My wife and I, before kids, had fish.(and a couple jerk-ass cats) We sucked at keeping them alive, but we loved them. They all had names either from Old Testament kings or Xiu Xiu songs. My wife has been totally crushing on King Hezekiah every since she read the Chronicles of the Kings series by Lynn Austin, and this guy I just picked up is definitely worthy of a name. Hezekiah it is.
I'm a total sucker for classic manly decor from just about any era, what man doesn't want the head of something dead hanging over where he eats. Like seriously.
Oh, cool story from last night. I almost hit a real deer on Route 66 while on the way to look at this guy. Talk about the circle of life, so intense.
On a different note, I'm having a total love affair with the Beermosa right now. I never tried until a few weeks back when a good friend of mine was in town for a Saturday morning. We always drink and talk theology together, so what do you bring over at 8am. Dude. PBR and orange juice. Finally, the hipster culture is good for something.
(Sorry this a bit of an afterthought,seeing everything is sold except for the stool, I'm a lazy blogger)
"This is your life and it's ending one minute at a time."
If for a second you're thinking I'm copying an IKEA catalog, you're wrong, it's Fight Club dude. 1999 man, it was another 2-3 years before I even heard about this thing called IKEA. Another 1-2 years before my smoking hot wife and I filled our first apartment with their cheap particle board whatnot.
When was this layout original and fresh? Am I fresh?
Anyways, I like it. The folks on Craigslist couldn't get enough, got a bunch of replies just for the pictures.
"Only after disaster can we be resurrected."
"Hey, you created me. I didn't create some loser alter-ego to make myself feel better. Take some responsibility!"
I might of been obsessed with everything Chuck Palahniuk back in the day. good times.
I will definitely be offering this again, think about it, maybe even posting a whole room on Craigslist. The possibilities...
After the Vintage Heaven sale in Wicker Park Jayson and I did some serious evaluating of our friendship up to this point, you know like; do you like my new glasses? You owe me twenty dollars? I can’t stop thinking about your wife, is this going to be a problem? Do you think we should start selling clothes?
Well the answer to the last question is yes, Manly Vintage will start having men’s clothes available, at least at the next Vintage Heaven and Vintage Bazaar. Nothing against chicks selling men’s clothing if done right, but from what I’ve seen it has been poor selection and quality; we had one seller admit at Vintage Heaven she literally grabs stuff for guys without even looking. You know, and damn it, those fashion obsessed male hipsters deserve better than that.
I don’t know what will happen in our individual online shops, and I have tried to sell some clothes before with little success, there are some guidelines I’m going to stick to. Like modeling the clothes myself, or one of the other hot married dudes I know. Also to never look like those virgin douche bags modeling men’s clothes on sites like Etsy…I guess that’s it. So lets review 1) model the clothes, no shirt on a hanger, on a wall 2) model in a way that does not suggest I go home at night to a bottle of lotion, but to a wife who has dinner ready when I get home.
The two hot dudes from Manly Vintage will be pushing vintage goods this Saturday at the Heaven Gallery in Wicker Park...wait a minute...THAT'S US! Come on by and buy some antique razors, throw some high fives, and step outside with us for a smoke.
We're gonna be trying some crazy new ideas this time around, our first vintage market experience at the Vintage Bazaar was somewhat of a serious systems malfunction, so we're doing things different, LIKE HAVING PRICE TAGS! I'm also setting up at home beforehand so I don't have full boxes of crap underneath the tables, and I will eat breakfast and have coffee before I head out Saturday. Did I say crap? I meant recycled treasures. ha.
My wife and I got a call yesterday from our loan agent, he told us we’re closing on our bungalow in two weeks and already I’m getting melancholy over the conclusion of my life in apartments. I might give my Dad a call and ask him for all the addresses, perhaps drive around and document with some pictures my previous abodes; you know, for closure.
Early childhood will be easy because we lived on Troy right off Kedzie, starting around 55th and moved up and down Troy as cheaper apartments opened up. Then 65th and Sacramento for few years, couple blocks off Marquette Park; that was a grand apartment. Sigh…
It was awhile before the next apartment; there was Canada, then Africa, back from Africa. Ma and Dad purchased a home in Oak Lawn.
Right after high school had an apartment with a friend at 65th and Mobile, while falling in love with my wife who lived in an apartment on Archer and Narragansett.
Got hitched and moved into a place in Riverside at 31st and Des Plaines. What. A. Crap. Hole.
Almost five years ago we moved to our current place at 32nd and Harlem, still in Riverside, spacious one bedroom and had three kids!
I’ll be processing all of this for at least an additional week, so anticipate more posts on the weird comfort of constantly hearing sirens, listening to your neighbors fighting, and my daughters yelling at people walking by our windows.
I know I’ve left out some basic info like, where the heck are you moving?? Answers will come; I will answer one question. No, this won’t become a cute couple renovation blog, namely because Jayson and I ain't a cute couple. Just two straight dudes who like to antique together. What?
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.
Whenever I notice items labeled "primitive" I chuckle, because often it just means busted, and more costly than a tad newer, working, vintage/antique pieces. The primitives’ category also consists of plenty of decor, which (you couldn't tell from our existing overcrowded living space) I'm more and more leaning towards the direction of wholly useless.
Primitive furniture on the other hand I've become smitten and awash with love. So am I saying I want a house minimally decorated with each room centered on a gnarly, rustic, my-entire-brood-couldn't-destroy-it, piece of wooden awesomeness? Yes. Yes I am, that and rows and rows of Globe-Wernicke bookcases. (My wife will never let this happen)
These objects are very pricey if you're a sucker and purchase from a dealer (I'm not and I won't) and rare to come by in these parts (Chi-town). Also and a BIG also, I'm split on the issue of spending money on distressed pieces of furnishings all together!
Isn't some of the fun watching your furniture going from new (always a little used in my case) to charmingly beat up? Particularly the family man that I am, when my kids are on their own and I sit those final years on deaths door, wouldn't furniture covered with 20+ yrs of damage I told my wiener kids never to do my stuff just warm my old saggy gray heart?
So what is the point of the blog post? I think a to-do list is in order.
Keep going to sales/junk stores/alleyways, maybe, just maybe.
Take a trip down south with a van?
Seriously consider begin investing in space (purchase of my own Chicago bungalow is in the works) and tools to make my own damn furniture.
Does anyone know of a blog about this kind of stuff?
Oh and duh, the whole reason I started this post was because I found this chair last week, worst-blogger-ever. $15 yo.
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.more →
