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Today on Snake: Every other Friday or so an interview with a person in good standing of the newsletter whose taste in vintage, furniture, and adjacent is worth recording. Sellers, buyers, artists, adjacents, etc…. but first,
Housekeeping.
Andrew | IG | Brooklyn, NY | 37/M/Brooklyn, NY
Andrew just has so much good stuff. Stock which represents glory-era Japan vintage collecting (90s… until let’s say 2013-14): a shocking amount of deadstock or near-deadstock or very good quality old Levi’s and Lee’s and Champions in normal people sizing (AKA waists over 34)… it is a treat to look at what he has. He doesn’t do it full time and so only the best seems to pop up on his IG. It feels all true since… this remains the most dictionary definition type of vintage there is. Very dope, distilled. Which comes through in the answers.
Q&A 023
Fav flea market?
Santa Cruz flea. It may now be defunct, but in my youth my extended family would often congregate on holidays or lesser occasions at my grandparent’s beach house in Aptos, Ca. The whole crew would wake up early on Saturday mornings and scatter about the flea into the afternoon. At the time I was mostly looking for knit caps embroidered with 8 balls or alien heads, pocket knives and baseball cards, but it put me on the path to hunt.
Best eBay purchase?
Pair of Ib Kofod Larsen lounge chairs for next to nothing. eBay auction, local pickup only, 1 bid. Located in the absolute dregs of New Jersey. Camden, if I recall correctly. The seller wouldn’t stop reiterating what a deal I was getting.
Best Craigslist find?
1930s Wilson two-tone wool sweatshirt for $50. The listing was posted a month prior to my purchase. Or a Paul McCobb Planner Group MC510. The seller had found it on the street on bulk trash day in Brooklyn Heights, and the price reflected that.
Best LiveAuctioneers find?
I watch a lot of things on LiveAuctioneers but I don’t think I’ve actually purchased anything.
slowruinA post shared by @slowruin
IG seller account you hang out on/look at their stuff the most?
@mtk0058 if you’re not familiar, this guy goes very in depth on the details that differentiate various model years of Levi’s. Even with the poorly auto-generated Japanese to English translation I always learn something new.
Thing you most regret passing on?
When I lived in Phoenix there was a thrift store called Tiedemann’s that was affiliated with the local rag house. One day I walk in and there’s an entire 4’-5’ diameter round rack of Levi’s redlines; must have been a few hundred pairs at $24.99 a piece. Back in the early-mid 2000’s there wasn’t a ton of money to be made on small e redlines at that price, and I was a broke college kid. Feeling some sense of regret, I went back the next day and someone had purchased the whole lot.
Best thing you got for insanely cheap?
Contax T2 for $2.99. This was probably around 2010. You’d still find Yashica T4’s occasionally at the thrift, but never a Contax. In the preceding weeks I had been watchlisting T2’s casually, with the intent to spring when I caught a deal. Then late one evening I strolled into a Savers outside of Phoenix and there it was, sitting on a shelf in homegoods, with a working CR123 battery and a half-spent roll of Kodak 400.
Best thing you overpaid for?
Blank kelly green early ‘80s Champion Reverse Weave hoodie. I had found its crewneck counterpart a long while back and assumed that would suggest the hoodie existed. After only encountering smalls for some years, a large came up for sale recently, and I willingly paid about double what I’d think it’s worth.
Most of what isn’t for sale I wear. Granted, I have far more than any one man needs, but if I don’t or don’t intend to wear something, I’ll usually try to send it back into the world. I have a few deadstock things that are tucked away, but I like to think I’ll rip the tags off at some point.
Favorite piece of furniture you own?
A highly functional and extremely solid cherry lab/work table that I was told came from Columbia University. It was purchased as a prop for a photoshoot I was working on, and I managed to lug it home. I mostly sit at it when I’m sewing or carving spoons.
Or a very mediocrely self-constructed prototype of a leather and wood stool that my good friend and I designed for the 3Sixteen store in LA. My buddy designed the whole interior, but we collaborated on the one piece. Check his stuff out @studiomeadow:
Or a Dazor Model 2008 desk lamp that, unbeknownst to me, had been in my parent’s garage my entire life. My dad bought it at a flea market in the ‘80s and only very recently restored / refinished it and offered it to me:
slowruinA post shared by @slowruin
What’s one thing you own that you won’t ever sell?
