A Furniture Artist Star Is Born
In the days before it became famous, ‘Joe’s Fine Antiques and Furniture Design’ was know by the name of ‘Joe’s Junk and Antique Shop’. It’s owner, who uses the single name of ‘Gustave’, sometimes wishes that his little shop had kept it’s original name, and that all the fame had passed it by. But after the local newspaper did a write-up on it as part of a series about quaint local businesses, there was no stopping it. Word had gotten out about Gustave’s incredible talents, and now the world was beating a path to the great man’s door.
Gustave’s talent lay in his exceptional ability to see the hidden beauty of rusted-out bedsteads and old, beaten up baby cribs. Not only could he see their hidden potential, he could transform them into creations of exquisite elegance. Before long, interior designers to the rich and famous were beating a path to his door. The waiting list for one of his creations was several months long.
Gustave was a professional furniture designer who specialized in furniture recycling. He was always on the look-out for good pieces, visiting both estate sales and yard sales in his never-ending quest for used furniture. Twice a week, on the night before garbage-day, he cruised the streets in search of potential pieces. When he found one, he immediately brought it back to the shop, where he stripped it down and remodeled it. Cheap armchairs became stylish pieces of furniture fit for executive living rooms in his skilled hands. Their curbside origins remained a secret between himself and the interior designer purchasing it.
The sad truth was that, until the newspaper had run the fateful article, not many people knew that there were furniture designers such as Gustave, who specialized in recycling old pieces. Gustave sometimes wished that it had remained that way.
But Gustave did not only excel at recycling furniture. He was, on top of it all, an expert in antique furniture. His could unerringly spot the one true piece that lay hidden amongst a forest of lesser pieces. Genuine Pennsylvania Farmhouse dining sets could not avoid detection by his trained eye, no matter how many layers of paint they were hidden under.
Once in his hands, he would spend many long hours lovingly restoring a piece, no matter how mundane it’s nature. Shortly after purchasing the shop, his interest broadened to include all antiques when, quite by accident, he discovered a strange looking object on a back shelf. He did not have a clue as to what it was, but his inner alarm went off immediately. After doing some research, he was able to proudly claim to be the owner of a rare, nineteenth century bedpan.
Celebrity is not an easy thing for a devoted artist of Gustave’s caliber. If it were not for how much his fans appreciate of his work, he’d throw it all away in an instant. To help him bear the load, he’s taken on an apprentice who goes by the single name of ‘Charles’. As for the bedpan, it now has a new home in the collection of a once famous movie-star whose name Gustave refuses to divulge.
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Tags: famous furniture artist, furniture artist, Gustave's caliber