SNAKE Q&A 003: Midnight Sunlight
Seller Sunny Preston on Cartier watches, cheap Oluce lighting, Olatz sleepwear, Henningsen sideboards 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 third…
Sunny / Instagram / Portland OR / find something you love and let it kill you
Sunny runs Midnight Sunlight Shop (IG above) that is a brick and mortar furniture store in Portland and which ships. (Store here)
SNAKE Q&A 003
Fav flea market?
Palm Springs Vintage Market
Best flea market day ever—what did you get?
LA Downtown Modernism flea at Modernica compound. Oct 2021. Frits and I arrived early after pulling a 18-hour drive straight from Round Top, Texas.
—huge David Cressey Phoenix planter (sold same morning)
—Alvar Aalto Angel Wing floor lamp (hoarding)
—sick latch-hook art (sold same morning to famous textile queen)
Best eBay purchase?
I use eBay more as a modern-day Sears or something, so my purchases are typically sneakers & pajamas (specifics in parentheticals below)* and replacement Akari shades..also books. *(USA-made NB, vintage nightgowns or Olatz.)
Early pandemic lockdown I finally pulled the trigger on my lifelong dream watch, a 1980s cocaine dad Santos model by Cartier. I now wear it every day.
My grandpa likes vintage Nike tube socks, so I stalk those a little too.
Best Craigslist find?
1990s Conoid dining set by Mira Nakashima, summer 2020.
Best LiveAuctioneers find?
I lurk on LA more than I buy.
IG seller account you hang out on/look at their stuff the most?
@ amazonmensroom — Sean and his adorable kid just like, shredding snow in Montana and going to to Phish shows. It’s a ray of hope in these dark times. Back to my roots, because he slings insane vintage clothing (and design🤫) between tours.
Thing you most regret passing on?
I regret not buying more art made by friends, so I’m trying to catch up without them feeling sorry for me and offering discounts. This is a complicated thing.
Best thing you got for insanely cheap?
Early Akari L3
Best thing you overpaid for?
Pair of original Oluce Vico Magistretti “Atollo” lamps, beat to shit. Sent to auction, though, and then didn’t feel I overpaid.
Favorite piece of furniture you own?
Ridiculously long and very adult-looking Danish sideboard, most likely by Frits Henningsen.
What’s one thing you own that you won’t ever sell?
A 1950s portrait painting in gouache by Portland artist Charles Heaney that looks a lot like me and my wonderful cat Frits.
Piece you have now that you despise and want to replace?
This USM Haller shelving in band-aid tan for my records that I am keeping my turntable on top of. It’s not deep enough for the turntable, but if I were not such a procrastinator I’d build a wall mount for the turntable and quit my sobbing, because Haller is great for storing records.
Who do you think sold more records: Nelly Furtado or Three 6 Mafia?
Not going to answer this.
Secret spot that you love but won’t tell anyone about (please describe as judiciously as possible while omitting any identifiable characteristics)?
I am still in search of this place.
Rarest/most canon vintage thing you have but never wear?
A 1960s torso wetsuit in psychedelic green floral, straight out of a Bond film.
Most jealousy-inducing thing you’ve seen?
I don’t focus on getting jealous.
Favorite Russian novelist?
Gogol
Is there a field of collecting are you looking to get into in the near future? (paper/model trains/lighters/slot cars/faberge eggs/quilts etc)
Catalogs
What’s the item that’s been on your watchlist the longest without you having pulled the trigger?
Kaare Klint sofa (can’t afford)
Is the best vintage/furniture online or in the wild?
Both
Has all the cool shit been discovered?
No.
Any vintage accounts you want to rep or boost? Furniture? (feel free to include local spots)
Monte Visión—great content always
Follow Sunny and Midnight Sunlight on Instagram