ZUCCHINI!
1. Malarky! The Atlantic Wire breaks down the debates.
2. Find Myrtle: a dog is lost and we hope the internet can help reunite the pup and her owner.
3. Yikes! Serial Killer Museum…
4. Racked Chicago award winners announced.
5. Maudit is killing it with her horror movie GIFs: Night of the Living Dead, for ex.
They just don’t make very special Halloween episodes like they used to…
And the queen of Halloween episodes! After the jump.
I recently visited my grandma and just had to snap a few photos of her home. The light wasn’t the best, but since it’s pretty much stuck in time I just had to share.
More after the jump.
TVB pop-up at Renegade is on folks.
You ready for this? Click through for a sneak peek at the map (click the image to view a larger size) and we’ll see you craft and vintage fans on September 8 and 9 in Wicker Park at Division and Wolcott.
Today we’re chatting with Alysse and Matt two pals that launched joint venture The Mall a few months ago. You might recognize Alysse from her The Sometimes Store days and her current jewelry line Ready-to-Stare. Come out and check our their booth at the upcoming TVB on August 12.
Tell us a little about The Mall’s concept and why you guys decided to team up.
AD: The Mall is a concept store comprised of myself Alysse Dalessandro of Ready-to-Stare jewelry and Matt Kasin of Gaudy God vintage. We worked together on vintage events in the past and we realized that we have similar taste in fashion, as well as a mutual love for the film Clueless. We started watching our favorite ’90s films back in January and the idea of doing a vintage and handmade store built around teen cult films like Clueless, Romy & Michele’s High School Reunion, and Spice World was born. It started with the idea of wanting to re-create some of our favorite pieces from the films such as Romy’s dice ring or Cher’s water bottle chain and expanded to include a large range of ’90s vintage pieces directly inspired by these three films.
Haa. I love it. What is your most popular item and what will you be selling at The Vintage Bazaar?
MK: The Brittany Murphy “Virgin Who Can’t Drive” tribute candle is by far our most popular item. We knew we wanted to do some sort of tribute of Brittany Murphy and putting her ultimate burn on a religious candle felt appropriate for us. It seems like other fans of the film have certainly agreed. Once the candles were listed on Etsy, they went viral on Tumblr receiving more than 18,000 notes in one day, which led to features on Nylon, The Frisky, Refinery 29, and even a print feature in the RedEye. We plan on bringing more than the candles with us to Vintage Bazaar — we’ll have the full collection which includes mini backpacks, fuzzy pens, platforms and notebooks covered in Spice Girls stickers. At The Vintage Bazaar, we will be debuting the next candle which acts as the perfect complement to the original.
That is amazing! Congrats on the smash success right out of the gate. So, what’s inspiring your collection right now?
AD: We plan on debuting a new collection every season with a focus on different films or pop culture moments of the past. The first collection we put out is directly inspired by Clueless, Romy & Michele’s High School Reunion and Spice World. While we were creating this collection, we found additional inspiration from Jawbreaker, Party Girl and we even had an Aaliyah moment.
Clueless TurbanMore after the jump!
Name: Nikki Hollander
Shop Name: Jet Set Vintage
TVB: When did you start selling vintage?
NH: I opened my vintage Etsy shop in 2008. I had been selling vintage pieces from my own collection here and there to my friends and coworkers for several years prior to that while I lived in Chicago.
What’s your set-up like now? Do you sell mainly online, at markets, where do you keep all your inventory when you’re not at the Bazaar?
Right now I sell online, at swell gallery, at the Bazaar, and at The Pec Thing. My friend and I own a gallery/studio in downtown West Dundee (swell gallery). It is divided and big! One side is the gallery, and the other side is our painting/work space with an additional room full of vintage storage. I have a full-time vintage corner for sale in the gallery.
How has Jet Set’s style — and your personal style — evolved over these past few years?
