As the inundation of artificial imaging finalizes the mass production of industrial influence on design, there are those who yearn for the individual, the bespoke, the rare. Given the beleaguered economic circumstances of many, that desire might be as modest as a want of a bit of cheer, something to brighten the soul-deafening and ubiquitous Greige that speaks not of neutrality, but oppression. While some cultural sensitives might look to the runways, to the pantone color choices, to the design awards for their aesthetic inspirations, there’s an ouroboros aspect to these products that reflects an almost morbid sense of disassociation, a dreariness that might have luxury retailers posting despair. Obviously, if big box shoppers want plastic handbags that imitate a historic, heirloom design—that, in original, costs as much as a used car—then many people feel the hunger to own something nice.

Collections of nice things are the bread and butter of museums and auction houses, and of estate sales. Of these, a prosaic errand trip is more likely to stop at the estate sale, or its cousin, the sidewalk sale; though there are craftspeople who will set up at empty corner lots, local sales events and various outdoor markets. Any vista of such a gathering will yield a sharp view into that region’s economy—as if the colonization of dollar stores weren’t clue enough. Nonetheless, someone in perpetual sticker shock at the grocers isn’t exempt for also wanting a bit of cheer, but how that is accomplished requires an awareness of how each of us relates to a concept of home. Yet some people do cherish where they live. Whether or not they have elaborate or modest residencies, whether or not they host guests, there are those for whom their home is a cherished retreat. What bit of cheer feathers such nests? […]