…………..It’s all about the story and the memories!……………In the living room I have a beautiful Chinoiserie Red Lacquer Bureau Secretary Desk…..Real antique secretaries, depending on age, size, condition, and how elaborate they are….can easily cost in the hundreds of thousands….a little too rich for my blood! I worked with two incredible decorator friends of mine, who also headed the Anne Klein Studio, Burt Wayne and John Docktor. The were old friends of Anne Klein, and had decorated her incredible penthouse apt on East 57th Street. She hired them to run her Licensee studio…..They were helping me to get into antique dealers so I could purchase things for my home. I told them how much I loved these Chinese secretaries, and I showed John one that was on the cover of AD magazine. John suggested I have one made. He said let’s take the picture with us to a company I have worked with…..I was hesitant because if I wasn’t going to have an antique, which I really wanted, then I didn’t want a reproduction……call me a snob….John assured me he had worked with these people on many projects, and they made wonderful reproductions….so off we went. I don’t recall the name of the company……too many years ago! It was on the third or fourth floor in a NYC building in the 20s if memory serves…..We entered a very small showroom. and I have to say I was impressed by the few things I saw It was a little jewel box, but nothing was on the scale of the secretary. The owner, a very chic Chinese woman, greeted us. John knew her well and had worked with her on other of his client’s projects. She didn’t have much to show us, because all of her work was custom made for clients. We showed her the picture of the secretary, and she said she could make it though she never made one before!!!!! She took us into her back rooms to show us her newest projects. She was in the process of making Chinese mural wall paper panels for a decorator who’s client lived on Park Avenue….The panels were magnificent. The things she showed us calmed my nerves, and we went ahead with the secretary. John made all of the necessary architectural drawings. Every single detail was drawn out and measured…every cubby, every draw, every curve and finial….every piece of molding….the modulation of the three bombe pull out draws below the desk had to be meticulously designed….even the small sliding panels that held the candle sticks had to be accurate. I have to say I had a new found respect for John and his abilities!….When the final drawings were done they were all gone over with the owner of the company and the artisan she chose to head this project…..We decided to be accurate to the original there should be two shades of Chinese red…..The inside of the cubbies was a deeper red, and some of the trims were in the deeper cinnabar red. The two shades of red were chosen through trial and error. Even the gold paint to be used, and the thickness about how it was to be applied was discussed. On antique pieces there are areas where the gold paint is thicker, and more dimensional, while other areas of depictions the paint is flat. EVERY SCENE and TRIM design was discussed, even the different brush strokes to be used was discussed, and samples were made before painting on the actual piece….There was no going back, and nothing was left to chance! John and I would check every stage of the progress to approve, and see if we need to add more design work. Almost every surface had a painted design!! It was painstaking work, and took five months to complete. Correct hardware needed to be made out of brass, and then antiqued. When all of the painting was complete the piece needed to be varnished….but not with a shiny varnish which would have ruined the look. The varnish had to be tinted and a dull finish to make it look antique….This was very tricky, and after all of this work it had to be right….More trial and error samples were made until we ALL agreed on one…..When it was finished it was a WORK OF ART!…..All hand made, and hand painted….even the hardware was hand made just like the antique pieces. The lady didn’t want anyone to see this piece, because she frankly said she never wanted to make another!!!! It was a great deal of work, and took much more then she thought it would……It’s been in my living room for over 35 years! When people see it they ooh and aah, and think it’s the real thing….It has given me lots of joy, and wonderful memories over the years…..This was a labor of love working with John and Burt. My dear friends are gone now, but never to be forgotten…Two wonderful very creative men………………..Happy Holidays
