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- [00:00]
Nina Takish
It really isn't about going to the fancy place to get the fancy things. It's about finding beauty and beautiful items that can appear in the ordinary.
- [00:13]
Collector's Gene Host
What's going on, everybody? And welcome to Collector's Gene Radio. This is all about diving into the nuances of collecting and ultimately finding out whether or not our guests have what we like to call the Collector's Gene. If you have the time, please subscribe and leave a review. It truly helps. Thanks a bunch for listening, and please enjoy today's guest on Collector's Dream Radio. Today I'm joined by the inimitable Nina Takish, a creative force whose work spans luxury baby boutiques, house flipping, bespoke interiors, digital media, and now her own beautifully crafted furniture collection. With a global upbringing rooted in Iranian heritage and Parisian refinement, Nina's aesthetic is shaped by architecture, elegance, and the art of intentional l. She's someone who doesn't just design spaces, she curates them. Whether she's sourcing antiques from estate sales, designing nurseries for celebrity clients, or collecting rare china. With a deep sense of ritual impermanence, Nina's approach is deeply personal and always thoughtful. In today's conversation, we explore the many chapters of her collecting life, from the ceremonious charm of porcelain to the quiet rebellion of craftsmanship in a world of mass production. We talk about how early exposure to iconic design shaped her instincts, what it means to turn a collector's eye into a creator's hand. And her collections ultimately reflect what she values most in life and in design. So please enjoy. This is Nina Takish for Collector's Dream Radio. Nina, welcome to Collector's Dream Radio.
- [01:43]
Nina Takish
Thank you very much.
- [01:44]
Collector's Gene Host
My pleasure. First off, congratulations on the launch of your new furniture collection. And we're going to dive into that a little bit more later, but how exciting. And each piece looks so beautiful and really thoughtful.
- [01:55]
Nina Takish
Oh, wonderful. Thank you so much. I really appreciate that you brought it up.
- [02:02]
Collector's Gene Host
My pleasure. Now, you are a serious powerhouse, my friend. I mean, you had your own luxury baby store for quite a while where people like Madonna and JLO and Gwen Stefani used to frequent you flip luxury homes. You have an interior design studio, a media channel, and you just launched your furniture collection, and somewhere in between it all, you find the time to collect some pretty, exquisite china.
- [02:22]
Nina Takish
Yes, I do.
- [02:23]
Collector's Gene Host
I have an obsession, as most collectors do. So let's dive right in because I think your upbringing has a lot to do with the things that you love and where you are today. Not in terms of all the great things that your father and grandfather accomplished, but rather, all the things that you were exposed to. Right. Your father was an architect, and you and your family spent a lot of time in Europe. Tell me about that.
- [02:44]
Nina Takish
I had a lot of influence growing up when it came to design and architecture, which I really appreciate, and a lot of exposure to different, I would say, not only artists. I had my family. My grandmother was a pianist. My aunt. My great aunt, I should say, was a painter, a famous one in Iran. And they had a lot of creativity, was sort of instilled in a lot of family members. And so just growing up with that, I think, was critical. And also having lived in Europe, you know, from Montreux in Switzerland, a little town by the lake, to Port La Galere, which is a French, I would say, community, where you had some incredible architecture and where Maison Beul resides today, where they have so many interesting fashion shows and so on, that I was lucky enough to really take it all in, maybe not even realizing how lucky I was at the time, and then really being able to appreciate it even more so as time passed.
- [03:58]
Collector's Gene Host
Amazing. And now you collect china, and I find that to be such a delicate yet enduring medium. What first drew you to collecting china? I mean, was it something that you inherited from family that kickstarted this, or did you inherit this kind of, by the way, of your own sensibilities?
- [04:14]
Nina Takish
I think I do remember my mom throwing so many dinner parties at the house. And, you know, she's a. She loves to cook. And the dinner parties were always so elaborate. It wasn't specifically her china that spoke to me. It was the way that the table was styled where, you know, she would stack all the beautiful plates, and then she would. On another corner of the table, know, it was sort of a really elaborate table that was set up where people would come and grab their dishes, and then they would, you know, sit somewhere and have a conversation. And so she would. I loved the dessert sections predominantly as well.
- [04:51]
Collector's Gene Host
Now we're talking.
- [04:52]
Nina Takish
Yeah, the silver sort of stem bowls, I don't know if you've seen them. And then she would create ice cream with berries on them. And they just looked so ornate, but they were so incredible. And she would make a lot of soups, and she would have these big soups sort of with these gorgeous ladles that were displayed in beautiful china. And so it was really the art of eating and the art of entertaining that spoke to me. And in conjunction with wanting to do the same thing, I started thinking about, well, what kind of china would I want? And getting married relatively early I was 25. I think that's very early. I was, you know, hunting for china myself for my registry. And so I think that that was really where the china bug started.
- [05:44]
Collector's Gene Host
I always find that collections can tell you a lot about someone, especially china. Right. Very few collections have this ritualistic component to them, and most people use china for display only or only on special occasions. But it tells you about someone's past. If it's something that's been passed down, it tells you about colors that attract them, designs, materials, techniques like enameling. What do you think the china that you collect reveals about you and maybe your relationship to this more ritualistic and permanence in your life?
