Ettore Sottsass, Olivetti, Thrift Stores and Me

Those who've followed BarryBlog, especially through the three years of rather regular postings from Fall 2006 until Winter 2008, know that I have a rather informed design eye, combined with a consistent thrift store routine, which gives me a great deal of opportunities to find important design items at thrift store prices. As an example, one afternoon I came across a rare Olivetti Praxis 48 typewriter by famed designer, artist and architect Ettore Sottsass. Just to rub it in for my fellow thriftsters, it was $4.99. It just so happens that Sottsass is one of my long-time favorite designers, since I cut my design teeth in the late 80's, right about the time Sottsass founded The Memphis Design Movement. During this formative time in my young design career, Memphis was at full stride and had influenced the design thinking of Mark Johnson and Lauren Ciesa at JCI (JohnsonCiesa) – the design firm where I worked at in East Lansing Michigan. During this time, the bold, whimsical colors and shapes where a complete departure from the bland work being done in Corporate America, where the archetypal color combination was burgundy and grey. Lauren always sprung for great office lighting, modern decorative arts and high end furniture, and that passion for well design items made a lasting impression.

Though Sottsass’s iconic Valentine typewriter has eluded me, I do have a couple other fine examples of his work in the form of the Olivetti Lettera 36; Olivetti Lettera 32; and Olivetti/Underwood 319. The Praxis 48 is among my most prized items in my growing collection of important design. I keep hoping I will come across a piece of his incredible pottery, but that would surprise me considering they routinely go for $5,000 on up.

So this afternoon, savoring a newly sore throat and achy body, I came across this great Sottsass film by his last collaborator, Enesco Corporation. Ettore’s design fire was not extinguished until his death at the ripe old age of 90.

If you have any stories of Sottsass, or have any of his design work in your collection, do share it here.

I am not certain if these last two recent posts are a sign of things to come, but for some reason I am feeling the desire to contribute, and realize how I still have plenty to add to the conversation. We’ll see.

Ars Longa - Generosity forges Community

Recently I discovered the journal Ars Longa. Developed as an outlet and to share with others of a like mind, it's one man's perspective and documentation of his lifestyle of collecting, which he's coined "thrift shop archaeology." The journal is developed by sllab studios (I presume that refers to his "lab" - and the Scott Lindberg initials to boot), and it covers fine art, modernist design, and other such mid-century modern artifacts, decorative arts and general goodness.

Scott echos my sentiments when he suggests that designed objects and beautiful artworks can be affordably attained by everyone, you just have to know where to look.

That is in fact what thrifting entails. Knowledge. Timing. Research. And a healthy appreciation for the past. Thrifting ( my new verb) is a pastime to some in the way watching TV or going to a movie is for others. For the hard core thrift store shopper, the hunt is important, the purchase secondary, and the friendships primary to the overall effort. All in all it's an adventure, and it's no doubt fun to share along the way.

Scott's journal has provided many clues as to some of the high end items I have thrifted that I had yet to identify. Sharing information is a big thrifting thread, and Scott's website is a rich resource. The list of links alone is worth checking out. He also painstakingly developed a designer directory, so you can search based on designer keywords. It's really cool how by reaching out with knowledge and generosity, friendships can be forged and communities can be built.

Bravo Ars Longa. I salute you.

The Hunt: Eco-Friendly and Vintage Furniture

Apartment Therapy recently featured a great post on eco-friendly furniture. Now Sarah follows up, listing all the environmentally conscious wood furniture that's been featured on AT in the past. What a great resource. She lists sustainably harvested, recycled, and second-hand wood in her line up, and in so doing, highlights Jubilee Furniture as a place to find "second hand solid wood."

For me, "vintage used" Mid-Century Modern (and older) has always been a favorite choice for hunting, researching, collecting and usually just admiring. There's something about "the hunt" for this stuff that makes it rewarding and worth repeating. The late thought leader Rob Roy Kelly does a nice job of shedding light on collecting, as he describes in detail what it means to him. For non-hunters and non-collectors, this article might explain where your collector friends are coming from.

