A Conversation with Wendy Goodman

A born and raised New Yorker, Wendy Goodman began her career as a freelance stylist working for Interview Magazine and The New York Times Magazine, writing, producing and styling stories. She went on to become fashion editor at New York Magazine before transitioning to design editing, scouting, producing and writing stories. She continues this work today at New York and Curbed as design editor. As a returning member of our Honorary Committee, Wendy joined us for a rapid-fire round of questions on her personal collection, designers who deserve more attention, and more.

Salon Art + Design is celebrating its 15th anniversary. What do you think has been the key to the fair's lasting success?

The key is featuring some of the best contemporary galleries in the world and discovering new treasures from each one every year.

What's one object you've lived with—or encountered—that continues to reveal something new every time you see it?

I have a ring made by Tony Duquette that he made from one of the Baroness D'Erlanger's hat pins. It was a gift from Hutton Wilkinson after we finished the Tony Duquette book in 2007, published by Abrams. The ring is beyond anything I have ever seen and despite being rather large, it fits my hand like it was made for me.

What's one myth about collecting that you'd love to debunk?

The one myth for me is to buy things as an investment. If you collect from your passion, you will never be sorry.

What's one object you wish you'd bought when you had the chance?

It's only the things you don't buy that haunt you, and for me it is a pair of pearl rings I had dreamed of, one black pearl, one white pearl, each one set on a simple platinum band. I had dreamed of finding exactly these rings and found them in an antique shop in Paris and I didn't buy them because my sister Tonne talked me out of it...she was being practical, but I regret listening to her to this day. As Isaac Mizrahi said during a talk we did together recently, "never listen to advice!"

What's one artist or designer you think deserves much more attention right now?

Alexandre Noll is not in the public imagination the way he deserves to be.