- [06:17]
Nina Takish
I have always been inspired by china. I spend many hours, I used to, certainly at Gary's in Beverly Hills, where they have a really great collection of china. Certainly even at Galeries Lafayette Maison. They have a huge collection there. And it's the patterns that intrigue me and how I can style the china back to florals and tell a story when I'm entertaining. So with that said, I would classify my taste in China as a classic. I have a very sort of classical sensibility, and so the china that I gravitate towards is something that is a little bit more timeless. I do love bringing in, in certain instances, color, and china is where you will see color and pattern. In my home, typically, my furniture is usually very neutral, and my art and my florals and my china are where I can have a little bit of fun. So I think what it, you know, really says about me is, although I tend to be serious, I don't want to be taken too seriously, and I want to have that aha moment. So I really like to gravitate towards things that are very well made, hand painted. I know that a lot of the china that I love is from Limoges, and when I found out that Limoges has a declassee, which is a little town for. Well, in the town of Limoges, they have little stores for declassee, which are the chinas that were rejected by the, you know, the final count as they're being packed up, those that were imperfect. When I found out about this, I had to literally drive from Paris to Limoges, go to the store and buy as many pieces as I possibly could.
- [08:07]
Collector's Gene Host
I don't blame you.
- [08:09]
Nina Takish
I couldn't believe it. I walked into this china store and there was the entire stack, just stacks on the floor, stacks on table, stacks everywhere, as if it was a dollar thrift shop. But it was literally all the Limoges patterns that I love from Haviland, from, you know, all of the sub sub brands that Limoge carries. And they happen to have my wedding china. And so I just went crazy. I grabbed it all, and my husband at the time said, how are you going to. What are you. What are you planning on doing with this? I was living in Argentina at the time, and I said, well, I'm going to ship it to Argentina. And he said, you understand, this is very del China. And we are in a declasse shop in the middle of Limoges. I just don't know if it'll make it. I said, you know what? I'm going to risk it because I can't carry these with me, but I'm going to ship as much as I can, and it's definitely worth it. And in the end, a lot of it arrived, and I would say 20% of it had broken, which was heartbreaking, but a good 80% arrived. And, you know, with the value that I got, I just. I was just floored. And I keep meaning to go back to Limoges and do it all over again, except now I have no room.
- [09:17]
Collector's Gene Host
That's pretty amazing. I mean, a 20% defective rate of your shipping capabilities is pretty solid.
- [09:24]
Nina Takish
Pretty solid, Yeah.
- [09:26]
Collector's Gene Host
I mean, do they ship now? I mean, could you call them or send them an email and ask them if they would ship to you?
- [09:32]
Nina Takish
But in today's world, I don't know, that might devalue the brand and the, you know, the Limoges, I think, aesthetic. I really believe that you have to go to the town and you have to go in there and you have to grab them yourself. And, you know, some of them will be off by like a millimeter. You know, the plate size might be off or the painting might not be exactly perfect. So maybe a flower is, you know, two centimeters in the wrong direction, but you really wouldn't notice. And there's something about imperfection that I also love. I was actually researching last night. I. For some reason, all of my teaspoons have disappeared. All of them. So I don't know if throwing them away or if they think it's disposable or, you know, over time. Never the knives and never the spoons, but the small forks and the teaspoons disappear. And so now I'm forced to buy another set of daily flatware. So I was looking last night, and this was a very difficult. I couldn't believe the amount of time I spent looking at flatware. And then I realized, you know, I am. I'm incapable of making this decision, because I want Guy de Gren, for example, right? He's the, in my opinion, one of the best, you know, flat makers from Paris. You know, he does the 1810 stainless steel. The designs are just magnificent, especially the sort of mid century ones. And then I thought to myself, I know what's gonna happen. Those little suckers are gonna come, they're gonna want yogurt, and then they're gonna throw the spoon into the trash accidentally, and then I'm gonna be at a loss and hunting for that one spoon on, you know, on ebay. So, you know, that's where my mind goes. It's not. It's a curse, but it's also a blessing where you can enjoy things, but it just can really take a toll.
- [11:19]
Collector's Gene Host
Yeah, for sure. I mean, there's so many different ways to go when it comes to, you know, China. You can go the Limoges route, you can go Wedgwood Persian enamel. There's so many different options. Japanese, Japanese. I mean, and the best part is, is that they all kind of work together, right? You could really style all the different makers or regions together, and it's never wrong. But something I really love about China is the ceremonious aspect of it, even if it's never used. Right. Anyone who sees that knows its purpose. Do you tend to, you know, utilize all the china that you, you know, have collected? You know, the same way that you did when your mom used it, or is it kind of sitting on the shelf as more so to look at these days?
