I’ve grown to be pretty mechanical in my buying and selling of vintage merchandise; I’ll make a swift walk in, assess the situation, narrow in on what catches my eye, acquire it, get the pictures completed, list it, and stockpile it in the many places around the apartment or in storage.
Also thanks to this blog and the painful art of listing, my knack for some creative writing is slowly returning. Listing on Etsy has become a cinch, and lately I’ll have an entire post in my head as early as walking up to check the price tag on something. This whole process just happened this past Saturday at a church flea market in Lyons when I spotted this 1950’s-60’s typewriter.
“Mid-Century typewriter- excellent condition. Only $5, would be an easy flip.”
Then I saw the “Made in Bulgaria”, which gave me all I needed for my ridiculous one-liners that have been accompanying my Etsy listings. “1950’s Bulgaria. Commies. The perfect typewriter to hole up in your attic and write some subversive literature- Yeah that’ll work. Easy $40 or more”
Then at home while taking measurements, weight, and checking for any flaws worth mentioning I came across this sheet of paper located in the convenient paper slot inside the typewriter case . (ink is faint, click to super size!)
Then this.
“Oh man Laura Neumann you communist SOB.”
Then. Vintage Euphoria.
Occasionally an item itself will floor you, but often it’s the weird things; the receipts, to do lists, the notes to themselves or their children. While you would never purchase these little things themselves, when found become far more valuable than the purchase or even the resale value of the item. The things they would never want anyone, especially the FBI, to see.
This is why I go through other peoples crap on my free time. Priceless.
Now is the time for for all good men to come to the aid of their party.
Now is the time for for all good men to come to the aid of their party.
Now is the time for for all good men to come to the aid of their party.
UPDATE!!!: Well it turns out the phrase above was a popular typing phrase alongside “The quick brown fox jumps over the lazy dog”. It originated in 1867 in some podunk town in Wisconsin. Still interesting...and...Laura Neumann is still a communist SOB.
Take the Quiz, show how much into modern furniture you are. Make sure to post your results in the comments, and for HEAVEN'S SAKE be honest, there's no shame if you're just a beginner or if you've been tricked by fancy Chinese craftsmanship.
Jayson and I had just got off the phone discussing trying to push the blog into something useful for our readers and not just Etsy shop nonsense when this wonderful idea popped into my head: lets have the readers pick my next item title.
What a more perfect item and LOL funny then this vintage Schlitz beer pitcher. Let the voting BEGIN!
What should be the title for my next Etsy listing?
You're probably full of Schlitz (72%, 13 Votes)
I was up all night with the Schlitz (17%, 3 Votes)
thanks for my awesome new (old) ashtray! here's a pic in it's new home.
Well thank you, Phillip! The ashtray looks awesome, and your place also happens to be swanky as well. I'm sitting here drooling looking at your Eames Lounge. Maybe if we sell a lot more ashtrays we can save up our pennies and buy ourselves one too!
So I've had this space in my basement that was begging for organization. Just ask Morgan, I'm not organized. Well the father in law is on his way here from Canada, so I had to get the tools in order. It was also an excuse for me to find a home for this 70s woods scene that I love and Sarah hates.
It looks a billion times better and more inviting.
Now maybe I could get to that "honeydo" list Sarah has for me.
I should have hated this estate sale. There are three things that basically annoy me about estate sales. First, when they're overpriced. If I wanted to shop at an antique mall, I would go to an antique mall. Second, I can't stand it when estate sales have a bunch of hipsters there. Not that there's anything wrong with hipsters. Hipsters are great. It just means that all the good stuff is going to be gone by the time you get there. Third, when the person running the estate sale uses the house as their own personal showroom. This is the most annoying thing you'll see at estate sales. If you see display cases, you know that's what's going on. Again, if I wanted to go to your shop, I would go to your shop. I want to buy old junk from someone's house. It kinda comes across as devious to me, actually.
This sale had all three, of course. And yet, I can't help but sorta kind liking this particular sale. You see, I found a set of vintage lockers there. For super cheap. Sarah and I have been looking at lockers on craigslist for probably a month or so. We need somewhere to store all of our winter coats. Lockers on craigslist canbequiteexpensive. These puppies cost us $35. I held onto the kids while Sarah ran upstairs and paid for them. Right in front of her was hipster girl asking about them. "I want them but I don't have a way to get them home!" Oh man, hipster girl, you mean they won't fit into the basket on your single speed bicycle? Ha ha! Your trendy earth saving ways are my gain!