I appreciate Sarah's article. It reminds me of how cool it is to reuse stuff. Especially when doing so achieves refreshing, unintended and inspired results. And for me, like Rob Roy Kelly, finding and researching these articles is often more enjoyable than buying. Many times I just take a picture so I can research it later without having to buy. That's fun too.

As background for those of you who have not heard of Jubilee Furniture in Carol Stream, the word got out several weeks ago through the generous help of a few bloggers I contacted for help, and by the images I took of the items there. I hoped my blog friends and contacts would share the news about Jubilee, and boy did they. Apartment Therapy, Nicole at Making it Lovely, Jess at Howaboutorange, ToKissTheCook, and others– they all got the ball rolling big time. Since then many have ventured out to Carol Stream for themselves, and some continue to blog about their experiences. I even saw some recent chatter on Domino Magazine's website. Some found deal of a lifetime, while others came up empty. And some really gave Jubilee high praise calling it "This trip may have been our best thrift store experience ever." I'm continually surprised every week by what's been donated from the week before. I have begun to see some of the same new faces there every weekend, which is cool.

Now that Jubilee is on the map so to speak, they have a need for more furniture donations. There's something satisfying about reusing and helping the environment, and an even better feeling knowing donation of furniture to Jubilee will help people who are shy on cash for whatever reason, and by knowing their profits go to the greater good. So if you or anyone you know is looking to donate something, call Jubilee and see if they can help. Dave and Susan can be contacted at 630.337.1467.

709 Finds. More Liquidation items.

More items which will be on the chopping block as soon as I finish photography and pricing. Especially interesting as I recently read this and this.

New Flickr Set: Mid-Century Modern Objects

This is a set of images I took to continue to improve as a photographer and also as we prepare to open our etsy store and eBay some items to raise money in continued preparation for our adoption. If you want to see any of the images larger, click the "link" button in the pictobrowser interface. Some of the portrait/vertical shots get lost behind the pictobrowser interface.

Etsy: Preparing for What's Really Valuable

Behind the scenes over the last several months, I've been researching, and recently finalizing various merchant side web services in order to begin liquidating much of our antiques, collectibles and what I like to call "unexpectables"— in advance of our adoption which is 12-24 months out. My wife and I share the same taste for mid-century modern decorative arts, furniture and furnishings. We're both rather frugal, so all we own is the result of being at the right garage sale or tag sale at the right time. Several times over the years in fact. I've posted about a couple of these finds before both here, here, here and here. Suffice it to say we've found some gems over the years.

A couple weeks ago it really hit home how some of our stuff has got to go, as we sat in a parenting and adoption seminar. Much of what's in our home are items that are either fragile and/or impractical, and likely dangerous to little ones. So after we returned from the seminar, we met a guy at our home who I'd arranged to show up in a truck, and he took a lion's share of my Heywood Wakefield blond wood 50's furniture back to Michigan where he shares in a collectible business. These items consisted of a vanity, side table, and a dinette set–complete with the famed Butterfly table. The Heywood pieces where the first collectibles I ever bought as a single guy right out of college, so a great deal of legacy and history exchanged hands in that transaction.

So as I ponder what's next for my wife and I, and one or two children who we may bring home from El Salvador in the near future, it makes me smile to know we're transitioning from a life of valuable stuff, to a life of true value.

Not to say enjoying what you have is inherantly wrong, but when this stuff becomes a burden, or draws attention away from things of greater importance, it's time to let go.

All that said, I do hope I'll never lose a passion for going to garage sales, and flea markets and antique malls. I've spent hours and hours in my parent's antique booths, going with them to garage sales, and enjoying every minute. I rank these memories among my most cherished. So it was a natural when my wife and I began spending time together doing the same. Time I wouldn't give up for anything. Except a baby. Or two!

Keep an eye out for our Etsy announcement and a few eBay sales soon. Our Etsy store is called "cur8tor." It's empty now, but won't be shortly. If you go there, you can look through my favorite items and sellers to get an idea what the cur8tor vintage store will be like. If you've never been to Etsy, you should check it out. All proceeds of our Etsy and eBay sales will go to our adoption fund. The costs associated with an adoption are mind boggling. But worth it.