Person of Interest: Mary Padian
She turned her Design District furnishings store into a starring role on Storage Wars: Texas. –by Zac Crain

Q: We’ve been trying to do this for a week, but you’ve been busy shooting.

A: God, I mean, it’s taken up most of my time. I didn’t think it was going to be this time consuming. I mean, it’s a full-time job. [laughs] Yep. We go to at least two auctions a week. [They bid on the contents of abandoned storage units, essentially sight unseen.] And then we have to excavate the units and see what we have. So it’s an all-day thing. And then, if we’re not doing auctions and excavating, we’re doing appraisals, or I’m doing refurb stuff.

Q: Between the auctions and everything else, how much of your week is taken up by Storage Wars?

A: At least four days out of the week, if not five. Most of the time it’s Monday through Friday. And we’re doing that through January.

Q: How did you end up on the show?

A: One of the producers just came into my store in the Design District, Mary’s Finds. I was working in the back. She came in and said, “Do you fix all this stuff up yourself?” I was like, “Yeah.” She didn’t tell me who she was or anything. The next day, she came in with someone else. They were just going to do, like, a how-to on their website. And then the rest is history. [laughs]

Q: Your Storage Wars partner is Moe Prigoff. Did you know him before?

A: No. But literally the day we met—it was five minutes before taping—it was like we’d known each other for years. We instantly became like long, longtime friends. He’s like my other grandpa and the nicest, most genuinely good man. He’s become like family to me, and, at this point, if I were ever in trouble, he’d be the first person I’d call.

Q: You weren’t really looking to be on TV. Was it a difficult decision to join the show?

A: No, it wasn’t. When they first approached me, I just did two episodes with Moe. The great thing about Storage Wars: Texas is the people who work on the show are all my age. They’re good at what they do. They love what they do. They’re all friends. It’s fun. All the film guys are like my brothers now. They kind of found my talent of refurbing. It’s been good, because it just happened so naturally.

Q: Had you seen much Storage Wars before you were on it?

A: My brothers love it, and so they’d all tell me to watch it. So I’d watched a few now and then, but, no, not really.

Q: How long has Mary’s Finds been open?

A: Two years. I was in New York before, working for Architectural Digest.

Q: Since what you do on screen—sort of digging for buried treasures and fixing up what you find—is basically what you do at the store, I’d guess being on the show has helped business.

A: Yeah, but the bad thing is that I’m never there, and I run it all by myself. I’m always either filming or refurbing.

Q: I’m imagining there are weird people contacting you on Facebook now that you’re on TV.

A: I mean, yeah. The thing is, you know, it’s Storage Wars, so there is a broad range of people who watch it. You know? Not just a certain audience. It’s all realms. I’m a young girl, so, yeah, I’ve gotten a few marriage proposals. [laughs] It’s been interesting, that’s for sure.

Q: Do you get recognized much?

A: A little bit, yeah. I’m starting to more and more. It’s just weird.

Q: Bidders on Storage 
Wars have ended up with everything from fake shrunken heads to a gold certificate from the 1920s, among many other random items. What’s the most interesting thing you’ve found during the excavating process after the 
auctions?

A: Um, well, I can’t say anything that hasn’t been aired.

Q: Okay, what’s the strangest thing you can mention?

A: Let’s see. We’ve found a prosthetic leg. An antique metal head form. We’ve found an urn with someone’s ashes in it.

I'll take this one. (photo courtesy of Elle Decor)

Take all the things on your wish list, and bump them down one. Put “comfy space to curl up with a book” in the top slot. Now head over to the D Home blog and check out Caitlin’s advice for making a cozy reading room on the cheap.

photography courtesy of Jonathan Adler

The beloved modernist designer with a knack for colorful prints and crisp, white (and often cheeky) home accessories is opening doors to a new 2,600 square-foot space on McKinney Avenue. (Near Forty Five Ten and Nest, a Jonathan Adler stockist.) The company’s motto reads “If your heirs won’t fight over it, we won’t make it.” Clearly worthy of some Dallas drama. I love seeing what the Nest buyers pick as favorites to sell from each collection, but it will be nice to have access to the full shebang up the street. I may be an all-black-all-day kind of girl, but I keep my kitchen pretty bright, and I’ve got my eye on some tableware.

Slated to open late April.