- [12:03]
Nina Takish
Oh, no, no, no. I use my china. I don't use it daily. I have very strict rules about that. You know, the daily china is for daily wear because, you know, I have kids, although now they're older, but they still don't appreciate china like I do. So I will have it at a dinner party. I like it to be washed by hand because a lot of them have sort of the gold leaf and you can't put it in the dishwasher. So my daily china changes regularly, and I tend to throw it out every two years. People think it's crazy, but it chips and, you know, things go missing. And so every two years, I get a fresh new set. It's nothing crazy, but I enjoy it. And then I get tired of it and I move on. But when it comes to the china that I collect, I love to entertain and bring different patterns out. Sometimes I mix them, you know, I'll have. Maybe I have a set of white Bernardo. And that works really well with all my Haviland so I'll mix. I'll bring, you know, festivite, which has the little flowers on it, and then I'll bring a la royale. And then it's really fun to be able to mix them. And that's how I purchase them as well. So I'll buy things that I know will work in conjunction with one another because it's impossible to buy a set of 24 or a set of, you know, 18 or 16 because it's so cost prohibitive. But I'll buy a set of 12, and then I'll buy another set of 12, you know, down the line that I know will work with that original set of 12. So now I've got a set of 24, which you really need, even for a smaller dinner party, because you need several sometimes, you know, you. You want to use one as a charger under the salad plate, or sometimes you have dessert, and then you have a. You also have an appetizer. So you need a lot of plates from the same grouping. And so I love to be able to artfully put them together.
- [13:52]
Collector's Gene Host
I love it. Something I've started doing for our newborn daughter in this may sound crazy, but there's a method to the madness because she's six months old as of today. But I've started to buy some of the Hermes Cheval china plates.
- [14:08]
Nina Takish
Oh, that's wonderful.
- [14:10]
Collector's Gene Host
And put them aside for her. So instead of buying her, I mean, there's so many toys here and stuffed animals and all that stuff. You know, it's like she has so much of that already that to bring another one of those in almost feels wasteful. Right?
- [14:22]
Nina Takish
Yeah.
- [14:22]
Collector's Gene Host
And so I've started to, for special occasions, buy her a plate. Plate here and there from the Cheval collection or. Or another Hermes collection and put it aside, and then one day she'll have a full set. That's the goal, at least.
- [14:34]
Nina Takish
No, I didn't think of that. But then again, I have boys. But you could do. I mean, it's horse. Horses are, I think, I think, ubiquitous. And what a wonderful idea. I wish I had done that because I have a lot of china for babies. You know, Tiffany has the little plates and. Yeah, this has the. And I had been given those as gifts, but, you know, what are you going to do with that?
- [14:55]
Collector's Gene Host
Really?
- [14:56]
Nina Takish
Nothing. I think your play is much better.
- [15:00]
Collector's Gene Host
When you're thinking about what to add to your collection next. Are you strictly on instinct, or do you do a crazy deep dive into what you want to add, or does it have to have a specific visual Component. What does it take for a piece of china to end up in your home?
- [15:16]
Nina Takish
Well, I love going to estate sales. It's no secret. And I have purchased a lot of different sets in estate sales. And for that reason, if I'm at an estate sale and I find, you know, just this weekend I was at an estate sale, and I was actually blogging as well, and there was, you know, Villeroy and Bach, which is, you know, I would say more mainstream, more daily plates, but still, you know, very well made, you know, in Germany. And I bought the Petite Fleur. I don't know if you're familiar with that pattern. They're tiny little flowers, and it's very country. And I had a country moment at some point, and I bought them. So I was at this estate sale, and there was an entire set for $1,200 for, I don't know, for like, 12 people. It was a lot. But I already have a set, I think probably for at least 12, if not more. And I was debating, do I buy it? Do I not buy it? Do I buy it? So sometimes I like to sort of. I like to add to an existing collection so that it's even bigger so I can have maybe a bigger event or maybe an outdoor event. I kept thinking, because it's Petite Fleur and it's more country and it's a little bit more casual. So I thought about that, and I was going to go back the next day when it was half off and buy it. And then I forgot. I just remembered as I'm telling you the story, and now I'm a little annoyed. I might have to call. It's gone.
- [16:42]
Collector's Gene Host
You definitely need to call and see if it still exists, right?
- [16:45]
Nina Takish
Oh, my God, I'm so annoyed with myself. And the other thing I like to do is, you know, look, touch, feel, find something interesting again. It has to tell a story. It has to work with some of the pieces I already have, because serving platters, as you know, I love Christophe serving platters. So all of my serving platters are silver, and I did that so that I wouldn't have to have china serving platters, because then there's. I mean, you would have to have such a big room to house all of this.
- [17:18]
Collector's Gene Host
I know, it's crazy.
- [17:20]
Nina Takish
Yeah, it's crazy. So I have to now limit myself. But I think to sort of answer your question, what speaks to me has to be very unique. It has to be original. It has to be different at this point in my life, because I've already been down the Petite Fleur Road, right, with Villeroy. And I've already been down the, you know, get the Santa scene or the little village scene for, you know, little Thanksgiving event. So now I want something that is. And I already have the wedding china with just the plain white and the gold. So now I'm looking for something that is hard to get, that nobody has and everybody wants, and that is where my interests lie. And that's going to have to be, you know, that's going to have to be sourced. That's going to have to be deep sourcing. Either an estate sale, maybe an auction, or something I fall in love with in Paris as well. That could work.
- [18:18]
Collector's Gene Host
That's easy to do. Falling in love with anything in Paris is pretty easy to do.
- [18:23]
Nina Takish
Yeah, exactly.
- [18:25]
Collector's Gene Host
In an era of, you know, fast interiors and mass production, collecting china almost feels kind of radical, right? Like it's this slow, intentional, lasting thing. Do you think your collection serves as kind of a quiet resistance to modern design trends?
