logistically. But we will continue to do sales and things throughout the year, where we reinforce the fact that we’ve been around a long time and we hope to be around a lot longer.

When it comes to interior design and home furnishings, Charm City was, for a long time, a pretty conservative town, its aesthetic rooted in 300 years of European tradition. But you won’t find much of what the antique dealers call “brown furniture” at Design Distillery’s newish Federal Hill space.

Instead, there’s a live-edge dining table shorn from the trunk of an acacia tree, and owner Karen Graveline’s current favorite, a black homage to the Windsor chair with a curved spindle back, molded from plastic. Then there are bar stools, bedside tables, and tufted sofas with clean lines and slender legs, all in an array of colors from turquoise and cocoa to beige.

What you won’t find here is the stuff your parents are pushing on you: the carved mahogany sideboards, bedroom sets in turned walnut, or the dining-room table with extra leaves—which speaks to the current dictum, “Your kids don’t want your brown furniture.”

With designs inspired by 20th-century icons Eero Saarinen, Harry Bertoia, and Florence Knoll, the showroom houses staged vignettes showing clean, airy living spaces with soft shag rugs and arched matte-black floor lamps.

“Our roots are in modernism,” says Graveline, who recently rebranded the business she started as Home on the Harbor in 2002. “It’s really about design that is functional, simple, and sustainable.”

Graveline, who grew up in a modern house in Montgomery County, learned to love design from her architect father. The family attended Orioles games in the city, and, as they made their way through Baltimore neighborhoods to Memorial Stadium, Graveline loved seeing people sitting on their stoops and decided she wanted to live here. Graveline studied interior design at University of Maryland but became a graphic designer. When she and her engineer husband, Stanley, bought a rowhouse near Riverside Park, she says, “That’s when I got interested in furniture again.”

She would buy mid-century modern castoffs from auctions and estate sales to fix up and sell at the Antique Center at Federal Hill. Then, when she and Stanley saw a store (with an apartment upstairs) for rent in the neighborhood, they decided to give retail a go, opening Home on the Harbor in 2002 with a unique niche—smaller, modern pieces made to scale.

But in a country of giant rooms and giant furniture, they had some ’splainin’ to do. “Back then,” she says, “people didn’t know what to make of us. So I said, ‘It fits in rowhouses.’” That, she says, became the hook: “furniture that fits.”

A couple of years later, she opened a second store in Mt. Washington, then relocated to a repurposed industrial space in 2010, and doubled the store’s size to 9,500 square feet in 2016, while also renaming the business.

When she’s choosing furniture for the store, Graveline has an important requirement: “I have to picture it in a Baltimore home.” While, at one time, that simply meant a sofa had to fit through the narrow door of a Federal Hill rowhouse, she has refined the notion over the years. “Baltimore wants proven design,” she says, but nothing too fussy. “Baltimore tends to be informal.”

As a consummate storyteller, Devlon Waddell’s mediums range from memoirs to mudcloth, as he stands on stages and also stages beautiful spaces. The founder of furniture company Knot You Vintage, Wadell works out of his home studio to create one-of-a-kind furniture from repurposed fabrics and uses those functional art pieces as a way to tell stories up and down the East Coast.

Your life’s work has been about storytelling. How did you get the point where you began telling stories through designing furniture?
What I have found in learning that I was creative only about 10 or 15 years ago, is that I do the things and then I backtrack and figure out why. Find that narrative thread that led me to wherever I am. So, with the furniture, it was about opening a vintage clothing shop and instead of doing the traditional retail fixtures I was like, ‘Why not buy old stuff and make it suit my need?’ It started with bookcases and a couple of chairs and my wife, who works in public health, would get fabric from programming folk who worked in places like Tanzania, Nigeria, Egypt, and I am like, ‘Well, I have this, what can I do with it? Let me put it on furniture.’

