About

Who is The Antiques Diva®?

The Antiques Diva® is the nom de plume for Toma Clark Haines, an American expat living in Europe whose life story has been liberally sprinkled with Cinderella dust.  As a child growing up in Oklahoma, Toma dreamed of global adventures. While other kids drew houses with picket fences, Toma drew gondolas with men in striped shirts. After studying abroad in London in university, Toma returned home on the range to marry her college sweetheart.  After saying “I do,” she immediately began whispering in his ear words of far-away places and before long her dream became his.  When a serendipitous opportunity arose, offering them a chance to live and work in Europe, they moved to Paris for 5 years and then Amsterdam for 4.  Along with her husband and well-traveled pet Catpuccino, Toma currently resides in Berlin nearby Brandenberg Gate and the Reichstag. 

Having lived in Europe for over a decade, Toma has traveled and antique-shopped in over 30 countries and has learned how to live a life without borders.  When she started writing The Antiques Diva® blog in August 2007 she had a vision.  She wanted to share secrets from her travels and offer some fabulously fun recommendations of places to flea market and antique shop, stop, eat, or stay. But the recommendations didn’t end there – The Diva began sharing advice on entertaining diva style and telling readers the latest home decorating trends (and creating new ones).  Quickly her followers realized,  The Antiques Diva® isn’t just a blog, it’s a lifestyle!

The tenant Toma designs her life, tours and online store by is “People should walk into your home and know who you are, where you have been, what you feel and what moves you.”

Turning her blog into a business, Toma started The Antiques Diva® & Co European Antique Shopping Tours.  Taking a clue from Napoleon, she crowned herself, coming up with quite possibly the coolest job title in the world – Chief Executive Diva.   She works with 7 international guides offering 1-day and multi-day “antiques, vintage, home decor and lifestyle shopping tours” in 5 languages and 6 countries – France, England, Italy, Belgium, Holland and Germany. 

Toma is an international public speaker and writes regularly about antiques and travel shopping.  She’s been involved in numerous women’s organizations, having served as Chairman of The International Women’s Club Amsterdam and Director of the popular Bloom Where You’re Planted expatriation program in Paris, going on to serve as the Director of the Governing Board for that program.  Toma has a passion for women’s causes and is actively involved in the expat community, volunteering a significant amount of her time.   Email toma@antiquesdiva.com to book The Antiques Diva® & Co for a fabulously fun, fact-filled, frivilously-inspired speaking engagment.  Or consider The Antiques Diva® & Co for spokesman services, product development consulting, television, product endorsements and publishing.   Amidst all this, perhaps we’ve forgotten to mention that Toma’s roots run deep in a career in “her former life”, working in marketing and advertising with big name clients such as Dunkin’ Donuts, Linens-n-Things, Pearl Vision and Target.