The Maxwell Street Market was one of the most important cultural events in the city of Chicago. Started by European Jews in the 1870s, it was a collection of crowds, noises, smells, sounds, and open air haggling. Every weekend, people of almost every ethnicity gathered in this open air market to exchange goods and services, and be a part of the crowd. What was really, cool, though, as I understand it, was the live street performing. There were your average fare like clowns and juggelers, but then there were the truly unique. There was this guy, "Chicken Man", who performed with a live chicken sitting on his head. And then of course there were the blues legends. It sounds amazing, but for free, you could listen to greats such as John Lee Hooker, Muddy Waters, Robert Nighthawk, and Eddie Boyd!
Can you imagine the thrifiting that would have gone on at this place? Today, the Maxwell Street Market has been relocated, and still exists in a modified yet less glorious form. I haven't been to the "New Maxwell Street Market, so I can't say how it is. Signs point to it being very yuppified. The city moved it in order to expand the campus of UIC. I guess they placated a few of the regulars by putting up a statue "commemorating" the original market. It seems hardly fitting to move such a living statue of diversity, only to replace it with Caribou Coffee and a parking garage, and flanked by a bronze, forgettable, and unnoticed statue of a Jewish man selling his wares.
update: Okay I'm going to be visiting the market asap. The reviews on yelp have made me feel as if I don't know anything about Chicago and need to get out more. It still may be awesome. I will update asap.
Function does not have to be a slave to form. But form in our case, is super important. We have three very busy and often messy children. So almost all of our design choices have “kid proof” in mind. We own a home in Oak Park on the measly salary of one teacher and a part time babysitting super mom, so cheap and affordable are important for us as well. We shop craigslist because it allows us to be thrifty as well as satisfy our style needs. Because of these monetary restrictions, craigslist is our Room and Board.
Our couch was a sweet recent find. While not vintage, it is definately modern. For $50 dollars we got a used but in great condition Jasper couch from Room and Board. It was hard parting with our billowing brown leather couch that previously sat in its home, but our tastes have evolved, and its Pottery Barn feel didn’t quite fit the rest of the room. We decided that we couldn’t part with it, and it will find a new home in our basement.
Our TV stand is an IKEA standard; the industrial and bright red metal cabinet. I like that it LOCKS and I can keep the kids out of the television equipment. To the right of it is a vintage valet we snagged off of craigslist for 25 dollars. To me, a well designed valet is the epitome of manly vintageness. It was designed for working men. I can’t think of anything more iconic than a man preparing his suite the night before, and the valet has room for all of its parts. I love that piece!
The coffee table was a hundred dollar craigslist find. It was bought from a woman who lost her job and supplements her husband’s salary by scouring estate sales for mid-century pieces. The kids have literally taken bites out of a few of its parts, but it is wood, and can be refinished if necessary. We were looking for a coffee table for MONTHS before we decided on this piece. The rug underneath it is the ultimate kid friendly rug. Carpet squares by Flor are insanely easy to clean. I’ve already thrown a few in the washer when the kids have spilled milk or other crap on them. $120 for 18 20? by 20? tiles.
The drapes were made by my wife from IKEA fabric. At first we thought they were garish and balloon like, but they’ve grown on us, especially after we purchased four Eames knock offs from Wisconsin. They match perfectly, and are in great shape. There’s nothing you can’t clean off of those fiberglass bad boys.
Flanking the fake Eames shell chair are two brown and chrome office chairs from the seventies. We purchased them from the Salvation Army for twenty dollars each. They smell a little bit like cat, but we’re hoping they’ll air out one day!
The IKEA lamp at the end of the couch will eventually make way for something better. Hopefully a nice end table and a nicer ceramic lamp when we find one that fits our fancy.
Overall, I love what we’ve done to the room. Its fun working together as a team and arguing over lamp shades. Its good for your marriage, you know.
While I think nobody wishes for the uninformed, big tobacco, heyday of yester-year....that's actually a myth..but lets run with it anyway, we can all agree ashtrays for cigars and cigarettes before the anti-smoking craze oozed coolness. Take a look.
The first one is from my small personal collection, it is a Viking Art Glass Orb Ashtray. It is quite valuable and I scored it at an estate sale for $2. That is not for sale.
The rest are from etsy shops(ahem... one mine). If you are shopping for antique/vintage ashtrays, etsy is the place for you. Hundreds of ashtrays for a fraction of the price you might pay at a collectors site. For $100 you can have yourself a great start of a collection. Enjoy the hunt!!
I don't know if Lou is the gentlemen in the above picture or not. Probably none of this qualifies as vintage...maybe the rock. Nonetheless!! This here is the bravest, most resourceful man on Etsy.
Manly Vintage - This blog is dedicated to the manly and the vintage. We want to challenge the notion that 'manly men' don't care about design, style, fashion, and taste. With a focus on emphasizing the power of vintage style and finds, we intend to discuss and categorize the creature comforts of men.
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