Letter Jackets...Above & Beyond MCM

I love the Mid-Century Modern look in decor...furniture and accessories. I also have a penchant for other things extending into the MCM experience. This includes a lot of different elements, some of which I've collected over time...many long before I began bringing in MCM furniture and seeking the appropriate accessories to highlight those pieces.

I've always been a fan of cool retro jackets and have quite few in my closet. When I first started finding athletic jackets, club jackets, and the like I was rather naive about the genre.

The blue & white satin jacket in the middle of the picture is an unmarked "club jacket" from the 1950s. I found this jacket in a bundle of clothing I bought in 1978...thought it was cool and kept it. I've worn it a number of times before retiring it to "display only" status. That's when I began to learn about the "reversibles" and concentrated my efforts there.

Let me explain the "reversibles." These are club and athletic jackets which are fully reversible giving you two different looks. They are usually melton wool on one side and satin on the other. It's rather rare to have both sides display a team or club logo, name, or other graphic, but it's possible...rare, but possible.

What's so cool about the "reversibles" is you have two jackets in one...and two distinctive looks. I love to be searching a secondhand store or flea market and find a reversible jacket...I get jazzed, especially when the price doesn't take into account the rarity of the jacket. A lot of times the seller has no idea the jacket is a reversible. If this is the case, I'll usually point it out...then I'll buy the piece if the price is reasonable. Here's the quickest way to tell if you have a "reversible' jacket, 1) you have closing snaps on the inside and outside, or 2) pockets on both sides...both identifiers are the first thing I look for when I'm checking out a jacket.

I obviously get a bigger kick out of a jacket that fits me, but will buy smaller ones also, just because I like the style. Some will have the name of the original owner sewn across the left front...athletic jackets usually have the original name inside one of the pockets. So, if you find a cool letter jacket, check inside each pocket to see if there's name sewn inside...many times you can tell by the name whether it was a guy's or gal's jacket. Not that it makes any difference, but it's fun to know. I have jackets from junior high school up through college...I had a cool letter jacket from Yale not long ago and sold it at a market here in Austin. The best finds outside of "reversibles" are jackets with a lot awards...District Champs, All-State, State Champs, etc. Some even come with other doodads...I have one "reversible" girl's jacket with "Going Steady" strings on the letter. Usually from the 50s or early 60s...it showed the gal wearing the jacket was not available...gotta love those little signs from the past. Also you'll find a lot of metal pins indicating a sport...some will be sewn into the letter or jacket but a lot were metal and simply attached.

I'm finding a recent surge in demand for vintage and retro letter jackets...maybe it's because of Lady Gaga's video with the dancers all wearing vintage letter jackets.

Anyway...I've been collecting for over 30 years and still wear 'em.

I've got one reversible with the name "Lenny" over the left chest. I've worn it to parties and been called "Lenny" all evening by people who didn't know me, just assumed I must be "Lenny" because that's what the jacket said. That jacket is one that has info on both sides as "Lenny" is on the front of the wool side and the white satin reversible side has "N C E" on the back. I have no idea what "N C E" stands for...but, what the heck...at that point whatever you make up sticks.

What better way to have fun, enjoy collecting, and have a useful piece all at the same time...besides you can have an alter ego when you wear them.

Enjoy the hunt the cool, vintage, retro, and antique finds...like you'll find at Roadhouse Antiques & Vintage on-line and at home in Austin.

