Modern Design

Don Schmaltz joined the company in 2019 as a Senior Specialist in the Modern Design Department. Originally from the Detroit area, Don relocated to Chicago in 1998 to attend the School of the Art Institute after studying business at Oakland University in Rochester Hills, Michigan.

Don has over 20 years of experience as a dealer of modern furniture and decorative art. He has expertise in many areas, with a special interest in mid- to late-20th century American, Scandinavian, and Italian design. As a major collector himself, Don enjoys helping clients build their collections of fine art and design.

After his time at the Art Institute, Don opened Dupreau art gallery in the Lincoln Square neighborhood of Chicago and, for the next five years, focused on creating innovative solo and group exhibitions of local, national, and international contemporary art. During this time, he also was dealing in furniture through Archifresh, a largely online business he started in 2002. For over 15 years, he sourced items for auction and clients through Archifresh, curating iconic design classics and working with some unique estates.

Most recently, he was a partner in the Chicago retail design store Circa Modern, co-owning the store for seven years in the same West Town location. Don and his partner are known in the Midwest for maintaining a well-curated destination shop, with a strong online presence on Instagram, 1st Dibs, and their own website.

Don’s passion for art and design permeates every aspect of his life. His wife is an artist who also is on the faculty at the School of the Art Institute of Chicago, and together they gallery hop, shop, travel, and attend cultural events locally and outside of Chicago.

Carl Liggett joined Toomey & Co. as a Specialist in the Modern Design Department in 2019. He was born in Midland, Michigan, raised in Grand Rapids, and studied history and political science at the University of Vermont, where he also developed an interest in environmental law and interior design.

After graduating from college, Carl pursued his interest in design through a traditional apprenticeship program at the Chicago Bauhaus Academy under woodworker Berthold Schwaiger. He then worked as a set decorator, art handler, and content manager at the fashion and design boutique Hejfina, in Chicago’s Wicker Park neighborhood, while also maintaining his own custom furniture workshop.

In 2012, Carl opened the primarily to-the-trade furniture restoration studio Condition Report Conservation (CRC), which specialized in the conservation-minded restoration of important 20th century design, with clients from most of the major Chicago-area purveyors of modern design. Carl’s completed projects consistently achieved successful results at auction and by direct sale. Already a collector, maker, and restorer, Carl’s experience owning and operating CRC further refined and expanded his knowledge regarding broader trends in the modern design market.