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by Stuff Boston |
April 20, 2009
You can tell from the moment you first lay eyes on Izzy Berdan that there’s nothing subtle about him. And what else would you expect from a guy whose actual title at the Aquitaine Group is “resident design guru”? It’s a job whose duties apparently include everything from picking colors for a wall that needed painting in one of the company’s five restaurants to manning the cash register between shifts at Greenlight Café on Harrison Avenue. In fact, we caught up with Berdan as he moved between the café and the neighboring Gaslight Brasserie before dinner service got rolling.
What do you collect? What don’t I collect? I have Barbies.... The original series of Marvel trading cards.... Local art — I have a wall of it in my place.... Clothes. Clothes. Clothes.
Point taken. Which collection are you going to share with your adoring public? I have a small collection — not an overwhelming amount — of clocks that are physically broken and/or hard to read. Like ones with glass that is cracked or
others [where] the numbers are all out of order. That said, I’m a maximalist. I believe in excess, which explains why I have a lot of collections and a job title that you won’t see on every business card.
So they don’t tell time? They ALL work. They all tell time.
Do you keep them all out at the same, um, time? Yes, I think it goes back to one of my previous lives, jobs, whatever — when I worked in interior design. I think anything can work with the right planning and editing. It’s all about incorporating your things into your life and style — not letting your things dictate your style. How does a “collection” like this start?
Did you see a clock with broken glass or something at a flea market and just have to have it? Actually, yes. I have one clock that my mom got at a flea market.... It started, like everything, with one, and then I saw others. The key is to know when to say “when,” and not buy. Something like clocks is infinite. You could never have a collection that’s even comprehensive, so you have to know when to say “when.”
Is there something that speaks to you about the clock collection? I love the way they look, yes. I love how they fit in my life and house. I want my things to create a warm and inviting home. It’s also a metaphor. Who has enough
time? And time goes on whether things are working or not.
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