“I was shopping with a client in Europe who procured a small but expensive wax sculpture of a reclining figure,” said Tracy Morris, an interior designer in McLean, VA. “We arranged to send the piece safely home, but the shipping company didn’t adjust for the record heat that year and the statue arrived melted. It’s still recognizable, but it’s level of repose is now much deeper.” Lesson: “Think twice about bringing home a heat-sensitive souvenir.

Excerpt from the Wall Street Journal article, ‘But When I Got the Thing Home…’ Eight design experts recall the what-was-I-thinking souvenirs they fell for and the lessons their impulse buys taught them. Read the full article here or read online at the wsj.com here.