PAY DAY

Hunting down cool stuff is one of the things I enjoy most in life. I travel to dank sections of IL to find it: weird church and odd yard sales in towns where the buildings are never over two stories tall.

I supposedly make my living on Ebay and Etsy. It's not a good living because I don't work at it. I spend a lot of time involved with many other projects: volunteer projects that are critical to my political theory. Consequently, I'm always broke. Always.

I don't have a savings account or a retirement fund. But that's OK, I do get to stay at home with Beau and garden in better weather.

Here's a view of a small part of my garden last summer:

Since I don't work as much as I should, things pile up in the basement:

The very basement that was supposed to have housed my painting studio.

But hunting down the stuff is exciting, especially when I find something (like I haven't found enough?) that I know will sell on Ebay. I feel obliged to search and rescue.

This is how I've been making a 'living' for the last 13 years. I have a talent for it, an ability to recognize an Eva Zeisel dish, Victorian Vulcanite, Papageno pottery, Miriam Haskell jewelry, Marimekko fabric, Dorothy Thorpe glass, Jens Quistgaard Rosewood or a George Nelson slat table.



I've a reverence for vintage textiles! Coats made of wool that were woven on upright looms:

Vintage handmade quilts (just sold this on ebay for 100.00)

Vintage early 70's patch leather coat worn by Shaft's girlfriend:

Vintage 50's Smoking jacket:

And this rare find, a vintage 40's acetate Reyn Hawaiian bowling shirt:


I get to admire this stuff while it's in my possession. I rarely get attached to any of it - it's stuff. But it's the stuff of historical significance. Of a time when design was a consideration, the construction was a point of pride and the quality unrivaled today. Wool was actually woven on looms in this country from the sheep that were raised here!

Here's a little lesson, kiddens. A man's shirt from the 50's had ample facing; so much in fact that the button holes were horizontal. Look at the shirt you are wearing right now. The button holes are vertical, right? That's due to corporate greed.

But that's a post for another day.

I'll be doing a basement sale in a month or two and will post it here.

THE S. S. ADMIRAL - MY BRIEF GIG

Photo by Tom Kempland

When I was in college, I briefly worked on the S.S. Admiral.

I worked in a fairly large office that had a massive safe.
The first night on the job, I listened as other people answered the phone saying, "Purser's office." I thought they were saying first floor office.

Wouldn't you know, the phone rang while I was in the room alone. I answered, First floor office!

I was treated to a moment of silence then heard crabby Captain Streckfus bellow in my ear: This is a ship! There aren't floors on a ship, its a deck! You are in the First Deck Purser's Office!

My hair was standing up. Not knowing what else to do I hung up on him.
Oh, but it felt sweet.

http://www.usgennet.org/usa/mo/county/stlouis/admiral.htm
http://www.stlouistimeportal.com/postcard_floatingdancefloor.htm

Photos of my old store RE:GENERATION

I was going through some old files today and found these photos of my store. It was located at 3196 S. Grand next to the post office on Wyoming.

I opened it in 1998 and was there business for 3.5 years. One year into I started selling on eBay. I was making more money on eBay in a day than the store was producing in a week. I had a three year lease and dreamed of the day I could close and work out of my home. No overhead, no special tax license, employee, etc.

The name of the store referenced recycling (or upcycling as I prefer to call it) and was a place where I could display and sell a lot of what I was making at the time.

I've never missed owning a retail store.
I did met Chris (The Red Diamond).

That's one of my paintings in the background and I made the feathered Go-Go girl dresses towards the bottom left of the photo.

That's Chris on the left hand side wearing a vintage sterling silver mesh bracelet that I gave him when we were going steady.


Check out those dressing rooms! I miss them.

I made those white furry pants that guy is wearig.