In terms of the storytelling, I guess the idea that the pieces tell me when they are done or ‘right’ is what leads me to believe it’s about the story because several pieces of furniture will have four or five iterations so I will have posted a piece fully and then feel that something isn’t right about it, strip it down, and do it again. I am not sure what the bigger story I am telling is. It may be as organic as the right person for this piece of furniture is out there and the universe is telling me that I haven’t created what that person needs.

You are commissioned to do work for some of the most talented and powerful people in Baltimore. Tell me the most interesting story you have come across when designing for someone’s home. 

What is interesting to me is the deals that don’t happen. There are often conversations, sometimes they get very specific, sometimes they get to the point of invoices being generated and they just don’t pan out. The conversations are hilarious because it’s all about ‘supporting artists’ and ‘supporting black business’ and doing all of those things to edify community. But when it comes down to brass tacks, folks don’t want to come off the bread—and that’s fine. I am not one who believes that everyone has to have my work.

I do believe sincerely that, if you do work with me, you will get an experience that is broader than just a piece of furniture being delivered. But the idea that folks somehow feel like they are doing me a favor by some superficial engagement that doesn’t result in the business being done is just fascinating to me. Everybody likes to be affirmed. Everybody likes the ‘like’ button on social media but when it comes down to it, what business is happening? You know, folks talk about ‘support black business.’ I’m all about doing business with black business.  

Your main demographic is people of color. Is that because you are located in a 64-percent black city?

So, my best client in terms of dollars and cents and also giving me a certain freedom is not a person of color. This is interesting because I am unapologetically black and I have no qualms about expressing that, but my goal is to work with people who appreciate, truly, what I do and the effort that I put into making things for them as individuals. Wherever you land on the racial spectrum matters little when you are authentic and you understand what I do.

Do I enjoy working with black folk? Yes, because I understand throughout the different iterations of my creative career that there are things that need to exchange broader than the tangible. There are energies that need to be exchanged more between black folk just because of the trauma we suffer specifically in this city, because this is where I am from. I think a big part of my work in that storytelling or that narrative approach is about making connections toward deeper understanding and general healing.  

Are you operating in your full power and capitalizing on your capacity in the stage you are in now with your art and your entrepreneurship?  
Absolutely not. One, in terms of entrepreneurship, it is challenging for me given my personal demons to give myself the credit to take myself seriously enough. Until I can work from a place of ‘yes,’ will not be operating at capacity. I am getting better. Am I getting better at a rate that satisfies me? Not necessarily, but there is growth. Creatively? I believe that if you feel like you are working at capacity creatively not only are you not growing, you are regressing. I feel like you should always be pushing yourself to do more, to do better.

Where would you like to see yourself in 10 years?
I would love to be able to say, ‘being a designer of things.’ Maybe having a shop, maybe having multiple shops, but designing the furniture and not having to do the work. In 10 years, I want to embrace the fact that I am not only a storyteller in the things that I do but also in the most literal sense, being on stages and sharing my stories.

From his former steampunk dive bar Fork & Wrench in Canton (which is closed and up for auction) to his eye-catching mixed-used space Modern Cook Shop in Fells Point, restaurateur Andy Gruver is known not only for owning cool spaces but designing them, too.

In fact, these days the talented artist-restaurateur is spending more and more time in the basement of his studio at Natty Boh Tower, where he builds up business for Gruver Design, his eponymous company. “I’m pretty handy,” Gruver says. “It doesn’t take much for me to pick something up.”

How did you become interested in design?

Growing up, I was always interested in art and design. I was born in Holland, and my uncle over there is an artist. Growing up, we’d travel back there a lot and it spiked my interest.

What kind of inspiration did Holland provide?

Holland was a second home. We’d visit Heerlen, which was a five-minute walk from Germany, every few months. That’s where I picked up a lot of the feeling of what I do. Living over there is so different than the U.S. If you go to a coffee shop, chances are, the mug was handmade. I’d visit family there and all the paintings on the walls were ones they did themselves. My uncle also did a lot of woodwork and sculpture.

