Back to the gypsy

I set up my new picture area....

It's white and a concrete floor....which I love. I'll fiddle around with the fabric. I love the White Box effect that splashes light around. I have only one light here...I also love the drama! I'll add more lights...but...
I love the ethereal....

I see a lot of online sellers use a plain grey paper background. Plain. I like to tell a story with the background and the light.... I like the pictures in my house too....but I really missed the white background and the concrete floor I had in the shop. Well, we also want to show you the widget fer sure....and detail shots will be easier out here also.

So mixing freedom with a little fear....

After I processed these few pics this song came to mind......it may be my favorite Stevie Nicks song....mmm  Look at the proto-steampunk-vintage-historical-industrial-economy-noveau-crafts effect....




or maybe it's this one..........

wth? Like Alan said......

looks like a nice lawsuit.....the morning after I chalked the lovely sentiment.....
Bloom Where You Are Planted...
the streetsweeper came by and Swept Me Clean.....wth!
Then the Gas Co. or City dug a hole and filled it in.....with silly putty.....and Glen stepped in it.....
Ya try to class up the joint.....and we are sabotaged!!!!
The Universe......hates this end of Broadway.....The Elks....
The Spanish Steps...the boys for rent.....

Moving right along.....

the deck is built, mostly, the rumpus room will happen here, and stuff, we got stuff.....
from this.....to this!




Kelly will set up here and below is the beginning of the Rumpus Room...with a TV showing vintage b&w movies.......



perennially Arrrgggghhhh!












What's in funkoma?? Lilly Pulitzer with a fishy necklace



lots of vintage vinyl



gold mini boots



cute feet



Try it on in here! Matey!



Words to live by......

Crimeny.....I've lost my camera again....

or I'd show you a pic of bunches of stuff....The New Frontier....has an orange front. Jennifer Johnson came to visit us at Amocat/Funkoma......
as did Fewster (more on that later) and so did Nanette...and her rapidly growing big baby....She moved to the lower floor at Sanford, as did
Tracymarie...
Lots of folks have been stopping in.....we're happy to continue Rampart in the same crazy spirit......
I must get over to Sanford visit the pals.....I haven't been since last 3rd thursday......chatted for long time with the wonderment that is Polly
...because.
I have been moving...you may have heard!!
I have another day or 2.....
and then I can start setting out the 100+ pieces of vintage clothes, and small furniture I"ve bought in the last month, but had to stash because of moving.....you may have heard.
Mystic Mocha is now serving beer.....another place to wet yr. whistle in the Dome District besides at Freighthouse.....and yes, my neighbors are still serving those damn Fried Twinkies......they are evil people who want you to explode in some kind of hyper sugar bliss ment.........
I'm a bit sad that I won't be business-wall sharers.....they are good sports.....but I still live upstairs with Tacoma's greatest view!
Wow! I can't wait for the Tall Ships....
I'll be down at the waterfront on Thursday morning to see them round Vashon.
I lived 2 blocks west of Magoo's 2 years ago and walked down to just below The Spar.
I was amazed.....I was in awe....it was Awesome......(in the old sense of the word..)
to see those shimmering white sails, the glossy wood on the sheets of ruffled blue both heavenbound and port bound.......
I can now truly understand how people who had not seen anything like them in their lives, in their cultures would think they were Gods....
Magical Beings ........
I encourage every single person on the planet to be on Tacoma's waterfront to see them come into Commencement Bay......
Suck this, Seattle......
Tacoma is cool, and we don't even have to try very hard....we just am.

Do I have to Throw a Temper Tantrum??

EDIT--- GOOD NEWS----click! says It's A Go!!!!!

I have to wait for an appt.....so I guess whining coupled with perseverance will prevail.....
I wanted to stay with click! since I've been a cable internet customer since almost day 1...since the system went Go !!!! I love my utility company......I was so surprised to have such a big issue here...it's always been such smooth sailing.......to get things done, utility-wise.

3 weeks ago I called Harbornet to move my click! acct. downtown.....inside the World's Most Wired City........click! now says they can only run wires for me through the neighbor's wall.......huh? and he isn't returning their calls.
so......click! can not run wires to 712 Broadway but thru the walls of a non-Riley business????
That's the last in the Episode of Will Funkoma ever get cable internet???
Stay tuned!!
I really don't understand what the hangup is.....I can think of several ways to run wires. Methinks no one wants to run any new wires since the Big Remodel is coming to Broadway..........
Do I have to do all the work here? Why do I have to keep calling and calling..... .........Maybe I should blow up city hall in protest......it's only 2 blocks away......(kidding-- homeland security...)
Any bloggie-friends got some super secret numbers to call........
Can anyone give me a sane reason why Steve had wires running all over the bldg, and I am having some trouble here????

I am sarcastic.....you know that...but I'm actually very nice and just want my damn cable internet installed.
Next week, I'm calling Comcastic.........

I Semi-French Kissed The Helm....

Because I love them so........tho sometimes the art laughs at me.....but we are in couples therapy and it will all be fine......And that is as good a reason as you need to attend the Fundraising Event they will hold soon. Date tba.......

Random Events during my huge move. I haven't seen my children or my grandchildren for a long time and I miss them so much. I wish I could Jeannie blink and get the rest of my stuff moved....but alas...I am not a Genie.....I am a Queen.

