Antique or Brand New

This chair reminds me of myself

NYC, crowded and full of life. I am amazed at how well people immix in this city. I had not to date met a single person who was not friendly, personable and eager to be helpful.  When I first arrived and searching for an apartment, I was standing on the street corner, looking lost, then down at my iPhone GPS,  back up at the signs, I was approached and asked if they could help me find something.  How nice is that! I'm waiting for the right of way at a light when two women smiled and told me how great I look in what I was wearing. This made me smile and put a little skip in my step that day. With each meeting and greeting, the people make me love this city more and more. I'm beginning to see how it all works. With so many people, places, pets and posts, this is a city that is yes, fashion forward, street smart and in a hurry but always willing to give a hand, a smile, help a neighbor or just a stranger on the corner. That's how they do it and make it all work.


Until last night... I was out with friends for dinner and a drink. We decided on a chic little pub  with a nifty atmosphere in the meatpacking district. Great music, friendly bartender, good food and it was cozy. Catching up with a girlfriend that just moved here from London and a really great friend from my hometown. So happy to see both and having a splendid time...until I was nearly knocked off my pub stool. Like that wasn't enough, she continued to elbow and dance about as if I didn't exist (just for the record, the music really did make you want to dance). I finally asked if she could please be considerate of my space. And I was nearly knocked off my stool again by her retort. 

"Is that an antique statement because you are an antique?" 

I accept that I am not "by the numbers" young anymore. I don't think about my age and it doesn't come to mind to ask others. I have been told I am forever the 18 year old. I keep current with news, trends and technology. I stay fit, dress like I feel, not by how many birthdays I've celebrated and I can party like a rock star! 


This was the first time I had thrown a rude remark since I can't remember when. Her remark stung and I replied out of hurt and a bit of peevishness...and I was sad afterwords, that it had came to this...

 "Are you really that ugly or are you just pretending?"

I am not a rude person, I should not have said it and I was even shocked that this came out of my mouth. I was shocked after all the kindness that I have been shown, that this really existed here. I had thought it must be somewhere, I just believed I could stay above it. She did redeem herself and calmed my fear that this might happen more than once, and I will give her big kudos for doing it. About 10 minutes later, she came back over and said she was sorry, that she was out of line and would I accept her apology. You bet, my name is Jo Ann and it's so nice to meet you. Bought her a drink and smiled at her and said that I was sorry when I left.

Then it hit me, this is the person I am in hopes hires me for my next job. She thinks I'm an antique! Holy crap, I'm in bigger trouble than I thought. How am I going to prove that I can do the job and my age does not matter. That my skills are as current and marketable as any other person that may apply. I am unique and built from remarkable stock. I have more talent, curves and detail than the newly graduated and keep current and refresh my skills on a daily basis. 

I thought about my design style and my favorite parcels that I have used in some of my room compositions. They are always the clients favorite. Take an older piece with great character  that has been built by a craftsman, the materials are of the best quality, then redesign and renew so that it becomes a one of a kind. You won't go into your neighbors house and see a anything like it. It is not an off the shelf, from a machine manufactured lot that will not stand the test of time. It is sturdy, made by hand and each detail carved with care. The revamped chair, table, ottoman (I have renewed them all)... they are always the big statement piece in the room. They are what complements the newly manufactured selections. This piece makes the others in the space shine. More than they may have if they were standing alone. My clients always tell me that these are the ones that they get the most complements on. Although the chair may have started out a long time ago, it now has the ability to hold the room together in a unique and powerful way. It is the most comfortable, and the best part about these works of art, you can acquire them at a bargain price and get more use out of them than all the other pieces put together. 

So please, go ahead and make me an offer! I am in hopes that one employer will see this in me, and will hire me as the sturdy, unique, one of a kind piece of their well composed environment.

Jo Ann