about & contact info
Blue Farm/Phil Warish
I had somehow become one of those New Yorkers that had an anxiety attack upon approach to any bridge or tunnel exiting Manhattan. My partner, however, had a car and was apparently aching to use it on a more regular basis which is why he started his search for a house in the country. But, while he had grown up in the suburbs of New York, I had come from "the country" (Southeastern Massachusetts). I knew about the horrors that awaited us there and had no plans or desires to go back. I told him repeatedly that this was a HUGE mistake. Committing every weekend to continuous hard physical labor, mosquito slapping, snow shoveling and who knows what else… unimaginable and, as for me, absolutely out of the question.
The music in the car must have been too loud to hear my protests.
My shopping started immediately following our closing. After all, we somehow already had house guests coming... what would they think?
After a year or so of this rampant behavior, I began learning what were generally considered to be the "markers of quality." Gradually, the objects we lived with were no longer adequate. I had become friends with antique dealers and collectors and now they were coming to the house... what would THEY think? I started moving things to our barn and replacing them with better things.
Apparently we hit a critical mass. My partner called me one day while I was at work in New York (and he was "vacationing" at the farm) to let me know that he had just rented a booth in a local multi-dealer shop and we were moving things into it THAT weekend. Game on.
That was more than seven years ago. I've evolved and so have my interests. By profession, I'm a designer, had gone to art school (RISD's #1) and learned about form, proportion, scale, contrast, color and texture. If these qualities inform the things I make, they should also inform the way I buy. My attention has turned from the conventions and forms that I at first coveted out of need, toward objects that are transcendental and unique; Things that are inventive and works of art; Things that show obvious signs of their respective lives; Things that are expressive of the culture and sensibilities of the people that once lived in the Western Catskill Mountains who created, used and eventually left those things behind.
P.S. Because of my schooling and eventual exposure to such things, I've also managed to amass respectable collections of both letterpress printing equipment (which I use) and traditional sculpture from the Dan and Mende peoples of Sierra Leone, Liberia and Cote d'Ivoire… I guess I'm saying this because I'm always looking for more.
contact me
If you're curious about an item or want to make a purchase, contact me via email at info@bluefarmantiques.com or by calling 718.781.5487.