Miller Gaffney, a woman well accustomed to high-end art fairs and antique auctions, has taken a job that tosses her into flea markets around the country with the near-impossible task of finding a diamond in the rough — and then making a buck on it.“Who doesn’t love to treasure hunt?” asked the smiling Greenville native, one of four antiques dealers starring in the new PBS show “Market Warriors,” premiering at 9 p.m. Monday.The show pits the pickers against each other in head-to-head challenges in which they’re tasked with finding items in a flea market with a limited budget and limited time. Their purchases are then taken to auction, and the picker who comes out with the most profit wins.In the premiere, Gaffney and her counterparts were first charged with finding mid-century modern pieces in a Pennsylvania flea market.It was tough, she said, because the place was heavy on Pennsylvania Dutch furniture, but the beauty of a flea market is “you just never know what you’re going to find.”“Market Warriors” was the brainchild of the producers behind the popular “Antiques Roadshow,” in which guests bring potentially valuable items from their homes to be appraised by professionals.Marsha Bemko, executive producer for both shows, said the idea for “Market Warriors” grew from the desire to see the “real-world” stories behind “Roadshow’s” on-screen appraising.“This is a chance to take off our suspenders and get out there with some real practical experience of buying and selling,” she said.The four pickers, who were selected from a nationwide search, hail from different backgrounds, but all have extensive experience in the world of art dealing.Gaffney, who grew up in Greenville and moved back about a year ago after time in New York, Florida and Columbia, was involved in politics after graduating from Baylor University but was drawn to the art world. She attended a master’s program at Sotheby’s Institute of Art in New York and in 2006 started Miller Gaffney Art Advisory after working for an auction house, gallery and art-related magazine.For her business, she travels extensively, mostly along the East Coast, to consult with clients about the value of their art pieces or the purchase of new ones.“Sometimes we go into a client’s house, and they’ll think that the most expensive thing they have is what they need appraised, and it’s that thing in the corner that they had no idea what it was worth,” she said.The skills she needs for her day job — extensive knowledge of a wide array of art, ability to think on her feet, a keen eye for the undiscovered treasure — are exactly what she uses in the show, though in a slightly more hurried fashion“I’m always looking for the next great thing out there,” she said.Local antiques dealer goes on televised treasure hunt
Miller Gaffney, a woman well accustomed to high-end art fairs and antique auctions, has taken a job that tosses her into flea markets around the country with the near-impossible task of finding a diamond in the rough — and then making a buck on it.“Who doesn’t love to treasure hunt?” asked the smiling Greenville native, one of four antiques dealers starring in the new PBS show “Market Warriors,” premiering at 9 p.m. Monday.The show pits the pickers against each other in head-to-head challenges in which they’re tasked with finding items in a flea market with a limited budget and limited time. Their purchases are then taken to auction, and the picker who comes out with the most profit wins.In the premiere, Gaffney and her counterparts were first charged with finding mid-century modern pieces in a Pennsylvania flea market.It was tough, she said, because the place was heavy on Pennsylvania Dutch furniture, but the beauty of a flea market is “you just never know what you’re going to find.”“Market Warriors” was the brainchild of the producers behind the popular “Antiques Roadshow,” in which guests bring potentially valuable items from their homes to be appraised by professionals.Marsha Bemko, executive producer for both shows, said the idea for “Market Warriors” grew from the desire to see the “real-world” stories behind “Roadshow’s” on-screen appraising.“This is a chance to take off our suspenders and get out there with some real practical experience of buying and selling,” she said.The four pickers, who were selected from a nationwide search, hail from different backgrounds, but all have extensive experience in the world of art dealing.Gaffney, who grew up in Greenville and moved back about a year ago after time in New York, Florida and Columbia, was involved in politics after graduating from Baylor University but was drawn to the art world. She attended a master’s program at Sotheby’s Institute of Art in New York and in 2006 started Miller Gaffney Art Advisory after working for an auction house, gallery and art-related magazine.For her business, she travels extensively, mostly along the East Coast, to consult with clients about the value of their art pieces or the purchase of new ones.“Sometimes we go into a client’s house, and they’ll think that the most expensive thing they have is what they need appraised, and it’s that thing in the corner that they had no idea what it was worth,” she said.The skills she needs for her day job — extensive knowledge of a wide array of art, ability to think on her feet, a keen eye for the undiscovered treasure — are exactly what she uses in the show, though in a slightly more hurried fashion“I’m always looking for the next great thing out there,” she said.