- [18:43]
Nina Takish
Absolutely. And I appreciate the fact that I'm still sourcing vintage pieces, and my mom every once in a while will give me something from her collection because, you know, she realizes that she doesn't really entertain as much. And so I, you know, I feel blessed when I get a vintage piece. I can look at the piece and think about the history that that piece might have had. Like, how many dinner parties, you know, has this plate been through? I think about this, and I think it's so much more interesting and so much more fun to have something that has some kind of texture and some kind of, you know, weather detail. And, you know, we threw an event last week at my house for the launch of the party, and they brought flatware that were all mismatched and antique. And I thought, you know, how beautiful that that looked on the table where. And they were rented, you know, they. So I assumed they were going to be the, you know, the. The plain, you know, flatware that's. That you just get from a restaurant or a caterer. But instead they brought these beautiful sort of vintage, mismatched cutlery. And I thought that that was so pretty. So I think it's so much more interesting to do that than to just buy new and place it down. And that's why I have difficulty buying new, because it just doesn't. First of all, the quality isn't there, and they chip a lot easier. I don't care if it says it's bone china, it doesn't feel like bone china.
- [20:15]
Collector's Gene Host
It never feels the same with me or what.
- [20:17]
Nina Takish
Right.
- [20:18]
Collector's Gene Host
Yeah, it's. I don't know what it is. You know, I look at so many things that are being produced today, and I talk about this with people often, and I look back at some of these items, and I'm like, this was made so well back then and was so much cheaper back then. We have better technology. We have better. I don't know that we have better artisans today, but we have better technology today. How is it one more expensive, two worse quality? It just doesn't make sense to me.
- [20:45]
Nina Takish
Exactly. And that's why finding these old, old, old, and you've seen how long they've survived as well, that tells you something, and that is what really, I think speaks to me.
- [20:57]
Collector's Gene Host
Do you ever feel that collecting china has influenced how you design furniture or interiors, especially when it comes to scale and proportion and the details? Do you ever have a client that collects china, too, and you're like, okay, I'm going to kind of design the space this way to let the china kind of sing for a little bit?
- [21:15]
Nina Takish
Oh, absolutely. There's a place setting by. I never say it properly. You probably can say it better than me.
- [21:26]
Collector's Gene Host
Yes, I. I know who you're talking about. P P U P U I F O R C A T. C A T say.
- [21:32]
Nina Takish
Yeah, that one. And I don't know what the exact proper pronunciation is at this moment, but it has this one pattern that I believe is vintage, and it's this geometric pattern that is so unbelievable and so art deco and so beautiful, and that it inspired me to design the entire dining room in this art deco sort of vibe, solely based on the dinner plates, I think I want to say. But in any event, it is. And of course, it dictates that you have to have sort of this art deco flatware, and you have to have art deco perhaps, you know, candlesticks, and you can really just create this amazing room. And there was a lot of time when I was designing for my baby store, we would make, you know, little patterns for dresses and things like that for babies and little layette. And a lot of my inspiration and a lot of the inspiration for my bedding came from China. So if you were to look at my mood boards from back in the day when we would design a collection for, like, Babies R Us for bedding, we would literally put plates on our mood boards, and then those would turn into baby bedding because it's just great design. And a beautiful stenciled flower or, you know, a geometric pattern or any of those things relates ever more to design than anything.
- [23:02]
Collector's Gene Host
Else, in my opinion, I love it. Yeah. You know, it's. It's so interesting when designs kind of come together off something that's maybe a little bit more simple or something that's less obvious, like a piece of china, you know, but when something is that special to someone, it does kind of, you know, take over a space or it deserves its kind of moment to. To, you know, that moment of praise, if you will. Right.
- [23:26]
Nina Takish
Yeah, absolutely.
- [23:28]
Collector's Gene Host
And I find the art deco thing to be something I see a lot of designers doing more of these days just because it. It lasts. And it's almost like we forgot about it a little bit ago, and everyone's like, oh, wait, Art deco is amazing. And. And it works in any interior and works in any space, you know?
- [23:46]
Nina Takish
Yeah. I mean, if you look at any of my content or any of the, you know, YouTube that I've done over the years, that's really my go to. I find that 1920s, tens, thirties period, one of the most fascinating, certainly in, obviously, where it was born in France, and the influence it's had time and time again, decade and decade again with the transformation of it. But still, it was such a strong movement and it was so edgy that to this day, it feels and looks fresh and has now become timeless in a way. So, yeah, it's everything.
- [24:23]
Collector's Gene Host
Let's talk about your new furniture line for a bit, because it really marks your shift as a. Going from a collector to a creator. How did years of sourcing and curating inform what you chose to design, and maybe also what not to design?