Off the Wall...Yard Art

Well, here we go talking about off-the-wall yard art "OTWYA". That could be a major descriptor, over stated, or under stated. I cannot describe with any forethought how this developed in my back yard...but, I'll give it a shot.
Some years back while living in Lubbock I was constantly checking out the local vintage/resale stores. From time-to-time I'd come across metal hubcaps selling for .30-.90 cents apiece. Now, I don't really want them, but at the same time I'm thinking...hmmm...we don't really use metal hubcaps anymore. now it's either fancy rims or plastic hubs. So, I just started to buy 'em at those prices.
The first time I took a bunch of metal hubcaps to an antique show they brought no interest...zilch, nada, zero. I tried a couple of more times and even listed a Plymouth 1930s cap on eBay...zilch, nada, cero.
That's when my decorator and friend went for the "collection" of hubcaps to grace the interior walls of the patio deck. The idea used the available caps and it looked great.
Then one fall, while over in Fayetteville, TX at the show I find a farmer who had 100s just lying in a field.
Well...gotta say I instantly popped over to his place and grabbed all I could find.
I was diggin' through the tall grass, trollin' in thickets, and generally finding metal hubcaps of all types and varieties...I've been over to that place 4 times and I'm still findin' hubcaps.
Now...there was just no place to put 'em all. Stacked up, I was always tripping over 'em, so I cleaned, polished, and put them on the back fence for a little south Austin yard art.
They catch the evening sun and sparkle like a West Texas twilight...and the hubs stash just keeps growin'. Now,...I'm always lookin' for metal hubcaps.
I've got a couple in the house...the too cool for Sunday School 1950s moon spinner with the saturn stamps, some of the '58 Chevy Impalas with the checkerboard design. Those help decorate the game room & achieve a MCM 50s-60s feel.
BTW...I'll be moving the Williams Pitch and Bat game in soon. It's the 1958 Shortstop Deluxe wood-rail machine where the players pop up and run around the bases. There's two pitch speeds and a batter...great two player game.
I'll post on the day the Williams comes to join Elton's Pinball Wizard...it'll be a challenge to get both in with all the 50s furniture...hasta luego
If you see any metal hubcaps, let me know...I plan to build this year's Christmas tree out of found hubcaps.
Good luck in your pursuit of vintage, antiquities, retro, and all-round cool stuff...like old hubcaps.

Accessorizing: The Final Touch

To me, adding the right accessories to your MCM decor can really set off the room...it can make it or break it. We talked about how you can successfully blend different styles such as the earlier "MCM Meets Southwest" article. Accessorizing can distinquish your decor, identify your style, and add enjoyment and pleasure for you and your guests.

Picking the right accessories can be a daunting task or a "walk in the park" depending on your decorating decisions.

You can make it easy if you know the theme you want. Is the theme color based, collection based, era based, or have some other basis?

Here's an example of how my decorator and I did my home...When we were choosing the accessories to add, my decorator kept asking me the same question..."What collections do you have?"

Well, that's why the guest bath walls are all covered in old Mexican sombreros of all sizes and styles.

That's also how we developed the backyard decor of old hubcaps on the patio and back fence...more on this little episode later...I don't know too many people who have 100s of old metal hubcaps just lying around.

Meanwhile back at the ranch...she took my different collections and began to theme each room.

The guest room looks like a 1950s high school sportsfan room...full of old athletic memorabilia, letter jackets, and pennants.

The living room has a surf/skate theme...and each skateboard has an old western hat hanging on it.

The game room has pinballs, slot machines, gumballs interspersed with old Ranch Oak furniture from the A. Brandt Furniture Co. from Fort Worth, TX.

So, my decor was collection based...from what I had collected or kept over the years...it is amazing how much of my accessories are things from my past I never threw out.

You can do it any way that works for you, but just the right set of lamps, just the right starburst clock, or just the right area rug, just the right cocktail set can really brighten a room and further establish your "style."

Good luck with accessorizing your decor.

Now, let's think about yard art and hubcaps...hasta luego

Antiques & Vintage Retro: A Green Investment

I always like to point out to my customers and clients the advantages, in today's world, of buying "used" and "recycled" furniture and accessories...or antiques, if you will.

I've always been impressed with the quality and craftsmanship in older furniture and accessories...made in America, built by American craftsman, of American materials. Up until about 1980 most things were made in the US and then shipped for sale. Today we see more things coming from China or other Pacific Rim countries...the labor costs are cheaper, the material is cheaper and hence, the final product is cheaper (read not made to last).

The things Roadhouse Antiques & Vintage offers for sale via our shows, website, or other Etail opportunities are things that have survived for 50 years or longer. They are things that will last another 50 years and beyond.

We scour markets, shops, barns, fields, sites, and other places to provide you with the best we can find...we're true recyclers...we're American pickers. We find things we can recycle, they may take a little fixing up or TLC, but you won't have to cut down another tree to buy our wood products or smelt any ore to buy our metal pieces.

We like to think of ourselves as a Green Business with little to no harm on the environment...although, we do have to transport the inventory we offer, we try to make sure we're hauling a full load not a partial load. Heck, we'll tie it on the top of the rig if we have to.

When you buy our products, you can buy with confidence that the product will last, hold value, and maybe even increase in value while you enjoy it. If you ever decide to sell an antique or retro vintage purchase you've made, you probably won't lose money on your investment. Why? You're making an investment and having the joy of using your purchase while you own it.

Try that with a piece of furniture from Ikea...it simply will not work. With antiques and vintage retro it will work.

I always encourage buyers to buy the best you can afford, upgrade when you can, and buy what you love.

What's moving best for us right now are pieces at the top of our line...the better pieces at reasonable prices. Not to say our lower cost inventory is not selling, because it is...but we sell our best pieces first. We continue to upgrade our inventory to meet this need while keeping our prices in check and affordable for the quality of merchandise we offer.

So remember, when you're looking to buy antique and vintage retro...you're buying green and making an investment toward your future. The two concepts go hand-in-hand. Good hunting!

MCM Patio Furniture Favorites

I was wanting to get some feedback on everyone's favorite patio furniture from the 1950s - 1960s. This is a time where I have very vivid memories of the parties my parents used to host with friends, neighbors, and co-workers. My parents always had a galvanized tube full 7-Up and Coke chilled by a big block of ice my dad would get from the local ice house. We had a way-cool redwood and aluminum folding picnic table with matching benches and always an aluminum folding table for the food...we had a built-in brick fireplace in the backyard to grill the hot dogs and burgers.

There were these two Adirondack chairs my parents had which had to be painted each year...that was always my job. They were forever white, I don't think my folks ever thought about different colors...they were made by my dad and originally painted white and stayed white.

Remember the webbed aluminum folding chairs you could take camping and to the lake? We always had some of those plus the older fan-back or shell-back metal chairs...I had to paint those to about every other year.

But my all time favorites, still are, the folding redwood and aluminum chairs...they were just too cool for Sunday School...and I didn't have to paint 'em every Spring.

I just loved that style...and like I said, I still do. I buy 'em every time I get a chance. Needless to say there's a few hanging around right now.

I found another redwood and aluminum folding picnic table the other day...fell all over myself buying it...it reminded me of the one from my youth. The last one I had got sold to the movie Secretariat which should be coming out soon. It was filmed in Lafayette, LA and Lexington, KY...I can't wait to spot the table and some of the other Mid-Century Modern furniture I sold as props. I tried to get the picnic table back after filming but one of the senior decorators had dibs on it...figures, it was cooler than to other side of the pillow.

I sure like to get know what your favorite MCM patio furniture is...let me know, maybe I'll find some...for me I'm bugnuts about the redwood and aluminum style.

I certainly sell a lot of fan-backs, floral punched, shell-backs, and metal patio furniture...but, around my house it's all about the redwood style...more later...hasta luego

Mid-Century Meets Southwest

I've been posting more of the Native American works my website @ rocketranchroadhouse.com. I've always had the eclectic decor which mixed my love for MCM furniture and accessories with my passion for Native American art. It seems the two may not be compatible or complimentary, but they seem to work well together.

