Cold Sun

As you may have noticed, we're pretty determined when it comes to tracking down those elusive items on our wantlist. This particular one had lingered for an infuriatingly long time, but we lucked out last week when our pals at Denver's Mod Livin' announced the recent arrival of a certain circular metal wall sculpture. Sure enough, it was the exact one we'd been waiting for: Esperanto.

Produced in the 70s by the Marc Creates company, this Brutalist sculpture was the brainchild of artist and founder, Marc Weinstein. Over forty years later, Marc Creates is still in business and is still manufacturing several of its signature pieces; however, this specific model has long since been discontinued. Consequently, we'd been on the hunt for a vintage example for nearly three years.

At 36 inches in diameter, we knew this double-tiered beast would be the complementary piece that would successfully tie the whole room together. Thankfully, it arrived in perfect condition—right down to its original tag—and we couldn't be happier! Thanks again for all of your help, Amanda!

They're Back Again, Here They Come

Cripes, it's March 1st and we're barely catching up with the ten days we spent in Arizona back in January. Oof! We swear we'll get back on track someday. 

We always end up having a great time visiting my old haunts—and this year we even made it to Sierra Vista, which is where Valery spent a year or two while her Dad was stationed at Ft. Huachuca in the late 70s. Weird to think that my future wife lived 1.5 hrs away when we were kids, but it'd take 2,000 miles and 33 years before I'd actually meet her. Awww!

Anyway, here're some pics Valery snapped while we were wandering through the desert visiting our friends and family. Enjoy!

It should be noted that the above building is for sale and Valery would consider a move back home if I could swing the purchase price.

...oh yeah, we also found a tasty slew while we were out of town!

Such as the vintage, Bargello pillow we scored in Bisbee for $8—this would've been around $200 if it was a Jonathan Adler original. We found the other two vintage mod pillows in Athens a week or so before we left on vacation, so we figured we'd toss 'em in, too. Our ruddy companion was picked up in Phoenix right before we flew back.

We also found an original Thing bank while we were visiting Bisbee—the condition of the bank and its box could not be denied. We got the call that I'd landed my first salaried archivist job the day we arrived in Tucson. Outta pure coincidence, we found an original Secticon clock by Angelo Mangiarotti stuffed inside a display case in a local antique store that same day! We'd turn the abacus and the thermometer up in Phoenix a few days later. Also, before we forget, our friends Mary and Jeremy gave us that handsome tray as part of our wedding gift! A belated thank you is definitely in order!

After I bought myself that clock for a job well done, I decided that I needed to buy Valery something special for being so loving and supportive while I (started and) finished up grad school. Luckily, I found this signed woodblock print by Kaoru Kawano, entitled Doves and Girl (ca. 1950), hidden inside a Tucson antique store later that day. It couldn't have appeared at a more perfect time, as it reminds me so much of my beautiful bride.

Valery lucked out and found a few cheap Metlox Poppytrail Aztec pieces while we were in Phoenix. She also found a creamer and a sugar bowl made by Winterling. Is anyone familiar with this line? We'd certainly like to know more. 

Phoenix yielded some nice plastic scores this time out. We found two Crayonne items: a (spare) white ice bucket and a slender yellow container. My older brother also had a rare Gedy piece designed by Makio Hasuike languishing in his office. Yoink! Thank's again, Chapo!

Lastly, we made out pretty well with records, too. We ended up finding minty copies of the Gun Club's Fire of Love (true first press) and the rarest Milkshakes LP, The Men With the Golden Guitars—sadly, my downgrades were claimed almost immediately, so don't bother. We found a stone mint first pressing of the first Die Kreuzen record (still in the shrink) and the live Human Switchboard LP. We also got a sealed original copy of the Pagans' Pink Album (since opened) and the third Dogs LP before we split town, but we (rightly) figured they'd look good in this spread, regardless.

Wild Gift

The Saturday before Valentine's Day was my 37th birthday. We went out junking during the day and then went out for dinner and drinks with friends later that night... thanks to everybody for coming out on one of the coldest nights this winter! I had a blast! It was great hanging out with everyone, especially since being jobless has left me in a funk lately.

I'm so excited I got Used To Be A Tiger by 32nd Turnoff from Tony as one of my presents! It was one of my most wanted records for a very long time and it features one of my favorite record covers! Glad to have this Italian-only monster crossed off my want list! Also pictured is a vintage caveman lamp that I gifted to myself... thanks again for the tip, Marc! He's awesome! Also, my good friend, Tim, surprised me with this Titan Records LP box-set. Not pictured is a bottle of booze that my friends Kevin and Amye gave me. Thanks again, guys!

