SNAKE Q&A 002: Paige Mitchell (set decorator)
Set decorator Paige Mitchell on Arthur Umanoff, Rietveld, deadstock Surge soda, Psych hospital chairs and more
New at Snake: Every other Friday or so an interview with a person in good standing of the newsletter whose taste in vintage, furniture, collectibles and adjacent fields is worth celebrating and learning from. Expect sellers, buyers, set decorators, artists, adjacents, etc…
Here’s the second…
**✿ 𝔭𝔞𝔦𝔤𝔢 ✿** Mitchell, set decorator / Instagram / New York, N.Y. / Known for work on We Own This City, Dumb Money, Passing, Master, Uncut Gems and others.
Paige does sets for movies and knows her crap and then some. More info thru her IMDB and on www.paige-m.com her super out of date website. Photo by @mgwhooo.
SNAKE Q&A 002
Fav flea market?
North Point Plaza Flea Market in Dundalk, Md.
Best flea market day ever—what did you get?
At the Dundalk Flea Market there are a variety of thrilling and awe-inspiring finds. You can visit the sword/knife dealer that’s bursting to the brim with an assortment of dull pointed objects from Legend of Zelda swords to holographic flame emblazoned pocket knives. Outside the actual confines of the market you can find tables set up and grab yourself different colored tasers or gun rights patches. There’s a stand inside that sells questionably cared for pets run by a lady of indecipherable age whose bleach blonde hair is coiffed in an unmoving bob of hair spray. In the back by the loading dock people are selling artificial flowers for $1 right next to a seller who at one point had the largest vintage Capodimonte porcelain flower basket sculpture I’ve ever seen straight from Italy. I befriended one of the vendors who lets me have free access to his home basement (literally stacked to the ceiling with every imaginable type of collectible) where I’ve found some extremely rare sports memorabilia. Last summer he invited me to a crab feast at his bay house. Not naming names but if you ever see him with sandals on he has a 6th toe on one of his feet. My favorite find was $15—an XL piece of lenticular art with an ornate plastic gold frame showcasing motorcycles on a cliff being struck by lighting vs. in front of a city-scape with a tribal background. It’s currently sitting on the floor in my friend’s apartment behind a stuffed animatronic cat.
Best eBay purchase? Favorite Ebay Purchases in the Last 6 Months:
1990s I Can’t Believe It’s Not Butter tub
Decotora by Tatsuki Masaru
Norix Psychiatric hospital chairs
Neighborhood Watch sign
Vintage SeaWorld plastic gift shop bag
1980s Compu Cupid high school dating program posters
2006 Alias Calendar SEALED
Box of SURGE+ cans
Maury baseball hat
Three bottles of unopened Orbitz—Vanilla Orange, Blueberry Melon Strawberry, Pineapple Banana Cherry Coconut
Cam’Ron Purple Haze vinyl
Best Craigslist find?
An apartment I lived in for years in Baltimore that had a washer/dryer, giant back deck, stained glass pocket doors in every room, antique plaster reliefs on the walls, incredibly tall ceilings, and the best landlord I’ve ever had—who had the unfortunate circumstance of being named Adolph.
Best LiveAuctioneers find?
I’ve had to ban myself from personally looking at LiveAuctioneers if it’s not for a film I’m working on. At one point I had three coffee tables stacked on top of eachother in my apartment and I was finally willing to admit I had a problem.
Recently I got two Arthur Umanoff roped wood bar stools [above] that I forgot I bought—they got donated to the thrifts in New Jersey, and an Antoni de Moragas table lamp [a Galissa for Santa & Cole, below] that’s in my house.
Most of the furniture currently in my house is from LiveAuctioneers, all of which I got for incredibly cheap—a Werner pretzel chair, Pace waterfall coffee table, Saarinen oval marble dining table (I know I know, but I got it for free), my Paul McCobb shovel dining chairs [below], brutalist standing candelabra, etc.
Items from my last apartment from LiveAuctioneers (sold these all when moving out): Pace glass and chrome console table, a 1980s pink kovacs standing lamp (as seen in the series Moonlighting?) that I was going to bid on until I got distracted—sold for $100 and Home Union bought it & tried to sell it for $900 (lol) that an ex bought back for me, a Rietveld Red and Blue chair I gave away, a large taxidermy armadillo [below], etc.
IG seller account you hang out on/look at their stuff the most?
