Traveling without leaving home....

the 1973 Winnebago was purchased to be our home.....but we need to search for great vintage goodies farther afield now...it's been that way for at least 5 years. Good stuff is not so much around Tacoma, and well, the good stuff is a diminishing supply. So travel we must.

....and I tell ya, it does feel weird to drive your home down the highway. I'm driving my bathroom, my kitchen, my dinette, my bedroom....down the highways and byways.
As we drive, we always get a lot of looks from other people driving....every time we stop for gas someone wants to chat, and when we pull up to the rv park, folks wanna talk about the Winnie.
It's fun!
I'm happy to talk about my mobile home. She's a sweetie.
Our last foray towards Portland allowed us to stay 2 days at the Sou'Wester lodge and vintage trailer park. It has been a "secret" place to stay for people who value experience over fancy and luxury...so it's perfect for people like Mark and me.

Now, under new ownership as they say, I was worried that it was gonna go the way of the Ace Hotel hipster hell bent for boring ass hipster cliche. But no!
I'm happy to report, the Sou'wester is still artfully down home, and it is slowly being cleaned up and all the deferred maintenance of the trailers and the grounds are being worked on and freshened up. And, uh, the Pacific Ocean !! is 3 blocks away....

While at first glance, the 'wester might seem like High Concept, and in other hands all would be lost....but it is still retaining its sweet lo-fi charm.
What should take center stage are the sturdy old simple buildings and the mid-century trailers....and they are the Center Stage...That big lodge building is so sweet and the decor is simple. They're sticking with the rustic and unassuming, and no taint of self-conscious hipster pre-packaged Anthropologie/Pottery Barn can be found anywhere.

Oh sure ...there's old typewriters, there's funky 70s Salvation Army decor, but on the whole, it feels real and it feels comfy. We were there in the middle of the week so we didn't attend the music or the other activities that are scheduled .....in...
AUGUST
Sat-August 4th – Flash Flood and The Dikes
Sat-August 11th -The Golden Bears. AND… Our First Vintage Travel Trailer and RV Classic.
Sat-August 18th – Joseph Appel (from Swing Papillon, AnnaPaul and the Bearded Lady, and the Clambake Combo).
Sat-August 25 – Old Light

I wish we could go back for this....  the Sou'wester is having their....
 FIRST VINTAGE TRAVEL TRAILER RALLY!..

• August 10th, 11th and 12th. We are very excited to see some beautiful trailers and to meet the people who have taken so much care with them!
• It should be a fun weekend. And we plan to have live music in Saturday night in the pavilion. There will be an Oyster Bar, a local vendor whose Willipa Bay oyster concoctions are amazing!

***************************************
Here's the perfect example of that hipster goofiness that the Sou'wester Has None Of....the way the Ace is over-the-top...and not in a good way....

so pretentious...





I should have taken more pics, but here's a few of the old girl herself....if the shots of the trailer interiors don't get your heart pumping....you must not like vintage !



 

Murder.

Cruising around.......

December 19, Folksingers In Hell, and Tacomen, and a Fire Juggler! details to come!
We also have bands lined up for First Night....we aren't on any official schedule. We are outlaws.

So, a couple of things new in the shop....... men, ladies and kids.........
very vintage 30s 40s childs metal rocker with a canvas cover that zips off for a spin in the laundry. $45.00



A nice bentwood handwoven cane rocker from the 60s....$70.00
60s MCM Pantone-style chartreuse pillow....$25.00

Sweet vintage Nativity scene cuties..... a few wise men, a few animals, and of course, The Baby Jesus! most are priced from $5.00 to about $20.00

a golden Nativity set from Japan in the 50s/60s....$35.00


70s orange $22.00, or yellow $29.00...footstools. modern Hanna Anderson leopard clogs $38.00, size 6.5 or 7.