We spent 10 days visiting friends and family in Arizona in January and while shopping around in Phoenix with one of our best friends, I spotted a vintage Knoll stool designed by Eero Saarinen in 1956. I was in love as soon as I saw it! It still had its original Knoll Associates tag and sticker on the bottom and retained its electric blue Knoll fabric that fits in so well with the vintage Adrian Pearsall sofa in our den. At the time, I was concerned with spending money, since I was just laid off, so I had to leave it behind. To my surprise, Tony and Genz decided to pitch in and get it for me as a joint birthday present. After we left Arizona, Genz went back to the store and nabbed it for me and mailed it my way. Thanks so much! You guys are the best! Seated on top of the stool is a vintage Laurids Lonborg teak elephant made in Denmark that Tony gave me for Valentine's Day. Tony's best friend, Damo, found it in San Francisco and sent it his way just in time for V-Day. I love him! Thanks, Damo!

Lastly, this is the Gonk that I made for Tony out of naugahyde for his Valentine's Day present. He absolutely loved him, and I'm pretty proud of how well he turned out. Lately I've been working on sewing projects and coming up with designs for a possible business venture, so I was glad I could make something to surprise Tony with. Stay tuned for further news and announcements! I'm hoping to get it all figured out really soon since my severance checks are about to run out. YIKES!

Love Is All Around

We hope everyone enjoyed an exceptionally amorous Valentine's day! As for us, we just wrapped up a delicious meal Valery prepared and we're settling in for the night.

It's Later Than You Think

Wow, has it really been over a month since our last update? So sorry, dear readers, but we had guests staying with us over the holidays, visited Arizona for ten days (don't worry: an update is forthcoming) and I even got my first job as a professional archivist—consequently, leisure time's been at a minimum. 

Valery was also laid off after twelve years, so 2012 has subsequently opened up new opportunities for us, and we're excited about what the rest of the year holds in store. We guarantee that there will be more related announcements to come!

Anyway, without further ado, let's hunker down and unveil the treats that came our way this past Christmas.

This time, our buddy Mike—he with the penchant for game-ending gift-giving skills—bestowed upon us this fantastic chess set produced by Austin Enterprises in 1962. We'd only seen this modernist aluminum set in books prior to receiving this beauty. Thanks again, Mike!

Here's the set hanging in its natural state—complete with its blue plexiglass screen—where it's likely to rest undisturbed for the remainder of its stopover with us. We apologize for the unsightly clutter featured below.

 

You'd think that we would've been satisfied with already owning a vintage Nesso by Artemide; however, we'd wanted two white beside lamps for a while, and a great online deal sold us on the idea of giving each other a new pair for Christmas. Here we find Otis admiring one while keeping my side warm.

In addition, we also agreed to get each other a few small things, and a big ol' thank you is owed to Damo for lugging this Terradome around San Francisco and mailing it to me in time for the holidays! It should be noted that Valery's love of terrariums is second only to her planter obsession.

Valery returned the favor by giving me this excellent Pagans and Real Kids flier from 1978—for a show that took place a day before my third birthday! Our buddy Ryan was also kind enough to send Valery the original paste-up artwork for a different Real Kids flier—this'un's promoting a shared bill with Nikki and the Corvettes (in 1979). Lastly, our friends John and Cindi gave us this Hate Ball t-shirt commemorating Peter Bagge, Dan Clowes and their trek along the comic book store circuit in 1993. Thank you!

Valery successfully tracked down the Mad Cannibal, a wind up horror hopper from the same line that brought us the incredible Shudder Pig (featured elsewhere), and gave it to me as an early gift. I'd been anxiously waiting for one—complete with box—after I passed on a pricey specimen a few years back. Despite the odds, Damo tried to steal last year's show by delivering the Screaming Urge's Homework 45 (complete with original, over-sized sleeve) a month before it was legitimately reissued by those nice guys over at Sing Sing. Speaking of nice guys, Mike also sent along John Dexter's 1968 paperback, A Man For All Wantons, featuring one of my favorite psycho-sexual covers by Tom Cannizarro. No passion was too primitive, indeed! 

Mike spoiled us even further by tossing in these Psycho-esque salt and pepper shakers produced by Norcrest, and these vintage mod lucite containers.

Last but not least, our pal Kevin added to our ever-increasing bird-feeder collection with this Umbra production—and it should be hanging outside by the time I type this. These wooden gonks were also contributed by Mike, and are similar to the two imps that occupied space on our wedding's sign-in table. Thanks again, guys!