When Murphi was here Mark and Murry and I went to Masa to see him and stuff. Well, he (Murphi) is such a damn Rock Staaar, that we didn't get much face time with him. I did get to hug him hugely in his cashmere Izod sweater. NY is so lucky and Tacoma is poorer for his move away, but it is best for him. Perhaps someday our boy can come home.........

I'd never been to Masa.....I'm sorry, but fancy fancy restaurants in Tacoma make me giggle...but you know what I think about Prentiousness!!
I will call you out on that Each and Every time I smell it.....so knock it off!
Masa Smelled Good !!!! Once I found out the band was friends of Murphi (fom) they suddenly improved !
Masa smells like BBQ'd Spaniards and Axe Body Spray.

With Best Friends and Partners, we went to dinner at Harbor Lights to celebrate 11 Years of Glam Marriage ..........And Harbor Lights used to be our Comfort Restaurant......No More!!!!!!
Anthony's has slowly squeezed all CHARM out of H L......it was such a f'n GENERIC seafood restaurant experience, Mark and I won't be back to eat......
boring food, cut corners everywhere, the quality was OK, but boring boring boring boring.
And I am so PISSED OFF ABOUT THIS...
Where do people get off thinking they have to "IMPROVE" everything??? Some things are fine the way they are. I expect that NEXT they will ditch the fabulous Kitschy sign in favor of BORING CORPORATE GENERIC sign.

I don't share with you where my personal private favorite places to go and have fun and drinks.......but 2 words.......Flying Boots on 38th.......

Bye for now. I don't have new pics, I don't even know where my camera is right now....I misplaced it!!

Come and visit us in our new digs..
712 Broadway, Baby!!!

Oh man am I busy...Gobs of new stuff coming ...

to the new shop downtown.....
I have several vintage men's western shirts and T shirts...
Men's vintage is hard to find since men tend to wear their clothes till they fall apart !
But I grab it when I find it hidden in people's closets. I love to see the glint in the eyes of guys when they spy the racks of Man Stuff...sunglasses, vintage vinyl, stereo and music equipment...

And the ladies.....well, I have several tons of that ! I will be buying more designer fashion, both recent and vintage....
Next on ebay will be a 60s sculptural white Shannon Rodgers for Jerry Silverman dress, a 50s NOS black Catalina boy leg swimsuit...a Liberty Tana print blouse...

the small rack of kids vintage is up.....and, more to come !

I'll add pictures soon.....I moving my manni and Monday will be test picture day....new space, new lighting and much to learn.....I'm really happy to have a white painted brick background. So urban...

Lights Camera......Action....

What a yummy day it was ! the vintage shops in Tacoma were open, people were walking downtown from their offices, their condos and busing and driving in .......
'




Planted the box outside with pretty purple alyssum, petunias, salvia and nasturtiums...lychnis and a buddleia that simply frightened Dino since he is not a fan of Butterfly Bush.....Yes, true, they can be rangy and weedy.....oh, but don't you love the honey scented purple candles in midsummer...the butterflies do.....I will sit for hours this summer at Rampart.....and watch the urban butterflies and bees give a show of thanks for the buddleia........
and of course, you probably have many near you if you live or work downtown...they grow in the gutters at the Luzon....just to name one urban garden location....
Purple and Chartreuse paint for the outside is on the June agenda...



Tropical delight....


Lights...


Dress Up



Converse among your selves....

Nostalgic for a Farmer's Market...and downtown..

gooooodness.....I used to sell at the Gig Harbor Farmers Mkt back in the early 90s. I had a farm in Lakebay...an organic farm. I grew (from seed or cutting) 100's of heirloom fruits and vegetables, and billions of herbs, flowers and shrubs. I had to force Mortgage Lifter and Mr. Stripey on people ! Here take this one...and come back in August and tell me if you liked it !!!
Well, they did come back and they loved it...and the next spring I had people knocking on my door asking when the old tomatoes would be ready........


It was great fun and loads of work to produce produce ....the kind of garden bounty I grew up eating since my folks and my foster-folks were tremendous gardeners.
Everything I Knew About Gardening I Learned From My Elders.
I never sold at the Tacoma Mkt.....I wrote about it plenty, and shopped it all these years....(and the Dome district one last summer), and I'm really happy it's Thursday......
Yippee!!! I'm planting the bedraggled box in front of Rampart today.....
in honor of urban organic mini-farming......
Amocat will be open mostly, tho the big Grand Opening is later this month....
funkoma vintage is open (mostly). I have about 1/3 of what goes in, of my stock, with price tags all set up so far. (More pictures later today....)
Food, Friends, music, booze, merry-making....all the best things of life.......

In the beginning...there was a Building

now it's the home of a few vintage shops in Tacoma...

in Downtown Funkytown.......Tacoma 2 you...
it was a Chevrolet dealership built in 1911....
I think...it's real old...

Amocat Antique Market...
712 Broadway.....Antique Row...Theater District...
daily ....noon - 7 (ish) or whenever
the new home of funkoma vintage....
....But here is where it begins...
We'll paint the outside, plant flowers...
Walk in ...if the roll up door is up...Met Tacoma Urbanist...a law nerd...like me...Hi Erik...Lots of folks have been dropping by....Our soft opening will be Friday the 13th.....

Lots of white....




Here is where funkoma will be...


so empty !


I love the ceilings....39 feet tall or something...