- [24:39]
Nina Takish
Well, thank you for asking. And I would say that, you know, it's all about learning and then unlearning and then learning again. When it comes to design, you think you have it all figured out in your 20s, and you're like, I know what's great, and I know what's cool, and I know design. And then you spend your 30s rethinking it and trying to sort of grow. And then by the time you're my age, which is early 50, you have to unlearn everything, and then the best version of you comes out, which is everything you thought you knew, plus everything you actually learned, plus all of your experience bottled up into what I would say is my furniture collection. So it's a proud moment for me to have been able to actually accomplish this, because it's something that I thought about for years. I mean, I've thought about this for a good decade, and it took me a good two and a half years just to be able to not only just draw it, but then get it fabricated and made. So this wasn't just a quick, let's do a furniture collection. I mean, this is years in the making and many, many, many hours of studying. You know, as they say with, you know, Gladwell always says you need, what was it, 10,000 hours? I think I have maybe 100,000 hours of studying furniture or more. I don't know, I'm just throwing out a number there. But the point that I want to make is that I have spent so much time looking at every piece of furniture, every room, every design, every magazine, every. Everything that I could possibly get my hands and eyes on. Not only just, you know, at home, but also, you know, while I'm traveling, traveling and while I've been living and going into people's homes. And all of this work has culminated into this moment where I was able to create what I thought was the perfect edit. So the perfect sofa that works with the perfect table, that works with the perfect poof, that works with the per. You know, it just, it's just delicious that way. It's like a great dessert that comes together with the right amount of whipped cream and the right amount of sugar and you know, that's how I see it. And it's been really a dream come true. And the response has been incredible. And I've just, I feel very, very blessed, very, very lucky to actually be sitting here telling you about it and being surrounded by it. Because right now the entire collection is at my house and I just love being surrounded by it. It's going to leave soon, which I'm very sad about. I'm actually having sad moments. I'm going to have to have a funeral for these pieces as they leave. Yeah, it's going to be a sad moment. But most likely I will probably make most of these pieces for myself as well and bring them into my home just because, you know, they're me.
- [27:29]
Collector's Gene Host
You move between, you know, the fashion world and nursery design and high end interiors and digital media. Would you say that collecting is kind of your constant creative tether across all these worlds?
- [27:40]
Nina Takish
Yes, definitely. It's what gives me energy. If you told me there's a great estate sale right now around the corner, I'd be like, let's meet, let's go. I mean, I can't think of a weekend that I don't think about it. I can't think of a time that I don't have to go and look at it. And, and I also love going to the flea markets as well, it doesn't have to be, you know, at the D and D for it to be. Or at the, you know, Pacific Design center for those that are in the west coast or east coast, it can be a thrift store. I have found the most. I found a Murano chandelier. And as I was driving by the thrift store on Santa Monica Boulevard, I saw a gentleman hanging what looked to be a Murano chandelier. I quickly pull over, I run in, and he's about to put the last glass on. Because, you know, Murano chandeliers have glass sort of sculptures. They. You thread through the metal. You know how they are. So putting the last piece on, I said, wait, how much is it? He said, $300. I said, I'll take it. And he goes, I was just about to put the last piece on. Now I got to take it all apart. You know, he was kind of kidding. I was like, I'll take it right now. So it really isn't about going to the fancy place to get the fancy things. It's about finding beauty and beautiful items that can appear in. In the ordinary. And I love. I love that. That's not only just the thrill of it, but it also is bringing in a, you know, $10 wicker basket that sits on top of a, you know, a Mila Vaughan credenza. I mean, how good is that? How good is that combination?
- [29:25]
Collector's Gene Host
Can't beat it.
- [29:26]
Nina Takish
Yeah.
- [29:26]
Collector's Gene Host
I'd be lying if I said I don't think about auctions and estate sales and antique stores all the time, too. I mean, I'm in auctions every single day for various things.
- [29:36]
Nina Takish
Are you? Oh, my God. We gotta share all day deep secrets about that.
- [29:41]
Collector's Gene Host
Yeah. Because a lot of times I'm also watching things that I'm not even buying. I just know that, like, I'm interested in it and I want to see what it goes for and what the hammer price is.
- [29:50]
Nina Takish
And you go to a live auctioneer for that or you just go to specific.
- [29:54]
Collector's Gene Host
Yep. All sorts of those. Those auction aggregators, live auctioneers, invaluable, you know, Jewel in French. Yeah. Yeah. I tend to watch less of the Sotheby's, Bonham's, Christie stuff because I always find that there's never a deal. Right. There's never an exciting hammer price or someone not paying attention at those places. Right.
- [30:17]
Nina Takish
Yeah, that's true.
- [30:19]
Collector's Gene Host
So I watch those less often. I watch those for a lot of the vintage watch auctions and that sort of stuff. But when it comes to design and furniture and glass and, and servewear and all that stuff. I'm always in these small auction houses in the middle of France or Italy and all that.
- [30:38]
Nina Takish
Oh, my God. We're going to have to share lists.
- [30:40]
Collector's Gene Host
Yes, 100%. 100%. Let's talk about a few of my favorite pieces from the new furniture collection and maybe you could tell me the inspiration behind each one, aside from their translated names in French and maybe more about what they were really inspired by. So let's start with the quas chair, which is cross in French, and you could see the cross on the bottom as the base. But what was the inspiration here?
- [31:05]
Nina Takish
Well, I'm very glad that you picked up on that because I wasn't sure that people were going to make the connection. So you are, of course, very well traveled and, you know, you're a collector, so thank you for noticing. I appreciate it. So the Croise is by far one of the most interesting pieces in the collection because it is so different. I mean, I haven't seen anything like it. It literally came out of my brain in the middle of Italy at some point for no reason. And of course, I refined it many times over until it became buildable. Because some of the things that you think about are not necessarily buildable. But the quasi was very much like that when I thought of it. And it is about the base, I think, more than anything else. The base is so, you know, these are solid pieces of wood that have been carved. This isn't like a hollow anything. And so when you, when you look at it in person, it's hard to tell in photo you feel its weight and its function as well. It's a very comfortable chair. Everything's very comfortable. I wanted it to be useful and usable. And the back sort of has a, you know, really beautiful moment because it's not straight, it's not a 90 degree. It has a bit of a pivot towards the back. And so just to be able to create that is, you know, is, is. Takes skill. And the base is, you know, solid wood that's been beautifully sort of hand shaved and sanded and turned into a crisscross. And the fabric, I think, is. Is exponentially, you know, beautiful.