Did you ever study art more formally?
I was accepted to the Corcoran College of Art and Design in D.C. and went for a brief period, but I left to be in a rock and roll band, so it didn’t work exactly out. But it’s a lifelong endeavor. With everything I do, I try to have some design sense or some artistic aspect around it.

What mediums do you work in?
I’ve done all kinds of things since I got into the restaurant business, whether doing interior design for my restaurants or making actual furniture. I paint and sculpt. At Modern Cook Shop, I made all of the tables and chairs. At Fork & Wrench, I came up with the interior design and built everything from scratch. I work in metal and wood and glass. I’m going to get into making custom lighting. If I had a kiln, I’d make pottery.

I know you’ve talked about doing design work for other clients. How’s that going?
It seems like there’s really a need for it—and I’m putting my name out there. I have a number of residential and commercial projects including one with [Clavel’s] Lane Harlan. I built an Art Deco-style speakeasy bar for Westminster American insurance company in Owings Mills. Now the owner wants me to build a bar in the basement of his new home. I also did a custom-etched mirror with his logo. I want to pursue this as a more serious aspect of what we do and am working on a website.

With fewer patrons visiting city restaurants, what has it been like for you to try to run Modern Cook Shop?
We bootstrapped Modern Cook Shop using Fork & Wrench money and that was pretty difficult. It’s a sign of the times. Baltimore is more difficult right now, but it won’t be long before things are back to normal. Nothing is set in stone yet, but I definitely want to focus on the design work.

You opened one of Baltimore’s first gastopubs with Fork & Wrench and then gave us Modern Cook Shop, an entirely new concept for the city with a marketplace inside the restaurant. What else do you wish Baltimore had that it doesn’t?
We’re on the water and we don’t have a lot of great seafood. You don’t find these really authentic restaurants and that doesn’t make sense to me. I’d like to see more of those.

How have you seen the food scene change here?
I’ve been in Baltimore going on 15 years. There have always been a couple of gems like Peter’s Inn that inspired me to do Fork & Wrench. Baltimore is growing—it’s on the verge of exploding. But had we not had the unrest that we had a few years back, things would look different today.

As Baltimoreans become more sophisticated in their culinary tastes, does it make it harder to survive as a restaurant?
Restaurants have to try harder, and that’s a good thing.  

So, what’s the ultimate dream for you career-wise?

I will always open restaurants, but I’m really enjoying the design work, and this is where I’ll be focusing my attention. There’s a design firm in Brooklyn called AvroKO that inspires me. I like their philosophy. When I’m doing design work, I come in and get to know someone whether it’s a restaurant I’m designing or a residential project. They show me a few ideas and I come up with the design. I’m fond of antiques that have been done well, though something new is perfectly nice, too. In a perfect world, I would have time to build cool, heirloom furniture and then be known for design and install in great restaurants. That’s who I want to be. In a weird way, it’s all been leading up to this.

Remember Home on the Harbor? Well, now the Key Highway home of interior design goals is bigger and better than ever before. After undergoing a rebrand and redesign in 2016, Design Distillery was born. The new expanded space features even more modern design inspiration, curated vignettes, and a free Skee-Ball machine. We talked with owner, Karen Graveline and her design dream team—Seth Kaiser, Pearl Laaveg, and Erin Friedel—about the new and improved store, current trends, and guilty pleasures.

If you could describe Design Distillery in one sentence what would it be?

Karen Graveline: It’s the place you come to find a piece that you connect with and can live with.

What does Design Distillery specialize in?

KG: So our collection is based on the idea of modernism. Clean, simple, and classic designs and we really try to offer items for an urban space, whether it’s a big loft or a tiny row home, we have things that fit.

Why did you change your name?

KG: Home on the Harbor was established 15 years ago and it was a much different store during a much different time. We were selling mainly vintage and we were in a very small space, so when we were able to expand our space, we thought it was a good time to rebrand and really choose a name that fits us better for what we do now. Design Distillery still captures what Home on the Harbor started, which is finding really good designs and distilling it down to the best that is out there and staying really curated.

