J. Ford Huffman's Second Life

Huffman’s always been a collector of sorts, and he’s turned his home into a museum of his fascinating finds, from beautiful Arts and Crafts furniture and copper objects,

to vintage books,

to miniature houses,

to an innumerable number of vintage prints, posters, and other artwork that cover every square inch of his walls.

Getting back to his creations, J. Ford told me that his love of structures and stage sets might have started years ago when his 16(!) nephews and nieces were young, and he would entertain them by building 3-D structures from house blueprints. “I just wanted to see if you could do it,” he said. He also has a background in acting and stage design, which gave him a fascination with drawing proscenium arches and the stages within them.

He told me that his current endeavor started “in earnest” seven or eight years ago, when he started buying clear picture frames and shadow boxes from Ikea. Then, during his frequent travels, he would go hunting for objects that would fit inside, such as vintage fabric buttons from a market in Buenos Aires or an old ballerina figurine from Havana. He then got creative with his stages, finding inspiration in old wooden file boxes, for example, or a Dutch tobacco box, or a 1950s lab tray from a closed-down tuberculosis hospital.

“Button Up” features the buttons from Buenos Aires and the ballerina from Havana.

“There is Truth in the Figures” features the hospital lab tray, paired with a vintage photograph, a page from a 19th-century book on penmanship, and a brass stencil.

I especially love J. Ford’s homage to the changing tides of journalism.

 “La Editoria” takes a vintage box celebrating the news, along with another 19th-century penmanship sheet with “balance” written on it, as the backdrop to a doll-house TV and an old sketch of a typewriter. How cool.

"Methods of Communication Have Changed" takes a vintage toy microphone along with an image from the 1955 World Book Encyclopedia and the same title from a chapter page in a 1932 publication. A modern statement combined with sweet nostalgia.

There are more than 100 of J. Ford’s curious stages on display at The Art Registry – some are quaint, others clever, and still others make sharp commentary on political and social issues. This one below says it all with its title, using old Christmas lights and a toy soldier:

"Santa Lights for a Bright and Festive Holiday p.s. There’s a War On”