Guess black leather boots,size 7.5 - 8....$55.00





Sweeeeet pair of top quality gold metallic sandals from Chie Mihara, size 39, US 9, $35.00






and, since I am closing the Tacoma shop soon, and going online and doing alterna-shows in the future....
I shall begin placing ads on my favorite blogs...that have something to do with style,vintage and design....
Design Is Mine is one of my fave blogs...it comes from Portland. Yeah.

so go there and look for my little ad....awwww, aint it cute??

I love Portland because...

it's quite European...it's just pretty...most of the places that you look....
The White Stag has a Red Nose...
The random vintage signs...
Portland, like Tacoma, like Seattle, is a working class town with similar backgrounds.




The view from our second story room into the deli under the Ace Hotel. The parking lot, and a fabulous Dinihanian sign on the side of the building.


Another view of the corner, with the Grotto and the fire escape.



Seattle is a rather artless, anything goes here, anything goes there.......without much thought other than cheap commerce.
Tacoma...believes it is crap. But it's not. And now most of the authentic charm is being replaced by Fake Working Class....you know...making 45,000. a year but drinkin' Pabst Blue Ribbon 'cause it's cool. Give.Me.A.Break.
Just drink what you like the taste of .....Me? Vodka!!

On our walk around the edge of the Pearl on the west side of downtown Portland we visited Narcisse. Heidi, the lovely hostess/purveyor of fine goods is so gracious. She carries NoaNoa in her shop.
She painted the walls deep plummy gray accented with cream and charcoal..(that's what I remember)
Sparkling chandeliers...fine vintage wood furniture and old doors.....there's a mezzanine and a grand staircase.....
It's all so beautiful.


I love how Mark and Tigger are reflected in her glass door.




The obligatory shot of the Joyce with a giant heat ball in the sky......



Blue sky smiling at me.......


and the pink mountain and big moon somewhere near Centralia.....

A Portland Show, a cheap motel, and making friends...

Packed up and took my show on the road.
Here's some pictures of my booth...it was cuter than the pics show...blame the photographer, I guess.
I drove with my load, I checked in to Mel's Value Inn on Interstate, and rode the train a few times (That Train Idea thru town is Wonderful!!)
Ate some great food at the Overlook, and at Charlies Corner Bar...shopped the Fred Meyer...watched a Harry Potter movie........
I met a lot of sweet Portland people...but I always think I'm gonna run into Gus VanSant or a Decemberist or...that sexy mayor...or.....Winona!

I saw steampunks (maybe they were Decemberists....) I saw country folks, and city folks, the gays, the grannies, and the young cuties. Missing of course, was any hippie kynd people....they were all at Country Fair.......
A pic of my motel room and the cute light fixture...








Wow! it was fun and it was all good! until......the rain at 4 pm on Sunday. So I got a little wet, but thanks to friends, Kathy and Margaret, who helped immensely with packing...I got outta there quite fast and got back to Tacoma at about 9 pm...


I finally got to meet Lulu, of LulusVintage.com......Miss Anne and her darling husband, Chris.
So positive so sweet...I met a few other shopkeepers and vintage dealers in the Portland area too. I am quite happy I went....

But the most bizarre thing...I was watching Cable TV since I don't watch TV here...and I saw Iman, Mrs. David Bowie...hawking cheapo Chinese/slave made crap on Home Shopping Network......
Is she stupid? Is she broke? Has she never heard of cheap labor/slave labor? Wtf?

Random Notes: Vodka, Portland, Tacoma....

1. Vodka. always OK with me. I wonder if SevenOhWonder down below will trade vintage for vodka...the 3 dollar Martini.....Marketing Genius! We've dined there 2 times because Derek/X133 gave a recommendation......and he was right. Super excellent food, swell waitress...with just the right amount of sass (Liesel)...and besides...the view...and oh, 3 Dollar Martinis....

