Here’s How Those Instagram Vintage Sellers Find Their Best Stuff

Instagram is a minefield of vintage furniture resellers hawking Bertoia-ish and Cesca-esque chairs as far as the eye can scroll—and separating the wheat from the chaff can feel insurmountable. But three of Instagram’s most vibrant vintage sellers prove that the real deal is out there. Here, they tell the story behind their biggest scores.

Carefully Picked

When David Barsoum moved to the greater Chicago area to complete a PhD in organic chemistry, he faced a daunting task: filling an empty apartment on a tight student budget. One Craigslist score (a no-name walnut armchair) quickly turned into an impressive collection of midcentury-modern furniture that caught the attention of fellow student Niky Sampedro; the couple, now married, bonded over a shared passion for design. But when Barsoum downsized into a smaller apartment, he was forced to resell the majority of his findings. During that process, something clicked: He realized he was actually making decent money doing this, and the two of them created Carefully Picked. After selling through Instagram and their website for the last six years, they recently opened a brick-and-mortar in the heart of Chicago. Nestled between tall buildings, the compact storefront houses museum-worthy pieces, from a Shogun Lamp by Mario Botta for Artemide to a full-blown M400 Helicoid Staircase by Roger Tallon.