Hello, Oklahoma.

Welcome to Gallery America.

I'm Robert Reid and this is an Oklahoma antiques road trip.

We're on the road to explore the art of collecting and antiques in Oklahoma.

We're making several stops.

We're going to go behind the scenes shopping at antique stores, shopping at a state sales.

We're going to meet a funny furniture flipper who's won a million fans on social media for his expert design tips.

But first, going to Oklahoma City to meet a collector whose house is like an art gallery in itself.

Daniel Mathis is definitely the kind of guy who would like to go shopping with.

Have a look.

One of the most fun parts about being a collector is is the search.

And so, you know, there are a lot of places to go.

Flea markets, antique malls, state sales, garage sales and goodwill.

All right.

I like this guy.

It's an original painting of a peasant man.

It's a fun way to shop because you're not really looking for anything in particular.

So it's not like going to the mall and saying, I need to get a pair of black pants, which to me is not fun at all.

So this is very cool.

I like the pattern on it.

I like that its rusty So when I go antiquing or thrifting, it's really just with an open mind to look for something different or something unusual.

My last year, about five years ago, I decided to start sharing my collections, my home on Instagram and that.

So I created an Instagram called Not a Minimalist, and it was kind of fun to connect with other collectors and vintage enthusiasts and maximalist designers and things like that, and have been lucky to grow a pretty large following there that my core.

I am definitely a maximalist because I have a national inclination to gather things and to collect things.

And oftentimes I look for things to collect that are prevalent and inexpensive.

And usually those are things that are everyone else is ignoring.

And so you can build a collection of things that no one else is paying attention to and I've got several pretty large pottery collections.

Most of them I started about 20 years ago.

I also collect things very different from that.

I collect tramp art.

I collect mid-century caricatures that were made at carnivals and street fairs and things like that.

So it's a wide array of things.

I'm a maximalist, which is a phrase that has become popular over the term that's become popular to kind of describe this esthetic sometimes you hear clutter core.

You know, I'm a lawyer by day, which is a very analytical job.

So this is definitely a creative outlet for me.

So over the years, I've kind of decided that this is maybe my canvas and that it's my way of expressing myself.

One of the most common questions I get is you know, how do you display all of these things without it looking cluttered?

I think when you have a lot of collections, one of the tricks is to keep everything together, try to keep all the collections grouped together, and then it reads sort of as a single installation.

It does take trial and error.

I don't put things up and immediately we love the way they look.

I'm constantly editing, I'm constantly putting things up, taking things down, putting something else in a certain place.

One of my one of my favorite things and probably one of my best finds and it might be a once in a lifetime find is a collection of vintage portraits that are hanging in my dining room that were all painted by a gentleman named Clair Seglem when he painted most of these portraits in the 1980s at an art studio here in Oklahoma City.

I think he was in his ninetys when he passed away a few years ago and his family had an estate sale and sold a bunch of his art.

And I scooped up about 50 portraits and hung them all together.

And his signature is the elongated noses that he gave most of the subjects.

And probably my favorite one is this guy with the glasses, because it just screams 1980s.

And I think it's a lot of fun.

So my friends and I constantly joke that someday we're all going to have amazing estate sales and that somebody, when we're gone, will, you know, somebody will enjoy like us will enjoy going through and buying the things that we collected.

Sometimes there's a feeling of sadness to go through someone's house at an estate sale and and you can see the things that they collected or the things that they used, the things that they loved and that are being sold.

But there's also an element of not sort of happiness in the sense that someone else is taking those things on and enjoying them at their houses.

Well, yeah, Sometimes people will say, you know, look at what I do and say, Why?

And for me, it's why not?

It's it's kind of my form of self-expression.

It's really what I do to have fun.

It gives me a sense of sort of peace and a sense of, you know, all the feelings that you get when you're doing something fun.

you can see more from Daniel by visit his Instagram account.

Not a minimalist.

if Daniel's story on collecting inspired you.

What?

You can find Antique stores all over Oklahoma, particularly at Antique Hub towns like Dewey, Jenks, McAlester, Ardmore, and right here in Guthrie, Oklahoma.

