Saturday, August 14, 2010
One of my favorite resources in Baltimore is The Book Thing, which is just an awesome place where one can go one weekends and get free books of all types. Though most of them are unfortunately designed, every time I go I manage to find a few gems. These are some of my books from my last two trips to the book thing. The Practical English guide and “Geometry: Plane & Solid” are definitely two of my favorite book covers ever. I would love the opportunity to design a textbook cover!
I hope you enjoy these as much as I do, and you can find bigger versions of the pictures on Flickr
(more…)
I happened across these packs of gum in the Charles Village Safeway and thought they were particularly beautiful. They have a great, simple, retro style to them that pretty effectively sold the product to me. INSPIRED! Check out the Wikipedia article on Beeman’s Gum to learn more about this sweet vintage product.
I was on the prowl for some new sneakers a couple of weeks ago. I wanted something simple and unique, comfortable and humbly stylish. I decided on P.F. Flyers, and thought I would share my thoughts on them, along with some background information.
(more…)
For a long, long time I have wanted a sweet cruiser/low-rider from the 70′s. A nice Schwinn Orange Krate would be the ideal, but this hot little yellow number popped up on Craigslist and I could not resist. It is in near perfect condition, right down to the original tires, and it is already super fun to cruise around on.
(more…)
This is the saddle off of my recently acquired Klinedinst Special, quite severely disassembled. As you can see, everything is there and functional/moving, though unbelievably rusty. I will be tackling the job of re-upholstering this seat as part of my renovation of the Klinedinst. I have no experience with upholstery, and my experience with leather is pretty much limited to book covers, but it should be a learning experience if nothing else. If anyone out there knows anything about refinishing a seat like this, please leave a comment or drop me a line with some tips!
The newest addition to my fleet, and another Craigslist acquisition: the Klinedinst Special. I know very, very little about this bike and cannot find any information about it, or the company. The guy who sold it to me seems to think its from the 1930s and another fellow from a vintage and collector’s bicycle forum says it looks like its from right around WWII. Either way, its certainly old and unique. The frame has an interesting geometry: low and long with 26inch wheels. I am going to be fixing it up and making in ride able again. I am not going to throw around the word “restoration” because I am certainly not holding the original parts in reverence; but I am going to keep it looking pretty similar to how it does now.
Please, if anybody knows anything about this company or bike, let me know!
(more…)
While chillin’ in the ATL over spring break, I insisted we visit a flea market, a fixture of the south not so abundant in the north. So, I consulted GoogleMaps and found “My Favorite Place” which we visited for an afternoon of boyish scrounging. We came across a lot of fun stuff there, including a cast iron pan we re-claimed from the depths of rusty inactivity, but the best find of the day, in my opinion, was this handmade, rosewood and brass square. As you may know, I love tools, especially beautifully handcrafted, and obviously well used, ones with character dripping off of them. This particular tool will come in handy in my bookwork, as well as pretty much anything else in the shop. Its a perfect size for just tossing in a bag, and I am excited to use it as much as the owner before me did, and hopefully pass it down someday. There is something really exciting to me about this thing carrying the history of the person that made it, and everything it helped create. (more…)