Hope everyone had as peaceful and plentiful a holiday season as we did!

Good Times

 

Here's wishing everyone the happiest of holidays! See y'all in 2012!!

GG&S

Every Day's A Holiday, Every Night's A Party

So it seems as though my 36th birthday came and went a few months back, and we just happened to overlook it until now. Fortunately, Valery made accepting my encroaching middle age a little easier by distracting me with some pretty massive gifts. Of the four paperbacks pictured above, Surf Broad is the undisputed wave hog, but Gene Bilbrew's idiosyncratic musculature renders 'em all welcome additions to the stacks.

We'd spotted a copy of this record on the wall at Academy Records (Brooklyn location) a few years ago, and we'd kept an eye out for it ever since. After some tense negotiations, Valery was able to pry it off of an online dealer. The question remains, however: who were the Moon-A-Tiks? Precursors to McDonalds' Fry Guys? 

I'd nearly given up on finding one of these, due to the difficulties present when searching for an op art paperweight featuring some floating eyeballs. We still have no information as to who designed or manufactured this disembodied head (encased in lucite)—anyone with additional details is encouraged to let us know!

Of course, many thanks to my beautiful wife, again, for making this year's birthday—and this year in general—so exceptionally memorable!

Hooked On Junk

Wedding planning, work-related deadlines and a hectic penultimate semester in grad school have kept us cooped up for the most part, but we've still found time to sniff around and locate some tasty vintage electronics pieces for our growing collection. We hope those recent entries whet your appetites because this'un's a five-course meal. Dig in!

You can't imagine how happy we were when we recently found two examples of the portable UFO turntables Patrice Dupont designed for Philips in 1970. These were never widely available in the states, so we didn't expect to find 'em stranded in the midwest. Now we just need a blue one to sew up the blessed trinity! Similarly, Mangiadischi Penny portables are seldom found on these shores, so we're grateful to our buddy Maxime (of the utterly fantastic Design and Music From The 60s & 70s) for hooking us up with his spares!  Thanks again, Max! Two domestic Panasonic turntables (including the irritatingly elusive Funnygraph) help to round up this lot!

We aren't above allowing players for inferior formats into our home, either. Please check out the three 8-track players featured—manufactured by Panasonic, Sobynica and Studio 44, respectively. Hell, we even let in a goddamn blue Panasonic cassette player cuz it was just too cute to pass up.

We're big fans of these rounded beauties Panasonic produced in the 70s, and we're saddened by the fact that we're still missing an orange example. Help? Fortunately, we found both of these Zenith portables locally and for cheap ...not too shabby! 
 

Again, we're regrettably aware of the fact that we're missing white and lime green versions of this classic model manufactured by Ford's subsidiary, Philco. At least we can find some solace in the fact that we're the proud owners of the sole blue example—only because we found a horribly yellowed and discolored white set that would've been irrevocably lost if it wasn't for the wonders of made-for-plastic spray paint! The finished version came out surprisingly well, we think!

We certainly saved the biggest for last. Valery found this hulking behemoth lurking on Cleveland's Craigslist and knew we had to have it. As a company best known for its assortment of sensible shoes and underwear, it's hard to believe that this mod television set was produced by none other than JC Penney! Many thanks to Ben for honoring our requests to ship this mofo to us, despite the fact that it weighs a half-ton! 

We're also glad we can finally cross a pair of tulip-based Futura speakers off the ol' wantlist. Same goes for the ball radio (with lucite base) manufactured by Sanyo, a lavender Rolling Tone, RCA's insidiously rare ball calculator and the red/yellow Hot Top radio featured in L'Utopie Du Tout Plastique (as a Yo-Yo Goldor).    

Adult Books

We here at GG&S are pleased as punch to report that another longstanding want has found its way to us—this time, our buddy Ryan (of Strange Sisters fame) was lucky enough to find a spare copy of Corley Dale's Man in the Box while vacationing in San Francisco. We're grateful to the li'l king for hooking this one up ...and it was the right thing to do considering that he turned us on to this necrophilic milestone in the first place. Thanks again!
 

Coincidentally, we also picked up Lithe and Lustful, notable for its swinging love-in depiction, the same week and, again, per Ryan's recommendation. Both of these books were issued in 1968 and both feature cover art by Robert Bonfils.

Out Of The Can

We've succeeded in painting ourselves into a corner when it comes to picking up punk 45s, so we're beside ourselves with excitement over the singles that've recently materialized at GG&S HQ.

One of the most recent records to ascend to wantlist status was Voice of the Puppets' sole vinyl outing from 1980. The sound of C-86 six years early? