At Home

Sorry, no new arrivals, no big news, just some happy tweaking and tooling around the house lately, in minor, minor ways. But there is something that makes me happy about moving things around slightly, leaving them for a day, and revisiting and making judgment. Who knows. Tomorrow, things will look different, but today, my home was something like this, in spaces and negatives. Strange how things have gone very minimal and neutral from this.

Please Watch This Video, I Bet You'll Like It

Upcoming Baby and Shoes Peek

Coming to the Etsy DeluxaClothing store soon:

SOLD // Steelcase Office Arm Chair

Vintage Steelcase upholstered office arm chair on castors. Good overall condition. Some minor discoloration from the arms to the rest of the fabric, but fairly negligible. Does have a centering mechanism if seat is pivoted. Rolls nicely.

Non adjustable seat height. Marked Steelcase, 1985. Measures 25” wide, 25” deep, 35” tall. Seat height 21”.

Free pick up. Brooklyn and Manhattan delivery $45. Other areas please inquire.

Steelcase Office Arm Chair

Upcoming Jewelry Peek

Got about half way through shooting jewelry that should be hitting the shop in the next few days. Some really nice shots that I thought I'd share:

Sold // Vintage Upholstered Shell Armchair by Sturgis

Vintage chocolate brown tweedy upholstered shell arm chair with fiberglass base. Bright shiny legs and only minor vintage wear all over. Fabric is in good condition. Comfortable to sit in. Perfect for midcentury décor. Eames era. Measures 27.5” wide by 25” deep by 30” tall.

Free pick up. Brooklyn and Manhattan delivery $35. Other NYC areas please inquire. All other areas via Greyhound bus for approximately $90.

Sturgis Midcentury Upholstered Shell Armchair

Herman Miller Shell Chair Rehab Part 4

Continuing... Finally got around to the JB weld portion of the rehab after some lengthy procrastination, and first failed run.

Materials gathered to epoxy mounts. That's my Kevi reupholstered stool under there.

JB Weld epoxy: super strong, but slower to dry than I would have thought, and surprisingly forgiving in prying off my first attempt. Looking back at the original tutorials, I should have opted for the JB Weld Kwik that sets much faster.

Grey and black modernist goodness.

This would be the second try at attaching the shock mounts. The first time, I was too impatient and did them all at once. The back mounts on the seat curve slid as they dried, and didn't line up correctly with the chair base. Whoops. The new epoxy was easier to pry off than I would have thought. These pics are of the first impatient go round.

Drying mounts.

Post-adjustment, happily remounted chair hanging out.

Sticking together.

See here, here, and here for past HMSC rehab entries, including the method I used to remove some seven layers of paint from this poor chair. Also need to get a new drill to get the last of the old feet out of the legs to install the replacements (our cheapie has lots of miles and now only holds super huge bits).

Coming up next, an attempt at creating some sort of seat cushion to deal with those pesky holes...

See original Chair Fag and Brick House DIY tutorials for full break down on their process.

Sold // Sam Avedon Pink Shell Chair

I've finally broken down and am putting this one out for sale. Some aging and slight discoloration to the plastic, and some scratching to the legs. Three of the four feet missing, but still is quite comfortable to sit in. Especially nice line around the hip area, the way the inner and outer forms contrast. Unique, rare, and kitschy midcentury find.

Sold: Vintage Chrome and Laminate Table

Vintage marbled gray surface dining table with leaf, seats up to 6. Chrome trim and legs, laminate top. Legs easy to remove for transport. Leaf is also easy to take in and out. Classic style. One small burn area, and one scratch in the surface, see pics. Also two spots where chrome trim is separating from surface, easy fix. One larger rust area on one end of the leaf.

Measures 48” across, 36” wide, and 30” tall. Leaf is 12” wide.

Sold: Refinished Fuchsia Vanity Desk and Stool

Here's what I hinted at before. I always forget how long refinishing takes...

Refinished shabby chic style vanity with stool in high gloss fuchsia. Royal blue felt lined drawer, and clear glass knob. Beautiful texture and shine.

Perfect for a vanity or desk. Desk measures 30” tall, 34” wide, and 18” deep. Stool measures 17.5” tall, 19” wide, and 11” deep. Only selling together as a pair. Mirrored tray and all other accessories not included.

Free showroom pick up. Brooklyn and Manhattan delivery for $50. Inquire for other areas.

For Sale: Castle Fantasy Folk Art Wall Hanging

Antiqued gold colored frame; backing is made of burlap weave bordered with gold ribbon, mounted on a gray-green card stock support.

Castle made of felt cut outs, with lacy paper edging along the roof lines, and paper layered rectangles for windows. Shutters made from paper with white text on black background. The archway door is framed with gold braid, and seamed with gold cord.