What do you think sets Design Distillery apart from other businesses?

KG: It’s a fun atmosphere—we are trying to keep furniture shopping fun. I also think it’s about the way we help people. We are more so a coach and want them to really be a part of the design process and make the design their own. And we have Skee-Ball.

If you could have one super power, what would it be?

Erin Friedel: We could move things without lifting them.

Seth Kaiser: Telepathy. The ability to move furniture with your mind—Jean Gray style. That would make floor sets so much easier.

Pearl Laaveg: I’d fly. I know that’s not original but how fun.

SK: As long as it has a good costume change, I don’t really care what the super power is.

Who is your interior design hero?

KG: A source we go to a lot is Dwell magazine. It’s just very inspirational. But I think more of our heroes are furniture designers like Patricia Urquiola. We think she is amazing and there’s not too many women at that level so she is kind of my design hero.

SK: One of my favorite blogs that I continue to return to is desiretoinspire.net, they run the gamut on styles but they always have really refined photography that is really modern but original.

What is your favorite item currently in store?

KG: It’s on its way! The velvet womb chair by Knoll. It’s a classic design, I have one in my house, and I love it. We are getting it in this teal velvet.

EF: I would say the Saarinen dining table because it’s so iconic and you could put it in any kind of home and make it work.

PL: I sat on the Eilerson Plano sofa recently and I wanted to move in. Like, I actually got busted by a customer as I was saying, ‘I want to live here.’

SK: I was going to say the same thing! That sofa is awesome. It’s different than a lot of things on the market. It’s really been drawing people in and is insanely comfortable.

What is your favorite home decor trend right now?

SK: Dark, saturated walls. I’m still really vibing on the really dark charcoal walls and then pops of pink and a really light or bleached oak wood. Those things combined create something really beautiful for me right now.

KG: I’m always drawn to the Scandinavian aesthetic, the light wood hues and soft colors. Old spaces with more modern furniture.

What’s the most embarrassing trend that you used to love?

KG: It was, I guess, the early 2000s, and I liked the chocolate brown and avocado or lime green. There was also the orange and chocolate thing and I think I bought a bunch of orange at that time. So that’s one thing I don’t want to see right now.

SK: I used to like the really heavy industrial stuff when I got into this industry and that’s definitely faded. But it’s all going to come back and get us, right?

What is your guilty pleasure?

PL: Glitter!

SK: Ru Paul’s Drag Race.

KG: Chocolate.

EF: That’s mine, too!

1. Pacific Connections tissue box cover ($105) at Antique Exchange. 2. Fire red tea kettle ($48) at Su Casa. 3. Mongolian lamb stool ($399) at West Elm. 4. Orange storage container ($8.75) at Trohv. 5. Middle Kingdom small vase ($12) at Antique Exchange. 6. Lime toothbrush holder ($18) at Su Casa. 7. Tufted pedestal swivel chair ($899) at West Elm. 8. Amanda Adams felt cactus ($56) at Trohv. 9. Leaves of Grass ($16.99) and Meehan’s Bartender Manual ($40) at Trohv. 10. Surya Coast table lamp ($160) at Su Casa. 11. Blue mosaic picture frame ($42) at Trohv. 12. Middle Kingdom Lotus Root vase ($38) at Antique Exchange.

COLOR GUARD: I think in general I tend to gravitate toward color. If you were to look at the rest of our house you would see it’s a pretty wide color palette. 

SHORT STORY: We get a lot of compliments on the picture hanging in the dining room and I wish I had a better story for it. My husband always tells me we need to make up interesting stories for things that we don’t have good stories for. The reality of that picture is that it was on clearance at CB2, but he likes to tell people that it is our aunt and uncle and then people always do a double take and are like, “Wait, really?” 

TABLE TALK: We’ve had the table since 2004. It’s a Heywood-Wakefield table and I found it while browsing eBay. That mid-century modern trend was just coming into vogue with the popularity of Mad Men and all of that stuff, but I was really drawn to the clean lines and natural materials. 