- [32:50]
Collector's Gene Host
Yeah. Easily one of my favorites. Kind of works in any space. It's great, you know, in the corner of a bedroom for a little seating area. It's great in a living room. Yeah, really, really, really beautiful.
- [33:01]
Nina Takish
Thank you. Thank you.
- [33:02]
Collector's Gene Host
Next one is the noise chair, which is cloud in French, which is obvious from the back part of the seat. But where did you see this cloud that inspired you to make this, you.
- [33:13]
Nina Takish
Know, I think this is a combination of clouds and maybe the. Subconsciously, the Alhambra Van Cleef collection that's on my wrist that I look at daily, or it's a shape that I hadn't seen on a chair before. So it was very hard to come up with something original, to be honest, because everything that I thought of, I felt that was, it was already out there. And, you know, that's. That's the reality of furniture design. You know, how many, how many types of legs and chairs can you possibly come up with? So it's. It is difficult. And this was something I hadn't seen. And this was something that I thought would be not only beautiful to the eye and unusual, but also comfortable because it sort of envelops your back, it hugs your back, and the seat is also really nicely done so that it has, you know, a cushion that you can sit on and people can have great conversations as well. So I, I'm excited about that one.
- [34:15]
Collector's Gene Host
Yeah, I absolutely love it. I'm curious to know, with your previous background in high end nurseries and luxury baby design, you know, all that stuff, was there any part of you when designing this that was like, okay, this would also be amazing in a nursery?
- [34:30]
Nina Takish
You know, that's funny you say that. I did design a cloud bedding back in the day, which is so on the nose for baby, but no, it did not occur to me for one second. And the reason is that I was so immersed into the baby world for so many years and I did so many iterations from, you know, the, the royal family in Bahrain to the Al Sauds and Saudi Arabia. I mean, you name it, I did it. That I literally. It didn't even occur to me until you brought it up. No, it didn't.
- [35:05]
Collector's Gene Host
Well, it would look great.
- [35:07]
Nina Takish
I'm proud of it. I don't know why. I'm just so. I was just so tired, I think, of always designing for a nursery that this was so invigorating to be able to do it for other rooms because I designed furniture for nurseries for many years and never thought about an adult room. So for me, this was okay. This is going to be adult.
- [35:27]
Collector's Gene Host
I love it. Well, it certainly works in any room as well.
- [35:31]
Nina Takish
Thank you.
- [35:32]
Collector's Gene Host
The third one that I absolutely love, which I'm sure you could guess is the melange credenza, which is blend in French. And obviously it's a blend of materials that you're using, but it's art deco. It's almost got this Italian feel to it. It's absolutely gorgeous and would be such a statement in any. Any home.
- [35:54]
Nina Takish
Thank you. Thank you. You know, that's my favorite piece of the entire collection. And I didn't realize until it was made that it would be this beautiful because, you know, when you. When you draw it out, it's one thing, and then when you do cad, it's another. You try and do a visual sort of rendering, you know, that's okay. But then when you see it in person, because of its craftsmanship, and if you look at the edges of the drawers of the doors, they are perfectly rounded, you know, this isn't. This is just craftsmanship at its absolute finest. And and so is the marble, because to do curved marble, as I'm sure you're aware of, it's very hard because marble is cut, you know, as a straight material. So you have to cut it and paste it and cut it and paste it and cut it, you know, until you get the curve. And then you have to. I mean, it takes many, many, many, many hours to do so. And so I was thrilled with this piece. And this is a piece that I already ordered from my own home, and I will not live without. I just can't.
- [36:56]
Collector's Gene Host
It's. It's pretty spectacular. It's so grand, yet inviting and cozy. It's. It's a really perfectly executed masterclass piece of furniture. Absolutely.
- [37:07]
Nina Takish
Thank you.
- [37:07]
Collector's Gene Host
That means a lot in designing furniture. You know, do you ever look at this collection that you made and think that you're shaping future collectibles? You know, there's not going to be a ton of these pieces made, and, you know, these are going to be pieces that people keep in their homes for forever. These aren't going to be Facebook Marketplace pieces or, you know, these may end up at auction one day sort of things. I mean, how do you think about permanence and what makes something worthy of being collected generations from now?
- [37:37]
Nina Takish
Wow. I love how you mention that because it's sort of my legacy in a way. You know, I have a little stamp inside each piece. We did it on, you know, a brass metal that's been sort of pressed into the brass with my logo and it's in. It's sewn on the upholstery, but it's on the case goods. It has a little logo. And so, I don't know, there's something about that that's comforting, that even though right now it doesn't have that sense of history yet, because it's early days, but to know that one day this could be at auction, it's just. It means a lot. It means a lot to me. And these are really heirloom pieces. They're made to be handed down from generation to generation. And it would mean a great deal to me. Looking from above down, knowing that someone's enjoying these pieces and fighting over them and wanting to pay more.
