Woody Allen Meets Sanford and Son

Ultimately, of course, this is Mogol’s problem. He trusts his perception of value so completely—he’s so sure that he’s seeing something that nobody else can see, that he’s in control of some ultimate bargain—that he’s often unwilling to let it go at all. His sentimentality overwhelms his business sense. Like most people, he becomes emotionally attached to certain possessions—only in his case the possessions he’s attached to cover 32,000 square feet.

Mogol’s friend Mark Herman, a local graphic designer who has bought several pieces from Mogol over the years, tells about bringing other graphic designers to PPF. “I tell art directors when I bring them over, I say, ‘If you see something you want to buy, don’t get too excited about it.’ But they do get excited because among a certain interior design set PPF is a high-end Sanford and Son. But I tell ’em, even though it’s exactly what they want, ‘If you say, “Oh my God! That’s absolutely beautiful! That’s perfect!”—then Steve will say, “Well, that’s in my personal collection. I can’t sell that.” ’ I’ve seen him do it. Every time. And I’m like, ‘Steve, what is wrong with you?’ ”

Mogol says he plans to clean up the Franklin Avenue building. To move stuff around. To get organized. To open a proper storefront downstairs, where people can look at selections of his inventory and order things. He even wants to expand his private digs. He says he wants to tear down a wall and put in a dining room and outfit the entire apartment with the finest antique metal furniture in the world. Eventually, he says, he wants to create an American office museum. He also wants to design his own library table and sell that.

“I have goals,” he says. “And I’m anxious to get to the closest goals. Three or four years ago, my friend said that I have only fifteen summers left. I think about that once in a while. I’m fifty-eight. I have longevity in my family. But how much time do I have left? I have all the time in the world if I have people to help me. It’s the little forest fires every ten minutes that I’m putting out. I cannot get to the big picture. I’m trying. I’ve done remarkably well. I’ve acquired some beautiful things.” 

Steve Marsh is an associate editor at Mpls.St.Paul Magazine. He wrote about The Smile Network International in the July issue.