1970’s black, fringed, somewhat ceremonial-looking vest. The front is adorned with a large pin with the map of the U.S., a rhinestone within each state and the text “World-Wide Blanket Man – Los Angeles”. The reverse is chainstitch embroidered with a cocktail waitress with a lopsided rack, and states very boldly in cursive: “Dr Zodiac – Female Body Inspector – Public Enemy #1 – Compton Calif”. No clues to its origins, but I enjoy my bi-annual Google hunt for more intel.
Or… the first piece of Running Man-era Champion I overextended myself to purchase. I’d suspect it’s from the early ‘50s; a white tee with USA printed across the front. I think I purchased this around 2009 on eBay and immediately felt like I’d made a mistake. The shirt was already nearing threadbare when I got it and I wore it well past its welcome on a human body. At some point I spent hours repairing every last hole or at least until it felt whole again and I’m not sure I’ve worn it since.
Piece you have now that you despise and want to replace?
Probably my bed frame. It was always meant to be a placeholder. It’s a pretty inoffensive wooden platform bed that functions as intended, but I tend to have some emotional tie to most of the things I own, and I feel no connection with this thing.
Who do you think sold more records: Nelly Furtado or Three 6 Mafia?
The Academy Award-winning Three Six Mafia
Secret spot that you love but won’t tell anyone about? (please describe as judiciously as possible while omitting any identifiable characteristics)
I’ve never liked when folks are real tight-lipped about their sources. I understand it’s business, but even in the past when selling was my primary source of income, I never thought of it as such. I’ll share my routes and methods, past or present with most anyone who asks. That being said, there is a consignment shop just north of Poughkeepsie that I’d prefer you didn’t attempt to locate.
Rarest/most canon vintage thing you have but never wear?
I try to wear everything I own with as much disregard for rarity / value as I can, but I have a 1964 jungle cloth A-2 that basically doesn’t leave the house. If someone out there has a size medium and needs a large, let’s talk.
Most jealousy-inducing thing you’ve seen? (e.g. I saw a guy in Foremost jeans once in 2012 and I’ve never gotten over it)
My first job when I moved to NY in 2012 was at the RRL store on West Broadway. There was a photographer who used to shoot the campaigns that had a blue WWII USN deck jacket with a modified collar, not the hook closure or the straight zip with the d pockets. Basically just the blue version of your more common OD 40’s deck jacket, zip and buttons. He told me someone had casually given it to him, and I regret not at least asking if he might sell it.
Favorite Russian novelist?
I’d be lying if I said I’ve read much Russian literature.
Is there a field of collecting are you looking to get into in the near future? (Furniture era/paper/autographs/stamps/model trains/computer shirts/90s Harley shirts/digital watches/lighters/slot cars/faberge eggs/Amish quilts etc)
I don’t think I possess the level of austism it likely requires, but I often find myself watching pretty longwinded videos discussing rare coins.
What’s the item that’s been on your watchlist the longest without you having pulled the trigger?
A pair of KC Daylighter fog lights with the smiley face covers for my ‘89 Dodge Raider. Michael Jordan Cologne or The Easy Way to Stop Drinking by Alan Carr.
Is the best vintage/furniture online or in the wild?
It often feels like it’s online, but if you’re really pounding the pavement it’s IRL.
Has all the cool shit been discovered? (Yes or no answer only)
No
Any vintage accounts you want to rep or boost? Furniture? (feel free to include local spots)
@Bayou_la_batre17
Easily the most insane collection of Levi’s and Levi’s paraphernalia I’ve come across. Private account with 7 followers. Don’t know anything about the guy, but he was very generous with his knowledge when I was trying to date and identify a pair of 1964 Levis 451N stretch denim, a model I previously didn’t know existed. This guy had multiple deadstock pairs and internal Levi’s paperwork discussing the inaugural release of the jeans.
@Last_refuge_of_a_scoundrel
This kid is admittedly very new to buying and selling vintage but seems to have uncommonly extensive knowledge, particularly when it comes to Levi’s.
@studiomeadow
Mentioned above, but one of my best buds that designs furniture and interiors
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Auctions ending this week:
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Liz chair by Piero Lissoni for Kartell, near NY, $100 ends Sat…
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Gaudi chair by Magistretti for Artemide, Montreal, $100
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Kosta Boda Picasso-style vase, $40, Ct.
Reverse housekeeping:
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Nando’s just straight up is not serving liver anymore
Post Q&A god-tier aesthetic video of the week:
Thanks for reading.
Snake