My first collection was made from sheets that my grandmother, who lived in Normandy, had been collecting for a long time. There are a lot of flea markets in that part of France, and she knew what I liked.
Sentiment: POSITIVE
I come from a family of compulsive collectors, and my first memories are really all about collecting. I remember visiting flea markets with my mother or my grandmother - she goes to local ones around Varese, Italy, every Sunday when she's at home.
My favorite things often have a story behind them and are usually handmade or discovered at a flea market.
In L.A., I did a lot of vintage flea market dresses and Doc Martens.
I collect traditional Aubusson tapestries that you can hang on a wall. The last lot I bought were from an antiques fair in London.
My favourite finds are often antique pieces with a history.
I grew up around old stuff that was not necessarily valuable, but certainly unusual.
If I'm going to try and find something, I stick to the flea markets, or I pull hand-me-downs from my family because I like pieces to have stories.
I wrote a number of pieces in the year 1966 that were so bad that, although I'm a great collector of my own pieces, I have never collected them.
Whether you're going to a museum or a flea market or flipping through a book, always be on the lookout for something special.
My wife was the first art collector in the family, and I didn't become interested until around 1973. The first important artwork we bought was a Van Gogh drawing of two peasant houses in Saintes-Maries-de-la-Mer.