SPECIAL MEASURES: There is a guy in Hagerstown who owns a place called Strictly Hey-Wake and all he does is refinish Heywood-Wakefield furniture. He does a really beautiful job and he refinished our dining room table for us, as well as another record cabinet and king-sized bed. 

TRIAL AND ERROR: I picked the chairs up on sale at Anthropologie for like $40 apiece, which was a great find. However, it’s one of those lessons in buying furniture online before actually seeing it. The way the chairs are built, the center of gravity is slightly off, so if you lean forward a little bit you end up on the floor. My chairs always come with a warning. 

AHEAD OF ITS TIME: The clock on the wall is by an Italian designer and we picked it up from a shop in Philly years ago. It was one of those things we were drawn to immediately but we didn’t really have a place to put it. When we finally finished the kitchen we found a spot where we think it worked well. 

GIVE THE GREEN LIGHT: I find lighting really hard to wrap my head around, and I just really love light fixtures. The pendants over the bar and the sconces over the stove are from Schoolhouse Electric, and the dining room fixture is from Rejuvenation. 

OPEN HOUSE: The kitchen was originally closed off and there was a doorway on the left where the clock is now. With our kids getting a little bit older, it was important for us to renovate the kitchen because we wanted to open it up and get as much use out of it as possible. I think the only downside is that we used to use the dining room table a lot more and now, because we have that bar area, we don’t as much. 

With the maker movement in full swing and showrooms like Second Chance’s Made in Baltimore popping up around town, we thought it was time to sit down with some of the local talent and have them describe their work.

Jess Sturgis
Spilled Paint Design

Pictured: It’s a ’50s vintage children’s hoop chair that I have upholstered using an indigo African mud cloth textile. Her muse: While I’m working on pieces, I find a lot of inspiration in music and nature. Tell us more: We offer a wide range of redesigned vintage—and some original!—furniture and interior decor.

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Christian Donnelly
Philosophy With a Hammer

Pictured: A modern geometric steel side table with triangle top. His muse: Geometry as a system of structure that the furniture object relies on for both form and function. Tell us more: PWH merges furniture-making with modern sculpture.

Joshua David Crown
Joshua David Crown Studios

Pictured: The Woodard Stool. The legs are reclaimed maple wood and the top is made from oak barn siding. His muse: My inspiration comes from my relationship with both my customers and my materials. Tell us more: My work can be viewed on Instagram—I build much more than stools!

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Jorgelina Lopez
La Loupe

Pictured: The “Agata Table Lamp” is handcrafted with American walnut and mercerized cotton yarn. Her muse: I am inspired by the natural world—its basic yet complex structures, shapes, and palette of colors. Tell us more: La Loupe has its origins in Buenos Aires, Argentina. Now relocated and based in Baltimore, La Loupe is a collaboration with my partner, Marco Duenas.

Our top three picks:

(Lambert & Fils Dot Line floor lamp, $699; GUS* Modern Metric coffee end tables, $795 and $450; GUS Modern elk chair, $1,250)

Guerilla Furniture Design
Will Holman (Storey Publishing)

There’s something satisfying about handmade furniture, perhaps because you can sense the person behind the object. Holman, who lives in Baltimore and got an architecture degree from Virginia Tech, gives step-by-step instructions for joining the furniture-making ranks by using salvaged materials such as cardboard and plastic bags. His goal is sustainability, and his creations are intriguingly well-designed. He just may convince you to start hunting for abandoned doors and milk crates.

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Thank You, Goodnight
Andy Abramowitz (Touchstone)

What becomes of one-hit wonders? Baltimore-native Abramowitz ponders just that in his debut novel about Tremble, a band that had a brush with fame but split up after a flop of a second album, sending its four members into the real world. But then the lead singer has a change of heart and moves to (gasp!) get the band back together. Will it work the second time, now that the members are meandering toward middle age with ambitions other than sex, drugs, and rock and roll? The mix of angst and humor make this book ideal for a road trip or a day at the beach.

