Lots of new goodies!!

(P.S. If 2 of these posts show up in your blog feed, pick the top-most one. Some slight blogger issues..)

As crazy as architecture has been, that sure doesn't mean I've taken a break on finding and rescuing new vintage goodies!

In the above pic, I scored that 50's endtable and an amazing Kroehler swiveling chair for $15! The chair is incredible, but of course I don't have a picture of it... I agreed to take the chair and endtable right away to get it for $15 at the thrift store, just kinda forgot what car I was driving hehe... the guy's face as he carried out the chair to the car was priceless... It was a "cozy" trip home to say the least...

Haven't painted or decorated much in the above room, but just putting vintage stuff in the room makes it instantly better! This table set is one of my all time favorite pieces...The lines of the table, the blonde wood, and that outrageous original striped vinyl! This one's definitely a long-term keeper! (Can you believe the seller wanted to reupholster them?! Yes, there are a few small rips on the seat part of some of them, but those stripes! Oh! How could you even think that!

And scored this awesome melmac set on ebay! $30 got me a lot! This is only a third of the whole set! (the other half is pink and yellow!!!)

I got the following stuff at the same place I got my sofa set in the living room...

Love this 60's string owl! I forget what these are called, but I love it! It'll go great against the soon-to-be pale chartreuse wall in the family room.

LOVE these 1940's pisner glasses! A set of 8 in perfect condition for $10!

And of course filled my appetite for kitsch with some awesome salt-n-pepper guys! I love the bowl of fruit- the pineapple and lemon come out ha!

And aren't these awwsh? The seller's mother made them in the 50's, and she was going to throw them away!

And an incredible score for $3!!! This amazing vintage tin rocket ship!! It's supposed to light up and drive around (it sort of does...ish). I hung it on the wall...I LOVE this!!!

And got me some killer vintage shades!

Also rescued him from the dumpster at my school! I use him in the office now! Love those boomerang arms...

Also scored this incredible Zenith Porthole TV!!!!! Ok actually I don't have a picture of mine on hand, but this is the exact same year/model as mine, except mine's in better shape! It's gutted, but that just means I can hide modern TV guts behind the screen and no one will know (shh!).

Also got this later 50's Zenith recently. However, the more recent find of the above Zenith means I have to sell this later one(I can't keep em all, and love the literal round screen of the earlier one!). I have one guy really interested in CT... I have to see is UPS would ship this... (I would remove the glass and legs).

So anyways, I know that was a long post, but I'm so far behind and just wanted to show you all all the goodies I've been getting! And that's still not nearly everything...

I will say as much as I have I basically have the thing where I don't just want to get stuff to have it, and then put it in storage... its too hoggish when other vintage lovers could use and love it! So I'm really trying to sell the stuff I don't absolutely love...maybe I can make a compilation of everything to sell, put it in a flickr album, and put a link to the side here somewhere... What happens is I'll get something, and then a bit later find something even better to replace it. (like the TV's above). And I should sell it immediately but it just takes so much time... but I really do need to get on that...

Quick Fix to a vintage dinette chair...

I feel like I'm trying to sneak back in with a regular post and hope no one notices I've been gone for so long... Yes, yes, I know I haven't been a good blogger recently, but I just started my junior year in architecture at UMD this fall (first year of studio)....and it's been beyond crazy... Oh, the life of an architecture student...more like architorture sometimes!

But I do like it, and do LOVE design...so I just have to sacrifice a few small things....like my social life...and sleep...and sanity (at times). But enough about me, let's just see how often I can keep these posts up....and I feel a giveaway coming up to make up for it...just need to find some awesome mailable vintage stuff!

But anyways, I got this awesome dinette set over the summer:

It's great, and has fantastic legs, but several seats were ripped up.



I'm very much a fan of keeping things original, but these were fairly big rips... The backs however, were good and intact for the most part, so I was just unsure of what to do...

SO, I decided I would simply recover the 2 mostly ripped seats with another material that would work with the vintageness... I didn't rip off the existing vinyl, but just left it there and didn't disturb it, in case someone in the future does want to try to save it somehow (and only 2 or 3 seats were this bad).

First matter of business was unscrewing the seat...easier said that done!


Some of the screws were SO rusted and stuck in there after 50 years, and you do NOT want to strip one of those! Big pain...learned from experience...Some WD-40 and a half hour-ish later, I was done.

To make it a little easier when putting it back together, and extend the life of the screws, I let them sit in vinegar for a while and tried to clean off as much rust as I could.

Then some rubbin' and scrubbin'...

And tada!

Next order of business was stapling the new material on. If you ever recover a chair like this, make sure the pattern of your fabric lines up with the chair (verticals and horizontals all plum and true to the world-my tech teacher says that all the time- I love it!).

And quick spotlight on my awesome vintage stapler! I guess you might wanna use something heavier duty in some cases, but this is what i had on hand and it worked!

Next rescrew everything back together, and there ya go!


Yes, I liked the original cracked ice vinyl better, but I think it looks pretty good for having all the materials on hand, and is a lot cheaper (read: free) than reupholstering the whole thing (which I wouldn't do cause I love the original vinyl that's still there anyways!). Quick fix, but one that didn't hurt the vintage thing, and is easily removeable or changeable. And know you have an awesome 50's dinette you can be proud of!

P.S.

Since I got that set, I found my dream dinette set, and now I have too many! So if anyone is interested in buying this set, lemme know! (I'm in MD).

