Derian is a découpage artist and the founder of John Derian Company Inc, a homeware store that opened in New York's East Village in 1989. There are now four John Derian stores in New York and one in Provincetown. His products – from handmade plates to ceramics, fabrics and furniture – are stocked in more than 600 shops worldwide. In the UK, you'll find them in the Conran Shop and Liberty.
The images Derian sets behind glass are from a collection of antique prints he has amassed over three decades. They come largely from 18th and 19th-century educational resources and depict everything from impossibly vibrant fruit and vegetables and flowers to a scene from a seance or a hyper-real blowfish. Two years ago Derian published the John Derian Picture Book showcasing around 300 images from his collection. "I always tell people to buy a couple of copies," he says. "One to keep, and one to tear apart and put up on their walls!"
I ask him what filters he applies to his search for imagery: "I don't specifically look for anything," he explains. "I find things. I let things happen." It's an approach that appears to work for property, as well as pictures.
As a child, Derian spent his holidays on Cape Cod. In 2006, he returned to Provincetown with a friend. "I wasn't even looking to buy a house, but it was love at first sight," he recalls. "There was something about this house just sitting here, a little bit abandoned-looking. Plus, I'm a sucker for a column…"
The house he fell in love with was built for a sea captain in 1789. When Derian first saw the property, he took a video of the exterior and called the estate agent, only to be told it was under offer. Back in New York, a technical glitch on his phone meant the video kept replaying. A few months later, he was idly searching online for properties in Provincetown and the sea captain's house resurfaced. The original offer had fallen through: Derian could go ahead with the purchase.