On a Saturday morning in Towson, about three dozen people are milling around the showroom at Alex Cooper Auctioneers, kicking the tires on the merchandise that’s about to go under the hammer. A Heriz carpet handmade in Persia from 1915, a Lalique vase, oil paintings by Antoine Blanchard, a Tiffany lamp, a jukebox, a mahogany sideboard, and a mid-century modern Florence Knoll sofa are just a some of the items up for grabs.

Many of the folks in attendance are dealers who will pick up the best buys to mark up and display in their own showrooms. But for the discerning homeowner with an eye for quality, an aversion to the homogeneity of mainstream stores, and a love of the chase, auctions are a great place to score stylish home goods—some quite valuable—and often at a bargain.

“There’s a competitiveness to it and an exhilaration you get when two or three people want the same thing as you,” says Dennis Hockman, 42, who owns a home near Catonsville with his wife, Karin. “And it becomes an immediate negotiation, where you’re trying to figure out what your threshold is versus the other person’s threshold. There’s a rush when you do auctions, because it’s not like, ‘Here’s the price tag,’ and you want it or you don’t. The price tag is always changing until the hammer falls.”

Hockman and his wife prefer eclectic décor and wanted to circumvent the pricier antique malls by going straight to the source. Through auctions, they’ve picked up an early 1800s blanket chest, paintings, pottery, and side chairs. And auctions are pretty easy to find—Hockman checks the listings in the paper, is on various e-mail lists, and has even pulled off the road when he’s seen a sign advertising an estate sale.

For first-timers, though, a real, live auction can be intimidating. Maybe it’s all that fast chatter, or the image of the hammer hovering with the sale of your precious item hanging in the balance, or the weight of the numbered paddle in your hand, but there’s an immediacy to live auctions that can really get your blood flowing.

The fast talking, called the “auctioneers chant,” serves two purposes. “It’s both to excite the crowd and to keep the sale moving,” says Paul Cooper, vice president of Alex Cooper Auctioneers. “There’s nothing worse than a sale that drags.”

At auction, there’s a ton of merchandise to be sold in a short time. Each item—or group of items—is called a “lot.” One could literally furnish and accessorize an entire home after one day at auction. With so much stuff to sell, no one is going to dally, especially for a novice. And while most reputable auction houses will do their best to authenticate and honestly represent their merchandise, there is an element of “buyer beware” when purchasing. Which is why it pays to do a lot of research prior to sale day.

The advent of sites like eBay has taken much of the auctioning world into cyberspace, but at a live sale, there’s the benefit of being able to see the merchandise first-hand, to open the drawers, turn over the vase, or sit on the chair and make sure it’s comfortable. Auction-goers are encouraged to attend preview days, which are held in advance of a sale.

If you see something you simply can’t live without and you know you’ll never see again, how much is it worth to you?

“Don’t bid without looking at something,” advises Rick Opfer, president of Richard Opfer Auctioneering. “Don’t sit in the audience and think, ‘That’s a bargain’ and buy it, because it’s only after that you’ll see the flaw that everyone else already saw. That’s probably the biggest newbie mistake: buying something without examining it.”

The preview is a good time to suss out the dealers, too. If there’s a crowd of interested people around an item, chances are it’s going to be a popular item, as dealers will only buy things they know they can resell at a mark-up. Right now, traditional furniture, such as Victorian and country styles, has lost popularity, as have crystal and hand-painted vases. The sale of silver pieces depends on market value, while mid-century modern furniture and Asian porcelain are very trendy, as are Danish modern pieces. With a little eavesdropping, you can also gain valuable intel on a piece.

The appeal of auctions isn’t just that you get to find an item you want and bid what you feel is its fair market value. It’s also a chance to expand your aesthetic. Maybe you never knew you liked hand-painted Herend figurines because you never saw them at the local mall. Or maybe you discovered an antique French carriage clock that was just the thing you never knew you needed for your mantel.