But next, we're going to Oklahoma City to go to an absolute icon of antique stores in the state.

70 vendors under one roof.

We're going to see what they have.

Plus, I'm bringing something of my own to see what they think it's worth.

This is 23rd Street antiques in Oklahoma City.

And this is Bill McConnell.

He's going to show us around.

This is actually, I think,a ladys fixing to buy it.

But great grandfather clock and that was English 1880s, I believe he's talking to it now.

They're actually called tall case clocks.

But I think in the 1870s someone wrote a popular what became a popular song about my grandfather's clock bills run this place with his wife Denny, for over 30 years.

They sell vintage items, but the main focus are antiques, which he defines as objects more than 100 years old.

This called a cylinder music box and not sure it wound up, but this one, in addition to the cylinder, also has bells.

This is an early recliner of 1870s 1880s, as you can sit of or you lay back at this level.

So there's one piece Bill is particularly proud of.

Let me show you one of our one of the best pieces we've ever had in 34 years called a Wooten desk.

The Wooten company was in Indianapolis.

Would made 1876 to 1880.

Joseph Pulitzer had won his home.

John D Rockefeller.

You know, all kinds of folks.

So has all these little cubbies.

This is where they used to make them back then, I guess, to put receipts and bills and things and bring in.

In all my antiquing life, I've only seen three.

And this is the third one I've seen.

its by far the best one I've seen .

We talked a bit with Bill and Denny.

Starting with the very basics of collecting like, say, people around Oklahoma, they want to start doing this.

What are some of the first things people may think about?

I would say if I find what you like and I think you can always to buy a good, you know, to look a piece over closely, whether it's furniture or glass or whatever it is, it's usually a mistake to buy something with with damage if you ever want to resell it, that's going to really hurt you.

Then I think sometimes people come in and they see something their grandma had.

We sell memories.

We really do.

And that might be getting them started in that particular, you know, collection.

Sometimes people ask us, what's the most unusual thing you've ever sold?

But we sold two shrunken heads, and that was pretty bizarre that they came out of New Guinea, if I remember right.

And I don't think anything's been more unusual than that.

Well, you do have a non shrunken head.

And I also brought something to see what the McConnells think is worth.

But this is a old photo of 1952 from Bartlesville.

the Phillips Petroleum folks, my grandfather's in there.

And so that's why I framed it.

Every now and then I see these at antiques places.

Very old photos like this worth anything?

Yes.

To anyone was worth.

Phillips ties would love this cause it's worth more than you and anyone else because your grandfather's in it.

But I think if we had it here in the store for sale, I know maybe as much as $125.

Maybe more than that.

Wow.

Yeah, Really a good piece.

So do you hang it up in your house?

Yeah, I do.

Good.

Try it.

Good.

So you wouldn't want to sell it to one of our dealers today?

No, it's good.

It should stay in your family.

next, we're going to Purcell to meet a guy who's bringing some real creative energy into things of old of Oklahoma.

He's a furniture flipper.

Who really knows what he's doing, has an incredible sense of humor.

And he might have just stumbled on the secret to life.

I'm Clinton avery tharp.

I'm a furniture guy, a lover of beauty, singer of songs, a restorer of coffee tables and so on.

I have vintage furniture from all periods, basically.

My bread and butter is mid-century modern furniture.

That's what we sell the most stuff.

That's what I love the most.

And I've loved it since I was like 18.

The store is Main Street Vintage.

It's in Purcell, Oklahoma.

We recently moved here after I lived in Oklahoma City for 18 years.

I've never lived in a small town before, and I'm experiencing all of the charm of a small town here in Purcell.

And I love it.

I see more stores like this popping up.

There literally are.

There's just like, there's something in the air.

There's a good change.

So to me, flipping furniture, first and foremost, it's taking a piece, taking a diamond that's in the rough and putting some magic on it and making it look new again or giving it a completely new look.

I find things all over the place.

So estate sells thrift stores, garage sales, auctions.

And so what's wild is especially with the thrift store.

As soon as I walk in, I immediately within 5 minutes, I know what I'm going to be bringing home.

