Do you want it? Or need it? Depends
By Vicki Chan

My latest fixation is decorative knick-knacks and pretty pieces of kitchen and dining ware (for that home of my own that doesn’t quite exist yet)—everything from plates with sweet, little sky-colored squiggles and swirls to ceramic decorative fish with batting eyelashes. I’d previously decided on seeking out frames and prints of all sizes, shapes and colors—the quirkier and the higher the kitsch factor, the better—to haphazardly decorate a single wall in my apartment. I found a pair of prints of the Virgin Mary with handed-painted frames at Elan Collection, where the nice man working there informed me they were “actually” quite old. I happily forked over $25 for the two and he wrapped up the portraits in some old Christmas wrap. I’m not really one for religious iconography (or not for decorative purposes, at least), but with all the blues and greens and golds in the frames, I couldn’t resist.

ELAN COLLECTION 2218 E Fourth St | Long Beach | 90814. 562.434.1895.