COCO CRAN | Artefact Auction

An Eye for Beauty

Marcie Brown

January 16, 2026.

I still remember the first time I met Coco Cran. It was about six years ago, during my time working with Frank Hall, when we were hosting an auction preview. Coco walked into the showroom with her husband, Jaime, and although she is not a tall woman, her presence was undeniable. There was a quiet elegance to her, paired with a bold, assured sense of style that immediately commanded attention.

She didn’t quite seem to belong in an industrial-area Calgary showroom. With her perfectly coiffed hair and impeccably styled outfit, she felt destined for grander settings: a café in Paris, perhaps, or an art gallery in New York. Yet her style was never intimidating. It was inviting, much like her smile and her gracious, thoughtful manner. Coco and Frank greeted one another like old friends. After introductions were made and they moved on, Frank turned to me and said simply, “That’s Coco. She’s a very well-known interior designer.” I wasn’t surprised—Frank knew many remarkable people—but I was fascinated. There was something about Coco’s presence that lingered. She carried herself with poise and intention, and even if she seemed slightly out of place in that Calgary showroom, she was entirely at home among its contents.

She moved through the space as if greeting old friends. Antiquities, rugs, artwork, jewelry—nothing escaped her eye. Jaime shared that same curiosity and appreciation. Sale after sale, whenever I saw them in the showroom, they never rushed. They lingered, discussed, and reflected. Their collecting was not transactional; it was driven by pleasure, curiosity, and a genuine love of beauty.

One exchange in particular has stayed with me. Coco and Jaime once told me that they had completely run out of wall space in their home. Years of collecting art and design objects had left them with nowhere left to hang anything. But this, of course, did not stop them. Instead, it made them more discerning. They had begun hanging artwork in the middle of their windows. As a fellow art lover, I smiled instantly. Coco Cran: the collector with art for windows. It’s an image I’ve never forgotten.

It had been years since I last saw them when Frank told us that Artefact would have the privilege of handling Coco’s living estate. Coco and Jaime were preparing to move from the home they had lived in for many years on Sifton Boulevard, and in early December our team spent two days there, sorting, selecting, and carefully packing pieces for the January auction. To say we were excited would be an understatement.

Items from Coco's living estate. Photo and set design by Artefact Auction, 2026.

The house itself is tucked away among trees—cozy, intimate, and quietly grand. Inside, it was bursting with style. Purple upholstery lined the living room walls, framing a striking fireplace mantel layered with exquisite design objects and artwork. There was drama everywhere, yet it never felt overwhelming. Your eye was constantly drawn from one beautiful detail to the next.

Each piece felt special on its own, yet together they formed a rich, eclectic dialogue. Art Deco meeting romantic classicism, history mingling effortlessly with bold expression. Artwork filling nearly every surface. Glassware, china, and finely detailed antique furniture told the story of a lifetime of looking, learning, and loving design.

Coco is clearly not afraid of the dramatic or the theatrical, yet everything remained elegant, just as I remember her personal style. Bold and refined, expressive and restrained, all at once. What struck me most was how relevant the collection still feels today. So many of these pieces sit perfectly within the modern return to classical design we’re seeing now. These are objects that never went out of style. There is something inherently timeless about Coco’s eye, and it speaks to her rare gift as a designer. She is, at heart, a true artist—her medium, I suppose, has always been design. After all, she has over 40 years of experience working with some of Calgary’s most high-profile clients.

I can’t help but wonder: if this is what Coco was ready to part with, what treasures must she have chosen to keep? I imagine her surrounded by her most beloved things, living in quiet harmony with beauty collected over a lifetime. What a relationship that must be—art and its beholder, deeply entwined.