To get up to New Milford, Connecticut early enough from NYC I have to get up around 5am. I actually think the Elephant’s Trunk Flea opens at 5 or 5:30am for the super hardcore folks. That’s some real flea market shit right there. By the time I get to Westchester to scoop up my sister, get coffee and drive out there it will be 8/8:30am. That’s pretty much the earliest we can make it. For a little perspective I think the Brooklyn flea opens at 10am — but the Brooklyn flea is a different beast than the Elephant’s Trunk. Go to both of them and you will see what I mean. The Trunk is more work if you live in NYC, but the prices are better and you find different stuff. I have been going for at least the last six years (I moved to NYC in 2001). I took some photos this past weekend and thought it would be fun to share them with you here. I hear rumors that the land where the Elephant’s Trunk is located has been sold and the flea’s days could be numbered. I hope those are just rumors. I suppose only time will tell.

32 Comments

A selection of photos from The Vintage Showroom in London. The company operates by appointment only, as it is mainly used by designers for “inspiration” and whatnot. If you live in NYC (and are a designer) or a vintage obsessive, The Vintage Showroom operates much like Melet Mercantile or Strong Arm Clothing Supply. Also, if you live in Boston you should know Bobby from Boston, which is more of a public store front than these others. Being that the The Vintage Showroom mainly serves industry people, the prices are not cheap. The prices are also what they are because the proprietors spend a lot of time and money sourcing the stuff. There is also a store front that is open to the public near Covent Garden if you want to check that out.

23 Comments

Meet The Vintage Showroom. I spent my Wednesday morning here and while my host (co-owner Doug) ran out to get us both a cup of tea (that was nice of him!) I took this little video. I have much more to say and lots of photos that I will share with you very soon. In the meantime, enjoy all of this vintage goodness.

21 Comments

First things first, lets be happy that it is still cold outside and we can take full advantage of wearing all of our favorite winter goods. This catalog from 1969 is the convergence of two of my favorite things: nostalgic ephemera and L.L. Bean. This booklet features some choice goods, along with a cover shot of a hunter about strike down Bambi. Safe to say that 2010 Bean is not going to be using cover art like this — but some of these goods are a bit less controversial and have been much more long lasting. That Flotation Jacket sure does look familiar.

45 Comments

The past few days have been spent doing a little business and visiting friends in Houston, Texas. One of the places my friend Kate took me to was the Texas Junk Company in the Fourth Ward section of town. Texas Junk is a quirky shop full of all sorts of odds and ends. Everything from broom handles to old doors to all sorts of other “junk” that you might need. However, the main attraction of the place are the vintage cowboy boots and western wear. Texas Junk is the destination for some vintage boots — everything is neatly organized by size in the cluttered warehouse of a store. While perusing the boots we met a newly transplanted New Yorker who had just started a job with Exxon and was humorously trying to “immerse himself in the local culture.” It seems like he is on the right track. Texas Junk seems like the perfect place to start.

9 Comments

A dose of nostalgia and workwear for your weekend. This 1950s film about the development of the U.S. railroad system is a great looking little piece of history. “America is the living symbol of the miracle of modern production.” Well said Mr. Industrial Propaganda Film announcer. Check out those brand new Caterpillar dozers at the 2:03 mark, the plaid work shirt at 6:19 and all of those factory scenes. Great stuff.

1 Comment

Encouraged to write letters to service members overseas, Americans heeded the call and sent massive amounts of mail to their loved ones. The U.S. Postal Service was quickly overwhelmed as the volume of correspondance skyrocketed. So in 1942 the government decided to implement Victory Mail, or V-Mail as it was known, which was a version of the British “Airgraph” system. The Smithsonian explains how the British came to develop Airgraph.

23 Comments

There is a lot of talk about gentlemen shoppers drinking fine bourbon at Billy Reid. Well, last night at Ned Martel and Jay Carroll’s geniusly merchandised vintage shop / Americana explosion One Trip Pass, the drinking was taken to the next level when a group of grown men decided to shotgun a beer in the store. Video proof below. Do try this at home.

16 Comments

The good people at Cold Splinters (which is fantastic and should be on your daily reading list) put me onto some amazing digitized vintage Backpacker magazines. More than the articles, I was drawn to the old-school ads for some of the same outfitters we are still talking about today. Companies like Sierra Designs, Danner, The North Face and Woolrich. It is cool to see the look and feel from the late seventies and early eighties. I especially love the illustrated ads. I remember reading magazines and catalogs like Campmor as a kid and dreaming over kick-ass camping equipment.

24 Comments

I’m a sucker for that whole industrial salvage furniture look. The guys from Billykirk have it going on in their design studio. Tons of crazy old tools and machines salvaged mostly from factories in Los Angeles. If I lived out in LA I would be all over Sonrisa, Retro Office and especially a recent discovery, Cleveland Art. I know what you are thinking, why the hell is it named Cleveland Art when it is based in LA?

26 Comments

One of FDR’s first programs enacted under the New Deal was the establishment of the Civilian Conservation Corps or CCC as it came to be known. The program enlisted thousands of out-of-work young men throughout the United States to “focus on natural resource conservation” at National, State and local park-lands. Oregon State University has a beautiful archive of images from the days of the CCC. Some of my favorites below.

17 Comments