2. Went to Portland last week...stayed at the Mark Spencer...they love Dogs !!(word up Tacoma, you suck in the pet/hotel department)...So we got settled in and walked around the Pearl and the fringe of the Pearl...yes, the Pearl is sometimes too polished for my taste, but never fear, Portland hardly ever screws it up so bad, that it alienates the very people that make Portland so beloved....
ergo: Within blocks of our hotel, is Ace Hotel, and The Joyce Hotel, and The Kent Hotel...Ace is space deluxe, but downbeat on the decor...spare,indie and a bit too polished.

The Joyce, and the Kent.......oh yes. A hotel from my childhood. Shabby, decrepit and the place for the poor, the adventurous, and the traveling youth to stay. All great cities have these flophouses because not everyone at every time wants/needs/can afford a deluxe stay/place.
oh, and I get a big kick outta Joyce/Kent...my big brother's name is Kent...his wife is named Joyce!!!


2a. Here is Mark, Tigger and our new friend, Alexander, sitting in front of the Half and Half...drinking coffee on the fuckin' sidewalk (Tacoma, take notes!). Alexander was all about vintage photography and vintage bikes.

He is gonna ride in the 42Ride, a cross-country bike ride to promote bike-riding (duh) and 42Below Vodka. Yes. Yes. Yes. Yes. a street view. vibrant,eh? yup. Bicycle Film Festival website...




3. Tacoma. BEST Monkey Party ever. Who was in the Bell Tower? Who was on the roof and flipping you off? That's for me to know....and you to find out......

From Italy to your summer wardrobe...

If you land at the Naples airport, you can get to the isle of Capri.......the fabled tiny island off the coast of Italy, situated westerly from just about where a buckle would be on the boot of Italy. The deliciously beautiful Grotta Azzurra...the Blue Grotto mesmerizes with the unreal beauty of light upon water. Capri's natural charms have inspired much wonderous art and useful things including fashions that have been created to celebrate the bright and cheery colors of the island's features, and to relive and inspire the feelings of comfort, beauty and fun!


Emilio Pucci has said he was inspired to create his iconic designs and the mind-blowing colors because of the beauty of Capri. We can forgive him then, perhaps, for being so Italian that he was a fan of Mussolini! Pucci was from a rich Italian family, an athlete, and also a fine skier with Olympian talent. On that strength he won a scholarship to Portland's Reed College where he designed his first small collection ....the college's ski team uniforms in the mid-30s.



Pucci set up his first haute couture house at the jet set resort of Canzone del Mare on the Isle of Capri after WWII. His skiwear was discovered by a Harper's Bazaar editor, and Mr. Marcus of Nieman Marcus encouraged him to design other garments, and Pucci responded with the early designs in the stunning color combos we swoon over.

The isle of Capri figures prominently in another design we are are so familiar with......the capri pants....those cute little 50s calf length pants that have resurged back into the fashion world. German designer, Sonja de Lennart, produced a collection just after WWII calling it the Capri Collection because of her family's love of the island.


Full skirts with wide belts were one of the first of Sonja's designs that became popular. But it was her 1948 design, the tight Capri pants, such a change from the Katherine Hepburn-style wide slacks, that took the world by storm. Designer Edith Head dressed Audrey Hepburn in capri pants, the skirt, the high-necked blouse and the wide belt....all designs by de Lennart, worn in Roman Holiday. Givenchy, a year later, dressed Audrey in de Lennart's capris in Sabrina.

From high fashion to everyday wear, movie stars and housewives, even the iconic Beatnik look of black turtleneck, capri pants, wide belt and flat shoes, can thank Sonja de Lennart.



I have these right now on etsy....in the shorter length we called knee-knockers...





fyi... a little list of Pants lengths.....all fabulous!

Bermuda shorts, and clam diggers or walking shorts, are from thigh length to just below the knee, while traditional capri pants are generally calf to ankle length and are form-fitting, perhaps with a small v at the hem. Pants that are cropped and wide are called capri's, flood pants, or pedal pushers. And then of course, there are Man-pris!!

