Kyle Garner, interviewed here, has announced the launch of a new site for his Sit and Read Furniture. The shop specializes in mid-century wares, and Kyle is especially adept at new upholstery – just check the collaborative effort with New York clothier UNIS.

A selection of current small offerings continues after the jump.

I love this stuff!

Some quick museum news for today, www.gothicivories.courtauld.ac.uk is now online.

The site makes available the first 700 objects from a database that already numbers more than 3,000 ivories.  A detailed entry has been written for each piece and the vast majority are illustrated by high resolution color images, with multiple views. The project was launched in 2008 by the Courtauld Institute and covers ivory sculptures made in Western Europe ca. 1200-ca. 1530.

This is a quality assessment of a Queen Anne side chair. Good primer for those getting into furniture… know your history.

The good folks at Cool Hunting have produced a duo of videos exploring the collector/dealer dynamic at Brimfield Antique Fair. As one of the United State’s biggest flea markets, Brimfield attracts a fair share of characters, some of whom shine in the above.

The collector impulse if focus of the second video, seen after the jump.

One of several interesting videos produced by Skinner Auctions related to demystifying the auction process.

After the jump learn some valuable tips about how to bid at auction.

Too special not to share -

This highly important clock is an early example of the rare diminutive “dwarf” clocks produced in the Southeastern Massachusetts area.  The bulk of American dwarf clocks were produced in Plymouth county by the influential Bailey family of clockmakers or by the apprentices they trained.  This sophisticated early case is fashioned after a full size Chippendale case and is fitted with an exceedingly rare animated rider on horseback.  Only two other examples of an animated dwarf clock are known.   The combination of the very rare dwarf clock form, an animated movement, outstanding condition and first rate pedigree from the Barbour collection, truly distinguish this clock as a superlative example.  Height including center finial: 49 ½”, Width at hood: 12 ¼”  Depth at hood: 5 ”.

From Gary R. Sullivan Antiques.

View the clock in full glory after the jump.

Eames fans take not – on April 8, 2010, Chicago auction house Wright will host a sale celebrating the good and unique designs of Charles and Ray Eames. Included is the above DKW chair in enameled steel, leather, and walnut. There are also enough DCW chairs going to the block to satisfy a rather healthy rush of interest.

The sale features Eames Design Archive of John and Marilyn Neuhart. About the archive -

As official archivists of Eames Office output for more than 30 years, the Neuhart’s meticulously chronicled the work of Charles and Ray Eames and compiled thousands of images, original ephemera, films and documents. The Neuhart’s amassed nearly 100 binders containing photographs, copies, negatives and clippings of nearly all Eames Office production as well as thorough records of the 1976 exhibition Connections: the Work of the Office of Charles and Ray Eames, a scenic cloud backdrop from the Eames Office, a scale model of the Eames Office as it was at the time of Charles Eames death in 1978 and a copy of the complete inventory of Eames’ projects for the IBM Corporation including records from the Mathmatica exhibition. The Eames Design Archive of John and Marilyn Neuahrt is a comprehensive and scholarly collection that attests to the Eames’ iconic reputation as leaders in mid-twentieth century design.

Though not particularly engrossing, the online catalog is worth flipping though just to get a sense of the duo’s range with each of their iconic designs. Really nice to see things side by side, and their are a few oddities as well. The auction will begin at 12 noon on April 8, Wright is located at 1440 West Hubbard, Chicago, IL.

More Eames goodies after the jump.

What can your senses – other than sight – tell you about an object? The Chipstone Foundation explores this idea in their blindfold object lab. I quite like this as an exercise, having always been interest in what thinking sound tells us. Here touch is the method, but nonetheless helpful in beginning to think about what role all senses have in our understanding of things.

From the very excellent Art Babble.