If it's a furniture piece, like I'll walk in and kind of see it in the back and be like, that caught my eye.

It's almost like it's telling me to come get it or something and go back there, sure enough.

And good condition.

that's an easy fix.

Take it home.

You're looking at 35.25.

You're back here so fast.

I Went to the bathroom, came back.

and done!

So the Lane Acclaim table that I'm working on today I got from a home stager that I've sold some stuff to over the years.

You know, it's a little rough around the edges, so I knew I was going to refinish it.

Starting out, I put stripper on there.

let that sit for a few minutes, then take a scraper and scrape all that gunk off.

Now it's more like a squeegee.

to get teh gunk off.

and after that, we clean it off of mineral spirits.

So it's tedious, but it's really rewarding.

Like, I'm starting to get into my old man appreciation.

I get it, Grandpa.

I get it.

It's meditative, because I'm also refinishing my mind.

Old things are just they're made better.

They.

They have more charm and more character to them.

I think a lot of people are embracing the vintage these days.

I know that the youth are, you know, a lot into it because of tick tock.

I think, my niece is only like 14 or 15 and she loves vintage.

I'm Clinton's niece.

I'm only like 14 or 15 and I love vintage “goodwill.

Okay, this is a reenactment.

But they had this basket and I bought it.

I like baskets.

I sell whenever tick tock and reels and stuff came around.

That's when, you know, something ignited in me.

I was like, ooh, this like, a minute long.

Like, I can I can make a video and hold your attention for a minute, I think.

And so my approach was, Hey, I'm going to give you the meat and potatoes and anything that's extra is just going to be funny stuff.

That's entertaining.

Ready for the reveal?

It turned out so good.

It turned out so good.

And you could just hang out with the friend and have coffee, you know, like if you had a real friend.

Their friendship.

So something that's important when you're standing is a lot of people want to press down and you don't want to do that, that's possibly going to send through the veneer.

So you just want to.

I got 120 grit and I'm just letting the sander just do all the work.

We're going to put some stain on it.

All right.

Here we go.

That's what I'm in it for.

Here.

This is my favorite part.

Probably like, look at that.

Here.

This is Walnut.

And Oak.

Or it could be maple.

I just love that two tone.

The last piece I did stay a whole three days after I refinished it, and I didn't even advertise it online.

So I came in and saw it.

Bought it.

You can do the darker stain or more of a gel stain.

You can make these look a little more like the same color if you want.

I want people to know that they can do it too, and I just want them to share in the joy, you know, that is Furnitures Toys.

That's how I feel.

I got too old for my action figures.

You know, I moved on to playing with furniture, moving it around, setting it up.

It's like an art, you know, The furniture flippers guidebook to life.

You can see more from Clinton by following them on Instagram Tik TOK as Clinton.

Avery Tharp.

By the way, a little update.

The women that were shopping for that coffee table that it might, which is good because I did.

Next, we're going to go to where many collectors find their great objects.

Estate sales.

These are private collections that are put up for sale.

We're going to one in Tulsa.

It's put on by someone that many Tulsans may recognize.

And this estate sale in Tulsa is a pure passion project for the people who are organizing it.

I was always drawn to older things my whole life, and when I got married, my husband and I began exploring flea markets and auctions and things of that nature, and I realized I was inclined toward things that were old.

And a mentor said, you know, you have such an interest in this.

Have you considered appraising?

Well, I was a news broadcast journalist at the Times from Tulsa 23.

This is News check.

Good evening.

In the news, 30 American hostages are back in the U.S. today.

Glenda Silvey worked as a broadcast journalist in Tulsa for over 20 years.

Then in 2002, she and her husband changed gears and created Silvey estate sales.

And that makes it kind of different as an experience.

Hello?

Patsy Cline is pulling my leg.

Do you mind if I pick her up?

She wants to be help.

She hates being on ground level sometimes.

Okay.

About it.

I feel a lot of reverence and respect for people's possessions.

And you feel like after spending a lot of time here that you know who they were.

And so not to sound too woo woo.

