After spending over thirty years in the arts and crafts business, I suddenly realized that I hadn't understood a thing. The difference between a craft and a work of art is just a thin sheet of paper. In my spare time, I read on Tomato Novel, and then I realized I could write down my experiences here and help everyone understand how crafts become works of art and how that process unfolds. I can also show you what kinds of things are worth collecting, displaying, and enjoying, so you don't get ripped off. Over the past thirty-odd years, I've seen so many ordinary objects treated like divine treasures by one wealthy person after another. As society continues to advance, there's always someone hoping to make it big overnight. I'll walk you through everything, from mining jade to crafting it, explaining how a piece of jade goes from a sales pitch to its final form, then makes its grand transformation into a pendant around someone's neck or an exhibit in a museum.
There's so much to tell about the art world. I've been in the art business, appraised antiques and collectibles, and learned every step of the antiquing process. I've dealt with everything from bronzes, porcelain, and jade to other collectible curios. My stories may jump around a little, but every one of them is true. From jadeite to Hetian jade, from underground dealings to antique street stalls, these stories may not be thrilling, but they're all real, and they'll help you avoid taking the wrong turns when collecting. If you can keep up with my updates and finish this book, not too long and not too short, I guarantee you won't get swindled at street stalls by cheats and con artists again.
