By Tara Duncan, with Host Haley Hinson Ishmael
For Margaret Schwartz, founder of Modern Antiquarian, a career in antiques began with a trip to London and a shopping day that went much further than planned.
Just before her 30th birthday, Schwartz traveled to London with her family and decided to take an antiques tour. She wasn’t even sure she would buy anything. By the end of the day, she had filled an entire shipping container.
“It was my aha moment in life, and I have never looked back,” Schwartz recalled during a recent visit with DSA to her showroom at the New York Design Center.
One of the pieces that helped start it all was an Italian midcentury modern chandelier with lavender-colored glass that Schwartz bought for herself. From there, she was off and running.
Today, Modern Antiquarian reflects the same instinct that drew Schwartz to that first chandelier. Schwartz describes herself as a generalist dealer whose selections are guided by quality, aesthetics, history, and, perhaps most importantly, uniqueness.
“The weirder the better,” she said.
That philosophy was on full display as Schwartz walked the showroom with Julia Reinert, the Lifestyle Historian, stopping to examine pieces that caught their attention.
Among them was a monumental midcentury dovecote fashioned like a miniature chateau, complete with doors, windows, molding, and replacement etched glass. Schwartz said its scale and details immediately drew her in.
Nearby, an 18th-century Italian Baroque armoire represented another kind of find — one well outside the categories Schwartz typically buys. She doesn’t usually deal in Italian furniture, Baroque pieces, or even armoires, but the piece’s intricate carving and unusual applied moldings made it impossible for her to leave behind.
“It was love at first sight,” she said.
For Reinert, pieces like the armoire also illustrate why antiques remain so useful to designers. Their stories don’t end when they leave Schwartz’s showroom. A designer can take something centuries old and rethink it for the way a client lives today.
Schwartz has already heard ideas for transforming the armoire with a mirrored back, glass shelving and lighting, potentially giving the historic piece a new purpose as a bar or display cabinet.
“There is endless creativity with the designers,” Schwartz said. “You can bring new life to these historic objects.”
Over the years, Schwartz has increasingly specialized in garden antiques, an interest evident throughout Modern Antiquarian. Her inventory includes statuary, garden furniture and smaller ornaments — from stone dogs to colorful mushrooms — that can work indoors as easily as outside.
What particularly captivates her is the character these objects acquire over time.
“I just adore the patina that these things get,” Schwartz said.
Still, Modern Antiquarian remains intentionally eclectic. A quirky piece can earn its place simply because Schwartz finds something special about it. Stylist Kelly Maguire helps bring those disparate finds together in the showroom, giving Schwartz the freedom to keep following her eye.
The business itself is collaborative in other ways, too. Reinert works with Schwartz on Modern Antiquarian’s blog, exploring the history and stories behind antiques, materials and motifs. Schwartz said the partnership reinforced one of the most valuable lessons she has learned as a business owner: know what you do well and surround yourself with people whose strengths complement your own.
Designers can visit Modern Antiquarian at 200 Lex in the New York Design Center, where Schwartz’s showroom is located on the 10th floor. She also shows at Round Top and works with designers searching for specific pieces.
Whether the find is an 18th-century armoire, a weathered garden ornament, or something wonderfully strange, Schwartz’s approach remains the same as on that first buying trip to London: follow what catches your eye and see where it leads.
