SUGAR: October 2008

A Q&A with the very talented & lovely Abbey of Abbey Goes Design Scouting -A big thank you to Abbey for taking the time to answer these questions!

1) You sell vintage desk accessories and decorative items at Abigail Vintage, what do you look for in a product or object of art?

I guess I look for clarity of form or interesting colors in objects – something that pulls my eye and seems unique. Authenticity is important: I only sell things that I’d want to have in my home. This seems to be the most critical part of the success of my business. I’m often on the fence about buying an object for Abigail Vintage and I always end up asking “would I want this in my home?” The downside is that I don’t carry a large inventory, but the upside is that I sell a huge percentage of what I buy.

2) How did you start your business? And what is your biggest challenge in running your own company?

I long ago ran out of room for new things in my own home but kept buying and buying and buying the items I couldn’t stand to leave in a dusty box in a dusty store. I love feeling that I’m rescuing something and giving it a new life.
Abigail Vintage grew very organically. I’ve always known I wanted to start a business but I was initially intimidated by how hard it can be to drive traffic to a standalone website. When I discovered Etsy, I knew that this was the right site and right time.

My biggest challenge is to find a way to not work all the time. I could always be posting something, doing blog outreach, finding new items on ebay.

3) Who do you admire in the art world?

Wolf Kahn

Creative Time
Beth Lipman
Vic Muniz

4) Who do you admire in the design world?

Ellen Lupton
Walter Benjamin
1st Dibs.
Kiosk
Cup of Jo
Swiss Miss
Even Cleveland
Design Bloggers everywhere

5) How would you describe your design style?

Hi-low, vintage-chic. This image probably sums up my design aesthetic right now.

6) Describe your perfect Sunday?

Exploring a new city, cup of good coffee in hand, hitting a flea market, having my husband carry my loot home for me, oh, and perhaps discovering a huge extra closet in my apartment that I never knew existed.

7) How do you strive for balance in life?

I think this is the biggest challenge we all face. There is so much to be done and so little time. I try to spend as much time as I can with the people I love and I try not sweat the small stuff. I’ve also found that taking time for myself, like reading a good book, taking a walk, sleeping in or taking myself out for a cup of coffee goes a long way toward making me feel balanced and happy. I’m at my most creative when I give myself unstructured time and so I try to work that into my life when I can.

8) If you had a totally free afternoon how would you fill it?

Since I live in New York, I’d probably go to a museum I haven’t been to recently and then head to Café Sarbarsky (at the Neue Galerie) for the world’s best coffee, a delicious Austrian pastry and view of Fifth Avenue from a cozy booth.

9) What books do you read?

The Man Who Made Vermeers, Jonathan Lopez

In the Wilderness, Kim Barnes

Anything on the history of collecting.

10) What's been catching your eye lately?

Electric Blue Anything.