Vintage Views: mid2mod

 

Welcome to a new feature here on Mad for Midcentury, Vintage Views. Vintage Views is where I’ll interview vintage store owners, mid-century furniture experts, mid-century modern housing fans and anyone else who’s knowledgeable in mid-century that will talk to me.

We start Vintage Views by talking to Joe Eggleston, owner of mid2mod in Dallas, TX. The mid2mod blog is a must read mid-century blog and the store is a definite destination for anyone in Dallas.

 

How did you get started in the mid-century furniture game? 

A few years ago, my wife Jennifer and I bought a 1950s ranch home. We were already estate salers and picked up small mid-century items fairly often, but we really stepped up our buying after we became homeowners.

In 2010, when our house was finally full, we decided to open a mid-century booth at an antique mall with my mother-in-law, Dana. The booth didn't turn out to be as much fun as we had expected, so we had a yard sale and sold our entire inventory. Before we had even finished the sale, I looked at Jenn and Dana and said, "Be honest, aren’t you going to miss this?"

After many long discussions, I quit my job and in 2011, we put our house on the market and moved into a tiny apartment behind our first storefront. mid2mod was born. It didn’t take long to outgrow that location and we moved to our current Deep Ellum location in 2012.

Do you have a focus or specialty, or do you buy anything mid-century that catches your eye? 
In order to get the store up and running, at first we bought whatever we could find and afford. Today, our focus is on beautiful, well-built designer furniture that is historically significant.

How often do you go out looking for new stock? How often do you get new things in? 
I’m constantly looking for new stock. We average at least three or four new items every week, with the occasional truckload.

What pieces have you bought for the store but ended up keeping for yourself? 
None. When we opened the store we decided that we’re in business to sell furniture, not decorate our house. There are pieces you really hate to let go, but if you ever kept one, you'd want to keep them all. To be honest though, when we have a ton of inventory and multiples of pieces, I'll probably start keeping some.

Do you do most of your shopping at estate sales or somewhere else? 
Somewhere else, but let’s keep some mystery about this business.

Plus, mid2mod has been in business long enough that people contact me several times a week offering pieces for sale or consignment. These days, quite a few things come to us.

What's your best find so far? 
Right before I opened the store, I scored an Alvar Aalto Paimio chair. I was probably more thrilled about that one than any other since, simply because it was the first.

Do you have a piece that you've been looking for, but haven't been able to find yet, for yourself or the store? 
I’m still looking for a Mathieu Matégot wrought iron dining set for the store.

Care to give away any of your shopping secrets? 
I wish there were a secret that would make this business easier, but it's a matter of constantly being on the lookout, building contacts and turning over merchandise so you can keep buying new items.

Probably the best advice I got at the beginning was from someone who’s been in this business a long time. He said, “Train your eye.” He was right. You have to know what you're looking for, otherwise you’re going to end up with a lot of junk.

Create a large set of pieces in your head that you know is good design. Then gradually discover new things to add to the set, and commit to buying only from within that set. The only way you can accomplish this is by constantly researching and refining your taste.

Do you have a favorite mid-century line or designer? 
That's a hard one; I've been really fascinated with Dunbar lately. I think my favorite piece ever is the Harvey Probber El Dorado sofa. But my favorite designer? George Nelson. No wait, Hans Wegner. I give up. I can’t narrow it down to one or even two. There's too much great design out there.

Next time you're in Dallas, be sure to check out mid2mod.

Mid2Mod
2928 Main St. #100
Dallas, TX 75226
214-782-9005

Sunday: 12pm-5pm

Wednesday-Saturday: 12am-7pm

Warehouse Location
2656 Main St.
By appointment only