A Year-End Note From LA >> India
By the time this is posted I’ll be in India. I haven’t been back in ten years, and in that time I’ve had so many major life changes that I can’t wait to go deeper during my visit.
India has always held a special and complicated place in my heart. I grew up going every few years and went through a phase of wishing my parents had never moved to America. Then I went to college and the bubble popped. I started to see and understand more, and to hold the country as both home and not-home at the same time.
This trip feels different. I’m going back with my kids, and I’m genuinely excited to see it through their eyes. I’m sure it’ll open up a whole new way of thinking about carrying an Indian identity: inherited, evolving, imperfect, alive. It’s also my first time back since starting LOTA, which is deeply tied to my immigrant identity. My attention is different now, so I’m curious what I’ll actually notice and what will insist on staying with me.
As I get ready for the trip, I feel like I’ve been seeing India everywhere from Leandra Cohen styling a necklace like a tikka, a Vogue India bride in cowboy boots and payal, and recent shows in LA by Amitesh Shrivastava and Rajni Perea moving me to tears. I don’t know what this trip will unlock, but I’m very much here for it.
And with that here’s a bit of a recap of the year and what’s next -
What we tried together this year
This year at LOTA looked like a long conversation about how we actually want to live with art. Not in a vacuum or a gallery, but in between school drop-offs, Zoom calls, half-folded laundry, and the one corner of the house that always seems to collect Amazon boxes.
From my side, it was a year of testing what actually helps people move from scrolling to deciding.
Here’s what we did that you loved:
Pulled together ways to support LA’s rebuild after the fires in Rebuilding LA Art Sales — sharing concrete ways to buy from affected artists and galleries, donate, and keep the ecosystem alive while the city recovered. That piece traveled more than I expected, brought a lot of you into my inbox, and (most importantly) helped artists who were looking for next steps, grants, and ways to rebuild.
Built and refined the LOTA Art Match quiz, then unpacked it in Defining Your Art Style. Over 1,000 of you used that article as a starting point, and more than double that took the quiz to get unstuck. I heard from people who hadn’t bought art anywhere but HomeGoods, and from others who know what they like but don’t have the words for it yet.
Played in gift-guide mode with Art Prints: Emerging, Vintage, and In Between, trying to make giving art feel less intimidating and more joyful. That post turned into DMs from many of you and made a real impact for artists who make most of their sales during the holiday season.
And somewhere in the middle of building the art style tool, I recommitted to writing here. Building the app helped me distill what people actually need. Writing this newsletter helps me test it in real life— through real homes, artist interviews, and my monthly drop, The Goods (October seemed to be a standout favorite), of what’s sharpening my eye. It’s genuinely a joy and privilege share it with you.
What I’m building next: Collector’s Circle
In January I’m launching Collector’s Circle, a paid tier of this newsletter for people who want to go deeper - not just in what they like, but in why they like it, and how to buy with intention.
In my art advisory work, we don’t start with “here is art for you” We start with learning - what to notice, why a piece works, and how to make decisions you’ll still love for years to come. It feels like a mini personalized art history tutorial filled with understanding styles, colors, and ideally lots of seeing art in person at fairs, galleries, studios, and museums before we start the actual buying.
Collector’s Circle is a way to bring that same lens into a smaller, ongoing space.
Collector’s Circle will start with:
1) Monthly curated buying opportunities
A monthly edit of available works with pricing, why-now notes, and direct inquiry/purchase links, so you have the information you need.
2) First access + studio access
Early looks at new artists, editions, and occasional studio visits/artist conversations—the context you don’t get from a post alone.
3) Quarterly private sessions and access to the subscriber chat
Small-group live Q&As about collecting: prints vs originals, pricing, timing, what you’re considering, plus a subscriber chat to ask all of your burning questions in between.
I’ll share the full details and how to join next month, and you’ll be able to upgrade directly from Substack when it goes live.
The free newsletter stays. Collector’s Circle is just to get in a bit deeper.
Thank you, truly, for being here this year. For trusting me with your time, your walls, your questions, and sometimes your uncertainty.
I’m excited to keep building this with you in 2026 and to invite some of what I see on this trip back into the work.
Happy Holidays. See you in the New Year.
Anar
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