Tod Carson doesn't just sell antiques in Scottsdale — he sells history

History is synonymous with antiques, although the latter is more subjective than the former. Which is why Tod Carson is in the business he is in.

Carson is a curator of authentic 18th- and 19th-century furnishings which he sells at his brick-and-mortar in the heart of downtown Scottsdale.

Some might think that his antiques, mostly from France, are not the most popular home decor preference of Arizona model homes, and Carson isn’t trying to convince you otherwise. Still, for those who are looking to venture beyond the big box store trends, and into European opulence, he's willing to help.

Carson is an Arizona native. He grew up in Phoenix and went to Brophy Prep before attending the University of Arizona. He had always been interested in antiques but hadn’t committed to making a business of it as a young man. Before he started working on domestic houses, Carson worked in fashion houses. During his college years, he moved east and entered the high-end designer clothing world.

“I got an internship with Bloomingdales in New York City,” Carson tells Phoenix New Times in a telephone interview. “This is gonna sound crazy, I was an executive trainee intern in charge of Calvin Klein underwear the year it was launched exclusively at Bloomingdales — it was an insane job.”

After leaving Calvin Klein, he moved back to Arizona briefly, where he finished college before heading off to take a second bite of the Big Apple. This time he wasn’t an intern — he joined Ralph Lauren’s house in various roles, but still worked within the realms of classical fashion and design. He enjoyed doing that but didn’t keep a lot of company, so his social life flatlined. He found other pastimes.

“I spent all my weekends going to Sotheby's and Christie's and the William Doyle Gallery and Phillips,” he says. “And I went to all the auction houses and became more and more interested in antiques.”

That interest took him from the Empire State to the Golden State; Carson landed in Southern California where he opened his first antique store between West Hollywood and Beverly Hills.

“I had a store there for 22 years,” he says. “In 2018, I decided, 'enough.' I closed the store, sold everything off and moved to Phoenix. And after a year, I realized 57 was too young to retire. So, I bought it all again and started over.”

His Scottsdale showroom is located at the southwestern part of the Seville Shopping Center, facing the historic McCormick-Stillman Railroad Park. The location is significant not only for Arizona's history but also for one of the pieces Carson has in his store.

There are two 9-foot mahogany and walnut cabinets in his showroom that used to belong to wealthy socialite Guy Stillman. Carson tells an incredible story of how they got there.

“When Mr. Stillman moved his family from upstate New York to Arizona, he brought this pair of cabinets with him, they're English from about 1850. His house stood on the property where my store is. His house — which he called his ‘ranch’ — was the entire Seville Shopping Center. This is where his house was and these cabinets were in his house when he died, and when his wife remarried and sold off this property, she sold the cabinets to Sylvia Todd who was a Paradise Valley real estate broker. And when Sylvia downsized, she called me and asked me if I wanted them. I immediately said yes!”

Those impressive cabinets stand among the antique chattel in his showroom, but they're young compared to some of tthe other things in the room. Carson is a curator of antiques made in the 18th and 19th centuries; the majority come from France. His showroom keeps growing, with more and more pieces coming in each month.

He says he was just in France and is expecting a 40-foot container of things he has bought. Not all of it will go into his store — some of it will be put in his warehouse or sold at the Antique Gatherings booth inside the Scottsdale Marketplace.

But if you want to learn more about the pieces it is recommended that you visit him at his gallery at the Seville Shopping Center. There, he can share in detail more about the history and the style of each piece.

"There's a lot of history behind what we have. and I think that we've reached a point where Restoration Hardware is great for some things, but, I mean, how many oatmeal linen slip-covered sofas can we have in Arizona?” Carson says.

He notes the blandness of some of today’s popular design styles. But the tide may be turning; flip through some of the popular interior design magazines such as Modern Architecture and Decor, and you can find trends angling toward color theories and antiques.

“You're seeing more of a return to tradition because everything was starting to look the same. and I think people want different things,” Carson says. It could be a generational thing, because his average buyer is between the ages of 50 and 73 years old. One of his best customers is 90.

“I mean, you're buying a piece of history. Antiques have a place; you're recycling something that has a story to it and has character. It's not like buying some kind of acrylic box you're gonna keep on the coffee table with coasters in it. I think people are waking up.”

Carson is also aware that some of his items are costly. Antiques are not cheap and with housing prices being what they are in Scottsdale and the surrounding areas, he understands a young couple’s life savings is better invested in other things rather than expensive antique furniture.

“Younger families are buying houses that you can land a plane in,” he says. “They're ‘house poor,’ meaning it was all they could do to come up with the down payment and pay the mortgage. The furniture is secondary and they start off with furnishing the primary room, which is the family room, and they buy the beds for the kids and go to IKEA. I think that's part of the reason that my customer is over 40 because the person is more settled and they're in their second home.”

Still, there's more than antique collecting going on in Carson’s store — there's history, because every piece of furniture has a legacy. Just like a fine piece of heirloom jewelry or a restored classic car, the value isn’t solely based on what you put into it, but also what you get out of it.

“Come and explore, and if you're interested in something we'll tell you about it,” he says. “I mean you don't get pieces from Restoration Hardware or Crate and Barrel that have the dovetailing on the drawers or the dowel rod construction that are cast bronze with mercury gilding that came from the Palais Royal, I mean, it's a whole different ball game and what a lot of what I have, because of the style, really does integrate well with contemporary furniture.”

Those curious people who are pondering an upgrade of their home decor, or just adding a touch of antiquity to their already established modern layout will find museum-quality finds and grand ideas in Carson's store. As much as he is passionate about the items he collects, he also wants to share them with others. He will give his customers advice on how to preserve them, but that's as far as it goes.

"You know," he says, "I learned long ago — and it was my father's first lesson when I started the business in 1994 — he gave one piece of advice. He said, 'never fall in love with your inventory, it's inventory; that's part of your business. Once you sell a piece you say goodbye.'"

Carson takes appointments, but his store is open to the public from Tuesday until Saturday.

Tod Carson Antiques is located at 7001 North Scottsdale Road Suite C-138, Scottsdale.