“The downside is that I might not have what you want when you want it,” says Opfer, “but it’s a forum where you’ll find stuff you may not find anywhere else. I’ve been doing this for close to 50 years, and I still see amazing things I’ve never seen before.”

When you find that certain piece you absolutely must have and you’ve examined its condition at the preview and are satisfied, it’s still easy to get swept up in the moment. “If you’re a novice, get a figure in your mind of what you’re willing to bid,” says Cooper. “Make your list of items and set your prices before, so you don’t need to make that calculation in real time. I do 100 lots an hour, which means you have a short time to decide what you’re going to do.”

As far as bargains go, price is as much in the eye of the beholder as it is in the hand of the paddle holder. If you see something you simply can’t live without and you know you’ll never see again, how much is it worth to you? If someone else wants it, suddenly fair market value is on the rise. If no one wants it, the bargain can be yours. Opfer says he’s sold things for $5 and things for $5 million. Anything that’s best-in-show in its category—whether it be a piece of brown furniture or a Persian rug—will usually grab top dollar. There are plenty of deals to be had, but “bargain” is a relative term.

“Don’t let emotion take over, this isn’t a game where you’re trying to beat everyone else in the auction by spending more than them,” says Hockman. “You’re trying to get good value on something you’re going to use.”

Most auctions charge a buyer’s premium (a service charge on top of the selling price) of anywhere from 15 to 25 percent. Money is due at the time of purchase and some auction houses require that items be hauled away that day. Alex Cooper and Opfer’s will allow buyers to leave an absentee bid and, depending on the sale, buyers can phone bid or bid online along with the live auction.

For a real, no-holds barred, wild-ride auction, the brave or the curious can head to the Crumpton Auction just outside of Chestertown. Since 1961, Crumpton has held an auction every week, selling 3,000 to 6,000 lots on sale day. Merchandise ranges from the practical (Adirondack chairs, bureaus, lawnmowers) and the eclectic (pinball machines, Lucite tables, old wagon wheels) to the downright odd (a stuffed fox). There are no phone bids, no buyer’s premiums (Crumpton takes a commission on each sale), and no preview days, though you can check out merchandise on their Facebook page. And the Crumpton staff advises you to wear comfortable shoes and be weather-prepared—if it’s raining, it will be muddy. And it’s a sale barn, so there’s no A.C.

Whether you go to browse or feel ready to pick up the paddle and jump right in, auctions are worth a visit. You never know when the grand piano, Waterford crystal stemware, or stuffed wildlife you can’t live without will go up for bid.

Plus, there will always be a story behind the purchase—and the one that got away.

“The weirdest thing I didn’t win at auction was an antique Colonial-era handmade chess and checker board,” Hockman recalls. “I saw it later at an antique store for three times the price.

“But the coolest thing I actually succeeded in bringing home was a Herman Maril painting. He was a Maryland modernist artist whose works are in the Smithsonian and the Museum of Modern Art in New York. It was pretty cool to get something affordable that could have been hanging at the MOMA.”

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Do I Hear $10,000?

Here’s a list of some of the auction houses in the region:

Alex Cooper Auctioneers
908 York Rd., Towson
410-828-4838

Alexander Historical Auctions
98 Bohemia Ave., Ste. 2
Chesapeake City
203-276-1570

American Heritage Auction Service
13331 Pennsylvania Ave., Ste. A
Hagerstown
240-347-4908

Baltimore Book Co.
34 Cedar Ave., Towson
410-494-1075

Crumpton Auction
2017 Dudley Corners Rd., Crumpton
410-928-3006

Michael Fox International Inc.
11425 Cronhill Dr., Ste A
Owings Mills
410-654-7500

Mosby & Co. Auctions
5714 Industry Ln., Ste. A
Frederick
240-629-8139

Richard Opfer Auctioneering
1919 Greenspring Dr.
Lutherville-Timonium
443-746-0537

Sotheby’s
660 Kenilworth Dr.
Towson
410-296-1100