In the sky, are felt and antique lace clouds, partially obscuring the sun, with felt birds.



The fence in front of the castle is made from pink and white vertically striped cotton, and the garden is made from felt and swirls of yarn. The planted garden is made from a 50's mod cotton print with cats, along with squares of calico floral fabric looking like a flower bed.

The children in front of the castle are made of cut layers of felt, with the girl's dress adorned with seed pearls. The boy's toy horse has a red and white twisted cording for a pull. They are standing on a "gravel" path made of sand paper.

The flanking house has a felt roof and windows, and is made from a striped cotton fabric. The door is made from a page of a book, and is framed in gold rick rack. There are also two "gravel" sandpaper strips there as well. The "lawn" between the house and the castle is made from a bouclé forest green fabric.

The queen is made from felt cut outs, with small decorative doily-like paper punches on her robe, and sequins and gold lace on her dress. Her crown is a cut piece of silver paper.

The back is hung with picture wire. There are several layers of paper protecting the backing; however there has been some decay, loss, and rips to these layers. Nothing on the reverse side is visibly affecting the display side.

Overall the piece does have minor vintage wear, but is in remarkably good condition. One of the lace clouds has a snag in it, it’s possible that one or two of the pink circles on the "cypress" tree in the far right are missing, and there are a few pearls missing from the little girls dress, and the orange long "ribbons" hanging down are no longer directly attached.

There is slight overall aging, but nothing terrible. Not visibly soiled, but perhaps slightly dusty all over. The frame appears to have been spray painted and smudged while it was wet. There is no glass.



Measures 31.5" tall by 39.75" wide by .75" deep.

Personal delivery to Brooklyn and Manhattan for $25. Inquire for other local delivery quote. Free pick up at our show room available. UPS ground delivery available for outside NYC area.

Castle Fantasy Folk Art Wall Hanging

Delivery Options

Pick Up $800.00 Manhattan // Brooklyn Delivery $825.00 Continental US $850.00

Sold: Singer Featherweight 221K in White

It kills to have to part with this find, especially after testing it out post-tune up. Gorgeous, dreamy, mod sewing. I shouldn't complain too hard though, getting to use my grandmother's black featherweight with loads of attachments. I may prefer the white, but having two machines seems silly, and parting with a family heirloom would be sacrilege. Besides, Grandma Margene was a supreme crafter of the highest rank, and I am humbled to be working on her machine, despite the allure of the white.

Down to the gritty gritty here though: the case is in very good vintage condition, clean throughout and free of any major dings or scrapes. I am out of fabreeze right now, but there is a whiff of basement to the case. The machine, like I said, works beautifully, and is very clean save some small bits of aged dust in the hardest to reach corners. The cord is supple and free of cracks or fraying; the bakelite pedal is original and in very good condition. The light works, the motor hums satisfyingly. Reverse works great. Tension is right on. Also has the original white belt--rare! Featherweight aficionados recommend taking off the white belts and storing separately since they are a bit sought after.

Gizmo, who was recommended by the lovely girls at Purl, gave this machine a thorough going over, tune up, and clean bill of health (a $70 visit itself). Even he kept repeating over and over, "I love these machines, I love these machines." He even kindly unscrewed some of the paneling and showed me the "guts". Industrial chic indeed.

The well known indestructibility and ease of use of these machines is legendary. Also, if kept in good condition, it will only become a more valuable collectible. This particular machine was made in 1964, the last year of production. I also have the original instruction booklet, working keys for the case, and the receipt for the tune up. She's also got a brand new needle.

One last thing though is that the bobbin case is not original, I bought a modern replacement. Gizmo said the quality is not as good as the original, but what the eff is these days? It does work nicely though, and also set me back a pretty penny so I can offer this beauty as absolutely ready to sew up a storm.

Cool Blog: .Speck

XYQ over with .Speck in Portland has left us a few nice comments through out the blog. She's got some great style and seems very much the West Coast Deluxa counterpart--great vintage furniture for sale, posts on design and interiors and whatever strikes her fancy. She even has Bill Stephens chairs in stock. I certainly look forward to keeping tabs on her blog and site to see what finds she comes up with and what inspiration she'll dole out. Just check out this bookshelf on her "about" page on her site:

Super cool.

Etsy Home Updates

Been to the Etsy Home shop lately? Here's some of the new arrivals:

Sold: Monogrammed Trunk

Super cool vintage trunk with painted monogram “R. T. K.”. Has leather handles and linen print lined interior with pull out tray. Working keys included. Works great as storage for a coffee table, at the end of the bed, or in a closet. A few labels peeling off. Overall vintage wear.

Measures 17” x 13” x 30.5”.