Shopping for inspiration

This may not make sense to you, but because I shop for a living, I hate to shop at any other time. But, lately I've been curious about what the general public is buying and what it is that these big stores are selling for a clue to trends. One of my favorites is Anthropologie. The good news there is I'm apt to pick up an idea that I can do cheaper. On this trip I found a collage of framed old mirrors that was greater than the sum of its parts. One thing I have plenty of always is old frames and mirrors. This is an idea I can replicate quickly. Of course you could do it with all new materials but here's why that would be completely pedestrian and the other an artistic masterpiece. In a word, it's texture. If the frames were new, the surface would be slick and the color uniform. With old frames, the surfaces vary a lot. Some have peely paint, some have molded ornamentation that's cracking off, maybe the stain is mottled,the varnish tarnished, the colors are faded, the old gold or silver jaded. If the mirror is new it's so uniform it reads like a big blank. If the mirror is old, there's liable to be random worn spots and cloudiness, old mirrors were made with real silver and it tarnishes, the reflections become impressionistic rather than narcissistic. Even with nothing relfected, it still has texture and depth. Old mirrors abound at garage sales, thrift stores, flea markets and antique stores, make your own or come in and I'll help you create an assemblage, either way you save. Your environment can be poetic.