1. Positamo melamine serving bowl, $28
2. Carbs, Pep Pills, and Glitter vice jars. Sounds about right. $138 (tall) and $88 (small)
3. Enamel serving set in turquoise, $78
4. New ikat rocks glass, $9/glass

A bigger piece in her Louis Vuitton collection.

1. Louis Vuitton wallet and cosmetics case. “I got my first piece in high school–a backpack. I still use it.”
2. Guerlain eye cream.
3. Fiona Wright Rehydration Complex with Vitamin C.
4. Fabric swatches for IBB’s new upholstery collection. (I’m excited for the reversible pillow line in cashmeres.)
5. Thank you notes.
6. Hermès Eau des Merveilles body cream. “It’s like butter.”
7. Design magazines (including our own D Home). “I get them in the droves.”
8. Chanel cocktail table books. “I love cocktail table books. I have them in every size.”
9. Barbie. “Our house is exploding at the seams with Barbies.” (Check out the mirror encrusted with retro-style Barbies she made for her daughter after the jump.)
10. “My girls.”
11. Celebrity Waiter Luncheon benefiting Family Gateway save the date. “I’m co-chairing for the second time. It’s really fun, and it’s going to be even bigger this year.”
12. Calculator. “Turquoise is kind of my color.”
13. Beauty stash (from top): Chanel Rouge Double Intensite in Rose Topaz, Guerlain KissKiss Gloss in Flush Pink 872, Guerlain Two Brush Mascara, and Hermès Eau des Merveilles perfume.

Peek into more purses.

Shay created this mirror (below) using the 50th anniversary swimsuit Barbie. Brilliant and fun.

Shay Geyer's incredibly clever Barbie mirror.

Goodies from The Container Store.

D Home’s got more than 30 tips for keeping your small space livable and beautiful.

A few of the 80 styles of pre-cut printed designs you can choose.

photo courtesy of i-pezzi

Gift giving’s over and it’s time to thank your Santa babies. Do it with the i-pezzi DIY stationery line from our very own Bell’Invito. I-pezzi, which apparently means “the pieces,” is a line made up of bits and parts of stationery that you can purchase in bundles and assemble at home. It’s more affordable than Bell’Invito’s “couture” collections and the paper is recycled. Putting together your little project is easy, too. As a magician might say, pick a card, any card. How about a 20-pack of medium cards in natural white with a chartreuse border for $9? Then choose an envelope style. I’m no snail mail expert, but I think the medium European version in matching natural white will work for 20 for $8.50. Then brace yourself for the grand finale: selecting the envelope liner. Pick a design to fit snuggly in your envelope. Grab a 10-pack in Alice (a black with gold print) and thrown in a few cut-it-yourself sheets for $15 each. Perhaps the Edna floral print will do? And you’re done. Take ‘em home, match ‘em up, stamp them with your autograph, and seal with a kiss. Find it all at Nest or Bell’Invito.

Treasures you might discover.

Head to Quaker “2″ Warehouse right now (before 1 pm, when it all ends), and find a major garage sale taking place. Goodies include home furnishings and accessories for anywhere from $10 into the low hundreds. Hot off the press:

Tons of woven furniture (incl couches, love seats, stools, tables), Thomas Paul Pillows, assorted custom pillows, black ghost chairs, blue velvet chairs and ottomans, vases, garden stools, antique french marble topped tables, black modern serpentine couch from Scott + Cooner, etc. The prices are as low as 10 bucks and goes to the low hundreds.

Pick-ups will need to be done within 24 hours. If you need a delivery, $100 will do it. 1162 Quaker St. Cash or checks only.

*Update: Exciting news! The sale is on for tomorrow, too, 8 am to noon

Update: The shop will be “just around the corner” from the apparel shop. Apparently, the small selection of Calypso St. Barth home items carried in the clothing store sold out so often they decided to open a new shop devoted solely to nesting. The store will carry “the exclusive line of Maison de Vacances bedding, Heidi Merrick textiles, custom upholstered furniture and signature poufs and rugs.” Sounds like a party to us.

photography by Matthew Shelley

I went on and on about how great some of the Santa Maria Novella stuff is, but I left one out. (Actually, I didn’t leave it out; I just didn’t realize it was a Santa Maria Novella product until last week.) This incense box packs a handful of “burning papers,” which smell delicious. Fold them to create a sturdy pose, light ‘em up, and smell ‘em burn.

$25 at Grange Hall and LAFCO New York