Oh Gentrification......Who's Turn To Watch It??

Portland in the Neeewwwssss....I love Portland, You know that.....but sometimes......progress is not so progressive. I think about this as I drive up McKinley to shop or to hit the PO....
All is not so well in P-Town.....gosh, white people are upset at white people. Welcome to my world !
This post from Things White People Love is soooo funnnnny
because Tacoma is trying so hard to be funkyurbanhipcool....and the gentrification must be done properly.
Here is a list of Comedy Topics.....

Things Mentioned

• Being Offended
• Awareness
• Gentrification
• Diversity
• Barack Obama
• Non-Profit Organizations
• Bicycles
• Knowing What’s Best for Poor People
• Indie Music
• Coffee
• Dogs (photo)
• Expensive Strollers (Book)
• Portland, OR (Book)
• Native Wisdom (Book)

That whole Take Back Frost Park..while colorful.....is just hilarious!!
You wanna take back a public park from uh, the public?
I double-dog dare ya to show up at 11:49 PM....on Saturday night.....and start chalking. Bring the kids! It's fun !!

Yup Going to Portland again....it's a theme....

in my life........I am so bored/mad/disappointed with Tacoma.
But here's a bit of gossip.
True, the city, I presume, cleaned my alley, clipped the berries, picked up the garbage, pulled 99% of the floaty plastic bags (lets' Ban Them !!!)........
Now the ParkingLotZamboni is cleaning and looking funny.
Crews of JD's have cleaned the streets around my Hood.
Now, I wonder.....Why. Because LeMay is..........voting on something.....
What was it again???? oh yeah.
Temple of Old Autos.
And.....many of the Potholes on STW got filled.
Hey, Jake !! If you had anything to do with all the activity in my Hood.
Thanks !!!
if not. Why Not !!!!
Since I'll be in Portland, I'll tell Jan to tell Julie I said Hi !!!
And the red barn door was slid open.....at the New Frontier.......
come on get busy.

Oh yeah, the Rascal Flatt's people and fans were very nice.
Quiet. Polite. and Clean.
Yippie. Coming soon.......Wild to Mild !!
-____-____-____-____-
Mmmm. what's going on? Is it kinda like......the only reason South Tacoma/Lakewood
(Lakewood??) got a train station from Sound Transit, is to hook up with visitors to Ladenburg's Glutton Golf Course?????
you thought I didn't notice, didn't you.

~_~_~_~_~_~_~_~_~_~_~_~_
On to me.
It's my blog.
Last time I was in Portland.....I had a cold.
I had a runny nose. I sneezed and sneezed.
I had flaky skin on my red nose. And my eyes were bloodshot.
So, of course, I had to meet and re-meet Jan & Jon's friends.
Great.
this time I"m well.
And Clean!!
Hopefully I'll be more attractive.
And I'm closed until April 17. At Noon till 6.
Third Thursday. I'm installing new shelving, and
I have new art.
Art.
Art.

SinSation..........V DAy doing it Tacoma STyle

Hey, Michael and James......whatcha doing???

Saw so many pretty young people.....enjoy your estrogen while ya got it.....
or testosterone......as the case may be.

Since I like to look......I was not disappointed.....from Middleagedockersguy to Youngandnaked to Thefishnetbrigade......it was a naked night to remember....

And Fire !!!!!!!!
the evening reminded me of a night in Portland I had about 15 or so years ago......nakeds at Mary's and then off to Dante's to see Fire Dancers.......

So we are happy to see big city style entertainment finally come to Tacoma......
(and I don't mean Monster Trucks...)
A big Hat's Off and Panties Off to all the fab folks that worked to put it all together......................
you are the new artists that will make living in Tacoma worthwhile in spite of stupid high priced restaurants and stupid real estate.

Hi to Mel and Brian........
Hi to Kevin and Sara.....
Thanks for being the Documentarian.....