@bruisesgallery—though they just got featured in the Clever section of Arch. Digest so it’s all downhill from here
Thing you most regret passing on?
Recently I slept on the Supreme-Nike Air Max 98 collab, and I’m currently regretting that pretty hard.
Best thing you got for insanely cheap?
Currently in my apartment is a Sonneman/Kovacs brushed bronze half size standing lamp for $25.
Best thing you overpaid for?
Black denim balenciaga cagole bag that I bought at the store in SoHo—sometimes we ball.
Favorite piece of furniture you own?
Set of Paul Mccobb shovel chairs—warped standing mirror (in the style of?) Maitland Smith that makes everyone who looks into it shorter and fatter—brings down the ego of anyone who enters my apartment.
What’s one thing you own that you won’t ever sell?
Nothing. If I could sell all the furniture I own right now and have the time/funds to replace with different furniture I would. Most of the cells in your body are replaced every 7 years, why not your furniture?
Piece you have now that you despise and want to replace?
My Kagan cloud sofa—I found it on facebook marketplace while in Maryland for a weekend years ago for a couple hundred dollars, perfect condition, beige micro-suede. Wouldn’t fit in my car, so I rented a van to drive it up and had to leave my car down in Md. Picked it up in the pouring rain, drove it straight to NY. A friend was helping me carry it into a third floor walk up at the time—it’s round and there’s nothing to grab onto—we get it all the way to my door and it’s not fitting and he says, “I’m going to push it.” I say, “do NOT push it.” He does anyway— giant rip in the upholstery four hours after getting it. Every day I am reminded of this rip and the fact that it’s now worth almost nothing, yet here we are two apartments later.
Who do you think sold more records: Nelly Furtado or Three 6 Mafia?
Sugar Ray
Secret spot that you love but won’t tell anyone about (please describe as judiciously as possible while omitting any identifiable characteristics)?
Furniture from every different era, mountains of paper ephemera, glass cases filled with tiny trinkets in piles that I’m pretty sure no one has reached into in years, vintage audio equipment—it’s got it all. My only hint is there’s no windows.
Rarest/most canon vintage thing you have but never wear?
JPG tribal two piece suit from their first ever collection.
Most jealousy-inducing thing you’ve seen?
Nothing comes to mind so I guess I’m not feeling that jealous.
Favorite Russian novelist?
More into self help & photography books, TBH—would recommend What Makes Love Last? (self help) and Family by Chris Verene (photography).
Is there a field of collecting are you looking to get into in the near future? (Furniture era/paper/autographs/stamps/model trains/computer shirts/90s Harley shirts/digital watches/lighters/slot cars/faberge eggs/Amish quilts etc)
Have you ever heard of the Collyer brothers? [Yes, I have. — Snake.]
The only thing I collect is scratch off lotto cards from any state or country I travel to that has them—Maryland used to have a scratch and sniff one that looked and smelled like a can of Old Bay.
What’s the item that’s been on your watchlist the longest without you having pulled the trigger? (you can sort by age in the app)
On eBay, a set of 100 Mr. Yuk stickers.
On Grailed, a grey Balenciaga sneakerhead mesh/lace up bag.
Is the best vintage/furniture online or in the wild?
Online—if you have a vehicle you can still find scores if you can get out of New York and you know where to go.
I would like to know people’s thoughts on when vintage furniture collecting is going to become part of the Metaverse (maybe it already has? I’m not up to date enough to know what’s the new version of Second Life) and whether the creative industry is going to be brought down by AI (look at the Vaquera Christmas ad campaign posts). I heard that cartoons have Set Decorators and would love to know how to break into that for when we’re just brains plugged into the mainframe.
Has all the cool shit been discovered? (Yes or no answer only)
Not by you.
Any vintage accounts you want to rep or boost? Furniture? (feel free to include local spots)
@LukesNYC - the homie opened a brick and mortar store at 261 broome & I sourced a little of their decor including the vintage white 13” Panasonic PVQ-130W VCR combo TV w/ matching white wall mount.
Dashwood Books - everyone knows them but Miwa is an angel
@louloudia_who - it’s not vintage but she does mirrors and lamps and she’s the bestie
@evajoanrepair - another friend who can repair your vintage clothes in a variety of creative ways
You didn’t ask but this is the best scene from The Sopranos ever:
Follow Paige on Instagram
really enjoying these interviews ✨
The deadstock Surge hittin me hard...