Objets d'Affection. Volume I
What happens when a museum curator makes selections meant to be lived with
If one door closes, a window opens. I should probably add this belief to my list — I somehow missed it during my coaching sessions. Then again, I’m not sure it needs changing. It’s not a bad belief to have.
I keep being fascinated by how anything can be curated. And yes, I still feel a certain bitterness about having formal education in this field while today every second influencer casually calls themselves a curator. I won’t go on a rant about social media — I’ve found a lot there that is genuinely useful and important to me.
During my posting challenge, I’ve noticed something very simple: my regular posts with selections of eight objects consistently sit at the top of views, saves, and overall engagement. The moment I added prices, the numbers jumped even higher.
While TAAD is going through a difficult period and curating a fair in the coming months is unlikely, my own desire — and clearly the audience’s — for real, distinctive objects that can simply be purchased via a link keeps growing. It feels like everyone is tired of endless searching, saving, open tabs, delayed conversations with dealers, and postponed decisions.
I couldn’t think of anything else to do except to unpack all my materials (and now I know for sure this is a database of over 2,000 objects) and assemble a catalogue that, for some, could replace AD, and for others become an incredibly convenient way to shop — marketplaces without a point of view, more like cemeteries, and galleries that reply “next week”.
Once a curator, always a curator.
What makes a curatorial selection different is not taste alone, but the principles of choice and the story behind it. Naturally, the first thing I did was try the classic category system and pick “the coolest” things out there. I got bored pretty quickly. And if I’m bored, then it’s definitely going to be unbearably boring for anyone else.
So, quite naturally, I started inventing characters — or rather, choosing things for someone. Each time, the same eight objects. Maybe they really are the best ones. But more likely, they’re just very good — and very right for that person who exists in my head.
In the end, I chose eight remarkable women with very different, yet striking tastes. Everything I selected for them feels like something they would have chosen themselves. And even if my choice surprised them at first, I’m confident it would make sense — and feel right — in the end.
Suddenly, it felt finished. Even like a product, rather than an experiment. No adjustments needed — ready to be shared.
Objets d’Affection Catalogue is a seasonal shopping guide for objects and collectables. No trends. No must-haves. No exclusives. I think of it as something seasonal — shaped by moment, rather than an endless, growing archive.
Just great quality, reasonable prices, and daring objects you can purchase instantly. Objects that can live with you for a long time — maybe forever. You already know that I believe anything can become a collectible if there’s an emotional connection.
It might look like a side hustle, but it’s really an evolution of my curatorial practice — bridging museum experience, fair sales, and private advisory work. I treat it as a kind of publishing and retail system, landing right at the intersection of my interests: commerce, culture, and content.
If I’m lucky, it might grow into something else, but for now it’s also, in a way, the realization of a childhood dream — publishing my own magazine.
You’ll be the first to know when Objets d’Affection. Volume I is out and early access opens. In the meantime, you can follow along on Instagram — I’m sharing updates around the catalogue there.
Meanwhile, I’ve been slightly terrified by the arrival of 2026 — something I clearly have no control over. So I kept watching something easy (and often not very good): Emily in Paris, season-whatever. It’s all pretty bad, except for one perfect moment with Lagotto Romagnolo dogs in the first episode. But what I really enjoyed Knives Out: Wake Up Dead Man, Christy (2025) and Eternity (2025).
Always yours,
Miri