Anyway, I'm moving out some of the Native American art pieces and offering them for others to enjoy...I just have more than I can really display. I figure what's the purpose of having works of art, if you can't adequately display them for your's or other's enjoyment?
I continue to change the decor in the house as pieces move in and through the inventory which I have available. That's one of the advantages of being a dealer, you get first pick of your own inventory...bring a piece in, take a piece out.

The fact that there's a surfboard in the living room which is lined by every skateboard I every skated bearing a cowboy hat which I wore at that time in my life seems natural to me...a little eclectic rather than eccentric.

Heck, I figure it's not eccentric, it's "colorful." As Strother Martin's character in Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid said, "I'm not eccentric, I'm colorful." Of course he was shot right out of the saddle immediately following that statement, but that's another thing altogether.

I've brought MCM together with Southwestern to create a unique appeal and a place I enjoy spending my time.

So, more Southwestern art is up on the web and the MCM remains mostly on CL here in Austin...'cause it moves quickly and affords my local clientele quality at affordable prices. And, it's helpful and flattering to find my CL posts on other local blogs about Mid-Century Modernism in and around Austin.

The next show I'll be at is set for 24-25 April at Palmer Events Center here in Austin...City Wide Garage Sale, which is one of a kind for finding odd, unusual, unique offerings of all types at more than reasonable prices...hope to see you there!

After Fayetteville...Back to Austin

Now that Antiques Weekend and the Fayetteville show is behind me and I've had a week to recover, I've been posting more Mid-Century and Danish Modern furniture and accessories on Austin's CL. I didn't take a lot of MCM to Fayetteville, just enough to give folks a taste of what I've been doing in Austin.

The show in Fayetteville was gruelling, as usual, with 12+ hour days and sleeping on a camp cot...then the craziest of all was on Friday 2 April I smacked a buzzard on Hwy 159 crashing in the windshield of my Suburban and sending glass all over me and the interior. I found a great place in Columbus, TX to fix it and was back in Fayetteville by noon.

It's been a wacky few weeks for the Suburban and my antique shows having it in the shop twice for transmission work and then the buzzard incident...but if you need auto repair work while in Austin, I highly recommend Adam Hall and his crew at River City Automotive...what I'd call fast and fair. I also recommend Juke Automotive about 2 blocks north of River City Auto...they did a great job for me also keeping me on the road.

Now back to what's up and for sale in the MCM and Danish Modern lines here at Roadhouse Antiques in Austin...I just a listed an absolutely fabulous Cathedral table from Broyhill's Brasilia Collection. It's in extraordinarily good condition with the original glass insert and ceramic bowl...you can take a look @ rocketranchroadhouse.com. I also have posted all of the MCM clocks, well there may be 1 or 2 still around the house I've not offered for sale but most are listed.

I sold a really great pair of "bouncer" garden chairs this morning along with a matching super light weight aluminum table...still have 1 aluminum table in the front yard along with a cool redwood and aluminum folding picnic table. There's a set of 3 redwood and aluminum folding garden/patio chairs and another set of 2...it was a set of 3 with the rocker but a lady wanted just the rocker and she took it home for a good price. I may be a little off with the MCM garden stuff, but I really go bugnuts over the redwood and aluminum outdoor furniture...I'm just ahead of headlights on the style. I think everyone will catch up soon, but it's my preference over the 50s fan backs. The redwood and aluminum folding pieces are the best for durability and style and just reek 1960s retro.

I've been working on repairing the stash of early coin-op games I have, so they are all off the trailer, cleaned and in excellent working condition...now we're talkin' some serious pin games from the beginning of the genre between 1929-1932. Games like O.D. Jenning's Victory Ball and 2 different Bally Hoo games...these were Bally's first games and 1 vends 10 balls for a nickel and the other vends 7 balls for a penny. I'll also have my Williams 1958 Short Stop Deluxe back from the shop in a few weeks. Steve Bronson with S & B Amusements here in Austin has totally shopped the game...who's ready for little pitch and bat baseball now the MLB season has opened?