Gould Vintage Microcar Meet

Bad blog! Bad blog!

Or bad blogger might be more like it....

Has it really been a month since I posted last?? Yikes I was thinkin' more like a week or two! Wow time flies...
I figured I'd have more time to blog in the summer but I've just been doing a million and a half things! Plus I'm gettin' deep into debt between car repairs and road trips, and need to get a job to pay all this off!
But alas, that's not vintage related, so why don't I fill you in on some of what you've missed!
Let's start with what kicked July off, an annual meet I go to every year and never miss!

The Gould Microcar Meet!

(link here!)

(my 56' BMW Isetta on the right, my friend's 71' Fiat Kitty Cab on the left)

For the past 5 years, a staple of my summer has been driving up to my friend Wendy in New York, and then caravanning over to the Gould Microcar Meet in Newton, MA. I'm not the biggest car show guy, cause let's be honest, it gets a little tiring just sitting and staring at a bunch of cars on a big field in the sun. The cars can be gorgeous, but I either end up leaving early, or roasting in the sun!


The Gould Meet however, is none of those things! It's a ton of fun, and if you haven't been before, I strongly recommend that you do! While the cars are outrageous and gorgeous and hilarious, it's really the people that makes the meet one-of-a-kind. For most of the weekend, we invade Charle Gould's neighborhood and just sit back and talk cars, meet awesome people, give and take rides, and just have a lot of fun in general.

Even a little rain on Saturday couldn't keep us down for long!

There's lots of driving and caravaning microcars around Newton, and even on a beautiful 100 mile trip around the country! We always lose a few micros, but a great back-up crew helps everyone get back to the house in one piece.



I got my first flat tire on the trip, but with help from some friends and micro people, we were back up and running in no time! Special thanks to Justin & Giles and Ralph for their help and Ralph's spare Isetta tire!


Every year we come back it feels like a family reunion, and it's just a great kick-off to July. And if you've never heard of a microcar, then it's an awesome introduction to their quirky little world!

And the vintage goodness keeps rollin' in...

It's gonna be a busy Sunday, and I'm excited! I don't know what's been goin' on lately, but I'm still rollin' along on my vintage roll!! I've gotten some incredible finds lately (some I still need to show you) and will apparently keep on rolling along tomorrow! (It's usually this way...big rolls and then big dry spells).

So anyways, here's a taste of what I'm picking up tomorrow on my 6 hour (ish) road trip!

Stop 1: 4 x 6 lightweight utility trailer

Ok this may not seem like much, but it's a great deal at $125, and will be kind of necessary for picking everything else up (along with many vintage finds in the future). It's small, but just big enough to fenangle a sofa on if I need too, and perfect for towing behind my Festiva.

Stop 2: 50's Dinette Set

Ok ok ok I really don't need this, but... it's $25! How can I resist! And actually now that I think of it, I don't have a full red set with chairs, and I do need one for my mom's house. I'll get this, but I promise I'll sell my other girl to make room!

Stop 3: 60's Yellow Armchairs

And I love these 60's chairs! The fact that one's just a wee bit taller makes all the difference! Asking $50, but we'll see how low he can go... (and for the record, I do need these for the living room!)

Stop 4: Set of 6 Chairs

Ok these I don't technically need, but I just love how out of balance they are! I mean, I almost kind of need them...ish. These are a maybe...we'll see what happens...

Stop 5: Pink Stove!!!

And the piece de resistance... the whole reason I'm taking this ridiculous 6 hour trip in the first place, this gorgeous PINK 50's stove!!!! (I think it's a Westinghouse). I've been looking for a pink one forever that was reasonable, and I'm pretty sure I can get this one (which works good!) for $150...




And ok this technically won't be on the same trip, but I might be picking up this super Jetsonsy aqua dental chair from the 50's/early 60's on tuesday!

So anyways, it'll be a looong day! Wish me luck!!

Mirror, Mirror, on the Wall...

WooHOO!!!! I've finally found one!!! I have been looking for one of these 50's mirror/shadowbox beasts forever! The first time I saw one was 3 or 4 years ago...I had loved vintage cars and architecture up to that point, but it was that mirror that opened my eyes to the broader vintage world...


How can you not love her??? She's so glamorous, over-the-top, unnecessary (in the best way possible) and just screams 50's amazingness with a touch of glitzy kitschness...

She's just got so much goin' on...and I LOVE it. Starbursts and speckles and 50's scribble with angles and mirrors and chicken-wire and shelves and boxes and ahh!

I will admit I drove a wee bit far to get her (*cough* Pittsburgh*), but in my defense I got a lot of other stuff on the same trip! But here's the kicker... she was $50!! (which is more than worth it to me!). She's missing one little section of mirror, BUT the guy then says "If you want, I have a couple similar ones with the same speckled mirror from the same company.. you can make 2 perfect ones from the 3...". My mouth just about dropped! Two others?!? Here's the next best one, IMHO...

Isn't it awesome?? The other is still my favorite, but I love the little speckled spheres and the fact that it's asymmetrical!

I couldn't get the best picture of the 3rd, but this one will be donating a couple of speckled mirror strips to the other 2 (some strips are already removed)...

And to honor this wondrous occasion, why not an awesome 1930's episode involving the true Snow White (Miss Betty Boop), Cab Calloway, and another magical mirror...