“Gar and I met at the University of Michigan,” Linda recalls. “We started going to flea markets because it was all we could afford at the time.”
   What once was necessity is now pure pleasure. “These days, we go because all of us enjoy it so much.” Linda’s forte is visualizing how everyday objects might be used in different ways: Gar is responsible for arranging the goods when they get them home. His retail experience at various upscale department stores, and now as general manager of American Girl Place, gives him an eye for what looks right.
   Hunting for treasures together not only forges a common bond among Gar, Linda, and the kids; it adds dimension to family vacations. “No matter where we go, we hit the flea markets,” Linda notes. “It’s a great way to spend time. We’re really casual about it. It’s not about the value of what we find. It’s just…fun! And we like the idea that we’re giving forgotten objects a second life.”



(m) These theater seats were Gar and Linda's first flea-market purchase. The green shelf hails from the Lyric Opera's garage sale. Linda made the artwork from an old coat pattern. (n) Venetian mirrors, Asian prints, and vintage pins reflect Madeline’s multicultural interests. (o) Panoramic group photos (of unknown faces) adorn the walls in Gar and Linda’s bedroom. (p) Wedding-cake couples from the 1940s are increasingly hard to find; here, about 60 live happily ever after. (q) Beneath an Anthropologie shadow box, Linda displays a quartet of her shrines, each with a little world inside.

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