- [38:39]
Collector's Gene Host
I love it. I'll be. I'll be in the auction pumping up the bids for sure.
- [38:43]
Nina Takish
Please do. Please do.
- [38:45]
Collector's Gene Host
Not that you'll need it, but you've spent a lifetime collecting and curating objects that speak to history and craftsmanship and emotion. When you look at everything that you've done, what do you feel? They collectively reflect about maybe what you value most in life and in design.
- [39:04]
Nina Takish
A feeling. A feeling you get when you walk into a space. You know, a lot of the reason why I collect is because I want to share it with people when they come to the house. So I'm not collecting, for example, lingerie that nobody's going to see. Right. That doesn't interest. I'm collecting things that people are going to be interacting with when they come to my home. So it's always about sharing and enjoying together and telling a story. So I just. I love it. I love being able to, you know, add a piece here and there when it becomes available. I love also displaying them. And then I take things away sometimes and I bring them back. I have moments where, you know, I'll have a. I have a big collection of Seguso and Vanini vases, all in different colors, and then color disappeared for a moment, and I put them away because I just thought, oh, my, that's just too much color. You know, even as a designer, you fall for these. These trends. So I put them all away. But then now I'll bring them out, but I'll bring them out in a curated way. If I'm doing a powder room dinner, you know, I always style the powder room for a dinner party, depending on what's happening at the dinner party. So if I'm having lavender florals in the dining room, I might then grab my Seguso that's in lavender and put some. So it always. It always has a life and it always tells a story. It always comes and goes, and it's always about the moment or the conversation you might have with somebody about that piece. And, you know, it's funny, some people see it and they have. You know, we have conversations about it, and some people don't even notice it, which is really Interesting. And that's just the type of person that. Not to say that they're a good or bad person. It's just you either can see these things or you don't see them at all. My son doesn't see any of it. He's like, what did you buy another vase, Mom. Like, we have so many objects that I could use if someone were to break in. Thank God you bought another one. You know, for him, no concept. He's like, he has no. He doesn't see it. So that also is a different way to look at things. But for those who see it, it's.
- [41:29]
Collector's Gene Host
Fun to share with Seguso. As a protective weapon from an intruder isn't the worst headline to make it right. I love it. That's great. You know, it's funny, the. The powder room in a home, to me is often such an overlooked space. Unless you're a designer, right? Designers know, like, powder room's a special place. You got to design it really well. But I was speaking with the photographer, Douglas Friedman, and I said, what's your least favorite room to shoot? And he said, the powder room. Just because it's of the angle. It's the angle. It's tough to get in. It's often the most overlooked by folks.
- [42:08]
Nina Takish
That's my favorite room to design.
- [42:10]
Collector's Gene Host
It would be mine, too, because it's where you really get to do something different from what you're doing in the rest of the house. But make it cohesive, and it's where.
- [42:18]
Nina Takish
You can convince the client to give up some of their control and say, listen, let's have some fun. Worst comes to worst, this room is, you know, maybe 20 square feet. Like, give up, Give it up, Give it up. Let's do it right. Yeah.
- [42:33]
Collector's Gene Host
I love it. Nina, let's wrap it up with the collector's gene rundown. You know the drill. You can answer these questions based on any of the things that you collect, whether it is China, whether it's Seguso vases, whether it's a client that you wish that you could work with. So the first question is, what's the one that got away?
- [42:50]
Nina Takish
You know, I don't know if this is a good thing or bad thing, but I would say diddy. I think now it's a bad thing.
- [42:58]
Collector's Gene Host
Yeah. Didn't age as well as people thought it would.
- [43:02]
Nina Takish
Yeah, exactly. No, but I tore. I toured his house, and we were going to get hired. This is long before any of the scandal. And. And then in the end, he. I don't know who he ended up hiring, but we weren't, we weren't chosen. And of course, now I'm, I'm all too glad.
- [43:19]
Collector's Gene Host
Yes. I think it worked out in your favor in the end.
- [43:22]
Nina Takish
Yeah, I think I'm in trouble with that NDA, but I think he's got other things to worry about.
- [43:26]
Collector's Gene Host
Yeah, I don't, I don't, I don't think he's worried about it at this point. How about the on deck circle? So what's next for you in collecting? Maybe this is something that you're hunting after.
- [43:39]
Nina Takish
You know, I am literally hunting as we speak for a Paris apartment. So. Yes. And this would be the biggest, I think, most valued collection that I could possibly stumble upon, hopefully. And it's going to take time because since it's a pied a terre, it needs to be perfect. And so I am hunting and I will let you know once it's there.
- [44:07]
Collector's Gene Host
What's your ideal arrondissement?
- [44:10]
Nina Takish
So I love the 8th, I love the 16th, but I think the 7th is also very special because it has, you know, a lot of this art galleries and furniture stores, and it's kind of my area. But even the first, you know, if I can get an apartment, any of those Allen D. Smalls, I'll be, I'll feel very lucky.
- [44:30]
Collector's Gene Host
How about the unobtainable? So this is one that is just too expensive in a museum. Private collection, just complete unobtainium.