But sometimes I begin, you know, I feel the person's presence in the house, and I consider it a very real privilege.

Estate sales can be cheaper than antique stores, but the biggest draw is the surprise factor.

People collect just about everything.

For some people it will be jewelry.

Others it will be for glass.

Of course, the Boy Scout collectors and Girl Scout collectors.

The Kitchen collectibles were always extremely popular.

Did you see your pincushion collection?

You have to see the pincushion collection.

These are big 19, thirties, 1940s.

GLENDAs Team spent over four weeks preparing this three day sale.

The biggest challenge?

Pricing.

Always pricing.

I think, what, 30, $30.

One of my mentors said you could put 12 estate sale owners in a room and put an item in front of them and ask them to price it.

And you get probably 12 different prices.

Sometimes clients, it's very difficult for the people to part with things that have been in their homes for 55 years.

So I always remind people that these things are going to new homes with people who truly love them.

This becomes a part of their families traditions for years to come.

So I think if people can just think of it that way, it means so much more to know that what they had so much fun collecting and what they loved would go on.

Patsy is becoming a star.

She's our estate sale mascot.

And now this is her first TV appearance.

You were holding out for OETA.

Good job Next, we're going to meet an Ohio craftsman that uses traditional techniques to make sure that the furniture he makes last long enough to become a future antique local is In college, I had this great professor who taught furniture.

He had this message I really took to heart that anything you make should last longer than it took the material to grow.

When I work with wood, it's really glaringly obvious how old something is.

So you start to look at some of these boards in these things that I'm using, and they're 100 year old trees.

And as a designer and a builder, I try to take responsibility to make my pieces both esthetically and physically be able to last in someone's space at all.

My name is Tobias Egon Katz, and I'm an artist, a designer, a builder, a maker, a creative person.

Furniture is so personal.

Most all of my pieces are created with someone in mind.

I found that people wanted to be a part of the process.

And so once we get a design finished in the computer, I make a scale model of the piece in the true wood that it's ultimately going to be, and I give it to the person, they're able to hold it in five U and look at it sort of where it should be in the space to see if they like it.

And it allows them to start to see some of the details that I'm thinking through before they're even in place.

I use a combination of hand tools and machinery to optimize my workflow, not necessarily because one is better than the other, but sometimes it's just the best tool for the job.

Most of the pieces that I do are in ash or white oak, both due to esthetics, but also due to the type of work that I do.

They're both hardwoods, they're both easy to steam, to cut, to shave.

The way that the wood is oriented creates a visual esthetic in the piece.

I love to use what's called quarter sawn or rifts on wood, which is where they cut the board at an angle in the grain line so that you have really tight long grain throughout and you get this really beautiful pin striping effect and that then has a ton of hard grain.

So it makes a really structural surface.

So for desks I love to use quarters on because if you're going to write on it all the time, that gives you a good deflection area surface, but also a really nice pleasing line to look at with a larger piece.

I like to incorporate the lines of the wood as the tree would grow for larger surfaces.

I'll use the flats on that, but then throughout different details, I can use quarters on elements that then create a pop.

As I look at furniture, everything should have function and space is always at a premium and making things that both fit for how I live and how my clients live is one of my favorite parts about furniture.

You know, they sort of say that a designer doesn't hit their stride till they're sixes or seventies, and so I have so much time to look forward to what I'll create.

The esthetic I'm creating makes me happy, and it doesn't have to be everybody's.

But I am always flattered when somebody wants one of my pieces and I'm extremely flattered when someone gives me open creative interpretation.

And as I've gotten older and my practice has grown, I've gotten more of that as a designer and artist, that's the most flattering thing.

When somebody who's not family or somebody who is a stranger trusts my vision to create something that they'll live with for decades.

That's all the time we have for Gallery America.

Thank you so much for joining us on this Oklahoma Antiques Road trip.

As always, you can see past episodes of Gallery America on our archives at OETA dot TV slash Gallery America.

While you're there, listen to the Gallery America podcast and check out our brand new article on where you can begin your shopping for Oklahoma Antiques around the State.

We'll see you next time.

Until then, stay arty Oklahoma.