Ron Lis (Dealer 2) has been a dealer at FOUND since the shop opened in August 2010. He specializes in vintage/antique medical, scientific and optical equipment. The macabre, unusual, weird, quirky, curious and occult also figure prominently in his inventory in addition to spiritual and religious relics. Ron is an accomplished artist and his sculptures and assemblages — amalgamations of the antique and the futuristic — have been featured in the Gallery at FOUND in a show called Eclectisauric Enigmorama: A Steampunk Circus. His creations come in the form of lamps, lights sabers, robots and other weird devices. All are created from discarded antique components. Ron’s other gallery credits include Analogue Frontiers: A Collection of Steampunk Art, at Zeitgeist Multi-Disciplinary Arts Center in New Orleans, LA, Feb. – Mar. 2011, and his five sculptures made from animal bones formed the centerpiece of the Actors Workshop of Ithaca Theater Company July 2012 production of Museum.
Ron’s been in Ithaca since 1992 and in the antique business since 1996. His start was a natural progression, developing organically out of his own passion for collecting. Ron’s personal collections run the gamut from pre-1920s vintage clothing and broken old things, to dust, bones, epithets and cursed objects. He says one of his best finds ever was an authentic 18th century cocked hat, which he found in a dumpster outside an ancient Dutch house being gutted in Columbia County, NY. Ron’s occasional field work in archaeology brings him into contact with a wide assortment of historical, Native North American, and prehistoric artifacts. Although a big fan of history, Ron says his favorite time period “has yet to come to pass.”
The excitement of finding things is something Ron clearly enjoys. He claims he spends a lot of time trying to find things, particularly inside his own house. For leisure he enjoys historical fencing/swordplay, restoring/reproducing vintage and antique clothing, contemplating improbabilities, and manipulating the time-space continuum. He loves spending time with his dogs, playing with swords, and experimenting with dynamite. He’s hosted his own sales, sold online and at other dealer collectives. Ron loves being at FOUND and we love having him here!
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