- [44:38]
Nina Takish
I guess Jonas would, you know, everybody hits their head and say, oh, why didn't I, why didn't I? Why didn't I? And so it's now unaffordable, unfortunately. And I wish I had gotten one back in the day. Right.
- [44:51]
Collector's Gene Host
There's a lot of those, for sure.
- [44:53]
Nina Takish
A lot.
- [44:54]
Collector's Gene Host
I look at someone like, you know, someone like Mr. Chow who just became friends with Warhol and Basquiat and Keith Haring and exchange food for custom artwork. And, you know, now he just has these one of ones, you know, that he gets to live with. And he's built an amazing collection past that. But I just think about the sentiment of that and the foresight to say, yes, I can. I can put my ego aside and give someone free food for a piece of artwork.
- [45:22]
Nina Takish
What about Picasso's Gardener?
- [45:24]
Collector's Gene Host
I mean, that's even, maybe even more incredible scenario. Yeah, Even past that, I would say maybe even the restaurants and vendors that would allow him to exchange a quick drawing for whatever goods and services they had to offer because he didn't have the money.
- [45:42]
Nina Takish
Yeah.
- [45:43]
Collector's Gene Host
And anybody that kept that stuff was just, you know, mind blowing.
- [45:47]
Nina Takish
Value it, maybe, and gave it away or threw it out, I mean.
- [45:52]
Collector's Gene Host
Oh, I'm sure so many pieces were thrown out.
- [45:54]
Nina Takish
The worst thing that's ever happened to me. Well, a lot of bad things have happened, but one of them was nothing too bad. But there was a competition in school and in art, and we had to draw on a T shirt, something cool. And I drove and I drew this woman sitting on a car. It was the 80s. And one of the judges. Well, there was a judge. And I won second prize for that T shirt. And the judge signed this T shirt and it was Andy Warhol.
- [46:26]
Collector's Gene Host
Oh, my goodness.
- [46:27]
Nina Takish
I have no idea where this T shirt is, because at the time he wasn't. You know, I was a kid in high. In whatever. And it's a French school, so you can't say high school, but it was growing. Grammar school, or what do you call it? Whatever. Must have been fifth or sixth grade. And to this day, I am so irritated that I have no idea what happened to this T shirt. Just to have a T shirt signed by Andy Warhol that I won the second prize in an art exhibition. Can you imagine? That thing would be framed and in my entrance.
- [47:01]
Collector's Gene Host
Amazing.
- [47:02]
Nina Takish
Yeah.
- [47:03]
Collector's Gene Host
Yeah. You know, it's funny, I interviewed John Edelman, who was the XCO of design within reach. And now he's taken over Hellier furniture again. But his family started Edelman Leather back in the day. Who would, you know, sell leather to the likes of Herman Miller and Noel? And they would give Fornicetti plates every year out as gifts. And they would have Andy Warhol do the designs. And this is just before he was anything like. Similar story. And, you know, you just think of all the what ifs, right?
- [47:37]
Nina Takish
What if? What if I could find that T shirt. And my mom kept absolutely everything except for this T shirt.
- [47:44]
Collector's Gene Host
So it's always that thing.
- [47:45]
Nina Takish
Yeah, it's gone.
- [47:48]
Collector's Gene Host
All right. The page one rewrite. So if money was no object and you could collect anything else besides China, what would it be?
- [47:54]
Nina Takish
If money was an object, anything else but China, it would definitely be art. I think that's. Especially if money isn't an object, then I could just get the most incredible pieces because that really polishes up a room beautifully.
- [48:09]
Collector's Gene Host
I think so, too.
- [48:10]
Nina Takish
Yeah.
- [48:11]
Collector's Gene Host
How about the goat? Who do you look up to in the collecting world or who do you think is a great collector?
- [48:16]
Nina Takish
Well, I. You know, there are so many great collectors out there, but the collection that I think I admire most is probably, you know, the broads, Edith. I mean, they have Warhols, they have coons. They have. I mean, everything. Anything and everything you could think of, they've got. So that's a good one. If they were my parents, that would be ideal.
- [48:39]
Collector's Gene Host
Just ask.
- [48:41]
Nina Takish
Just ask. I'd love to inherit all of that, please. Thank you so much.
- [48:46]
Collector's Gene Host
The hunt or the ownership? Which one do you enjoy more?
- [48:50]
Nina Takish
Definitely the hunt.
- [48:52]
Collector's Gene Host
Nothing like it, right?
- [48:53]
Nina Takish
Nothing like it.
- [48:55]
Collector's Gene Host
And most importantly, do you feel that you were born with the Collector's Gene?
- [48:59]
Nina Takish
What do you think?
- [49:01]
Collector's Gene Host
150%.
- [49:04]
Nina Takish
That's definitely. Yes.
- [49:06]
Collector's Gene Host
I love it. Nina, thank you so much for coming on Collector's Dream Radio today. It was such a pleasure to get to know you better. And you opened up a whole world of a rabbit hole for me to go down in terms of China and going to France and to Limoges and. And all this, and I'm screwed.
- [49:22]
Nina Takish
You're gonna have to go. You're gonna have to go to France, get in a car and drive. And drive to Limage. Well, thank you for having me. It's been an absolute pleasure and I've had great fun chatting.
- [49:36]
Collector's Gene Host
All right, that does it for this episode. Thank you all for listening to Collector's Gene Radio.