I am an appraiser for a local auction house, a single that you might have seen on local cable once or twice; As you might imagine, this is a high end, low volume business, which means that both of us sell things for a lot of money, but both of us don’t do it certainly often. As a sideline, I make private appraisals for anyone who wants their antiques to be evaluated! I have enough status in my job that I have even been on Antiques Roadshow a few times, but basically, in this section of the country I have become the most reliable expert on custom wood furniture. This section has a lot of artisans in it, & has for generations, which means there is a plethora of amazing handmade furniture to be found if you assume where to look, and my favorite section of the job is that with such a vast array of wood furniture that is still in use after generations, I consistently discover up-to-date artisans. If a family made its own wood furniture to use, & not to sell on the open market, then no a single outside that family would assume about it. I savor finding treasure troves of aged handmade wood furniture in houses & estates, & it is not about the money, either. At this point in my job the money is good, so I can focus my energies on expanding my knowledge about handmade furniture in this area. It seems there is no end to the numbers of talented wood furniture artisans who have lived here over the last 200 years.