Like I always say.......Art Saves Lives.......

The Trains In Spain Fall Mainly on The Sane

chug chug
this link is about last year's open house concerning the train crossing at Pacific and SWT so while not technically current, I find it hard to believe that Sound Transit has anything good up its sleeve....
Riding the coattails of Good For Greening the Environment, they are shoving trains down our throat......and I'm a huge fan of public transit....um, European style.

Here, in Tacoma, I don't trust that anything will be done right....The thinking went: Ok, we need 20 million in new money to circulate in Tacoma....so let's build CONDOS CONDOS CONDOS .....and now, they look like prisons or mental hospitals, or just plain ol butt ugly.

I've blogged on this before.....Portland did it right.....WHY? because when the pioneers crossed to the West Coast, the light and lovely stayed in Portland, while the bangers and the alcoholics went North, stopping in Seattle long enough to pee, and then on to Alaska......It's a forbidding mindset around these parts....

So now I don't trust any decision that is made by the Powers that Be in T Town...the idea that the city council allowed the MM bridge to go for so long....no one was "on it", and now, it is a Pyhrric victory to be able to blame the State for Bridge Neglect.

Hey, put me in charge of Pretty In Tacoma...but alas, I actually have to work for a living...so unless you are willing to pay me to do alllll the research that will be done (if we're lucky) by a Consulting Firm, and then the Powerful Choose The Best Idea.....well it will look Just Laughably Ugly....

Is no one going to stand up to Sound Transit, and say: Just because you think you are Friendly, doesn't mean you get to ruin a beautiful and heavily traveled neighborhood.
And come on ! Diesel is a dying technology. Even bio d. has its big problems.

I stole this pic from Kevin...the link is above. It shows the ugliness I fear that is coming to a T-Town near you !

Here is another link to a lovely view of the Pearl

And the history .....the blueprint....that Tacoma should have paid attention to.....but chose not to........

It may well be that the Pearl District will be the country’s best re-creation of Jane Jacobs’ idealized central city. With its short blocks, high density, pedestrian friendliness, mixed usage, restricted-income rentals, architectural variance, lively street activity, and the older buildings that survive, it has become a favorite object of study for planners and developers throughout the U.S. Ironically, it is the Pearl’s considerable economic success that is causing the greatest concern, as the trend toward off-the-chart rental/sale costs has the Pearl District rapidly becoming an exclusive enclave that is beyond the reach of average Portland residents and independent retailers. There are many concerns that the gentrification of the Pearl will result in weeding out the very diversity that makes the area so attractive.
from tndwest.com/pearldistrict.html

More Art Walk and Tacoma.....

Ahh yes, The Elks Club...No. 164 dates from 1916...
Everyone loves it.....some want to decorate it...
some have even
proposed fixing the old girl up
and selling beer
I vote for nothing less than a full bar.......

Williams and Dame had a hand in Portland's Pearl District...





I've been there...strangely, I liked it .....a lot...
because it had what makes a downtown/urban area inviting....Human scale store fronts, neccesary services and lots of fun things to do...
mini-parks, water features, respect for familiar old buildings and a minimum of confusing modern architecture......













From the Broadway side, a righteous doorway, and along the side.....

Below is a pic of the building from the front side.....from the City of Tacoma's Filthy 15......Tacoma is soooo stupid....more on that later......









along the southeast side are The Spanish Steps,
both lovelies are on the
National Historic Register....
and built by Architect Edward Frere Champney
in the classic Second Revival design. The steps lead down to Commerce Street and Tacoma's Link train....why is that important to me?? (See me standing there in the dark like a college-educated hooker?)


Because.....you can take the FREE Link Train from The Elks Club/Spanish Steps to the other end of downtown Tacoma, just a block from the funkoma vintage shop...and back again...How cool is That???
just nod approvingly......


The real ones in Rome
...