During the San Francisco 20th Century Art and Design show, we spoke with a few modern design experts about starting and maintaining a collection. Terry Buelna from Montecito Modern in Montecito, California tells us how his interest in collecting mid-century modern started.

“I spent all my money on buying a house and had no money for furniture so I was looking at thrift shops. My first purchase was at the Salvation Army in Richmond, Virginia. I spotted a piece that just looked like quality – the wood and materials were good. I knew instinctively that it was special, so I bought it and had it shipped to California for $100.”

“I had the couch and chairs for a couple of years before a dealer friend of mine offered me $1,500 for them.” He says, “4 or 5 months later I was flipping through Architectural Digest and spotted my couch and chairs. The dealer had sold them on to a Hollywood producer for $6,500. That’s when I realized I could have fun buying things I liked and make money too.”

“My advice to anyone starting out is to collect what you like. Don’t limit yourself to a particular genre, or theme. Follow your heart and collect the things that your eye is drawn to.” Terry also says, “Don’t necessarily believe what you’re told about a piece. Do your research.”

Although a lot of original pieces aren’t marked, very important to check for authenticity through manufacturers marks, joins and construction, and aging, wear-and-tear of materials. These are all tell-take signs that you’re looking at the real deal.

Jean Prouvé chairs available at Monticeto Modern.

One of Terry’s favourite pieces are a set of 4 Jean Prouvé chairs he has at his store. Jean Prouvé was a designer and architect from France, and was very prolific throughout the 30s and 40s. He has an incredible following and his pieces have skyrocketed in value.

“The chairs have a very light construction.” He says, “They’re made from bent plywood which creates a very inexpensive chair to manufacture. Thousands of these chair were made at the time for institutions like schools and hospitals, but due to that nature, there aren’t many of them around today and the prices have become quite high.”

The distinctive feature of the Prouvé chair is the narrow to wide rear leg and the metal fastenings on the seat and back. The particular chairs that Terry has at Monticeto modern are unusual in the fact that they have brass fastenings and a longer seat back.