Kemp returned frequently to Europe in search of finds in local antique shops and flea markets. Kemp remembers his early "shopping" trips with fondness:

"I can remember when I would receive my purchases from Europe and have nowhere to put them, except stacked up against the walls of my living room and hallway. But friends would come over for visits and offer to buy these things and in a month or two, they would all be gone."

Many family pieces remain with Kemp, tastefully interwoven with his own antique furniture and modern art collection.