Jet Set’s style is constantly evolving. It evolves as the trends do, it evolves as availabilities change, and it also evolves as I refine my searches and become pickier. I used to just buy all kinds of old stuff as long as it was old. Now I have the mental abilities to take a pass on certain things and only slightly feel guilty about it. My personal style seems to have stayed very similar in the past few years. I live with my boyfriend now, so I am a little less girly when it comes to home decor… haha!
Names: Robert Smith and Robin Broman
Business name: Century Chicago
TVB: Tell us a little bit about your business and how you got your start.
RS: It started with a sputnik lamp — our first piece, we didn’t know much about Mid-century. Fast forward ten years of primarily collecting — we now sell through our blog, online, and at shows of course.
What do you sell?
Mid-century, Danish modern and some eclectic stuff — mostly furniture, but we have a serious lamp addiction — we usually have forty at a time. Also, we’ve been finding some amazing original art lately.
What will you be bringing to the Bazaar this summer?
Great stuff! We have been gearing up for the show season with literally over 120 pieces. Some faves: a Pearsall Dining table, Bertoia Diamond chairs and some great Sonneman lamps to name a few. But we don’t like to get stuck on labels so we also have some great smalls and non-designer pieces. Example: 10+ Danish magazine racks of different shapes & sizes.
Where do you operate?
Our garage is currently being transformed into the Century Chicago Command Center & Showroom — work in progress. Otherwise it’s online.
This summer our exclusive coffee roaster at The Vintage Bazaar is Bow Truss. This roasting facility slash coffee shop will be opening its doors in Lakeview later this June, so you can get a preview of the goods before their launch at the Bazaar on June 10 at the Aragon. We took a visit to their facilities last week to get a taste and to talk coffee and business with the shop’s “director of coffee advancement,” Todd Burbo.
What does your job title mean, exactly?
Director of Coffee Advancement is a wonderful title that I completely made up. I wanted something sort of vague, as I’m handling a lot of duties that don’t fit into a conventional title. Equipment selection, cafe layout, green coffee evaluations & purchasing, public education & wholesale relationships, etc. At the end of the day, I’m charged with creating a culture of perpetual improvement in our coffee lineup and service standards; to elevate people’s perception of the coffee industry.
Tell us a little bit about the history of Bow Truss. How did the idea come about?
Well, our CEO Phil Tadros has opened a number of independent cafes in Chicago, and has always wanted to take the plunge and roast his own product. When Seth Kravitz, founder of technori.com, approached him about starting a café, the two of them quickly decided to escalate things and commit to roasting and wholesale distribution. Because of his background with indie cafes, Phil is all about enabling these small businesses to succeed. I sometimes have to force him to include a profit in our pricing structures; he just wants to give everyone what they need. So, in the end, that’s what Bow Truss exists to do.
When will you be opening your doors?
June 24th, or we’re complete failures. Hopefully you won’t be calling me for a follow up to this quote on June 25th.
Names: Ann Dahm (Dishy) and Paula Trout (Kitch)
TVB: Tell us about your shop names.
AD: Our names at TVB are Dishy & Kitsch. The names represent what we’re selling, and is homage to the 1970s cop thriller Starsky & Hutch.
What I love about you ladies is that you’ve been long-time fans of the Bazaar, and now you’re trying it out as vendors. What made you decide to take the leap?
AD: Our day jobs are to run the Michigan City, Indiana Chamber of Commerce. In that role we are interested in the revitalization of the town’s main street business district, now known as the Uptown Arts District. We are exploring the role “pop-up” marketing plays in redevelopment, and we’re both inveterate collectors and thrifters who need to downsize. So participating as vendors at the Bazaar is a logical next step for us.
What will you be bringing to the Bazaar?
AD: As our name suggests — dishes and kitsch! We will have California pottery, Melmac and Danish Modern, with Mid-century décor including a turquoise panther planter, a French champagne bucket, and fabulous lamps. Come see our vintage clothing and fabric, featuring adorable “new” girls’ short sets from the 1960s. Also an early ’60s photo album, ’60s luggage, an industrial drafting chair, a 1940s typewriter, an old croquet set….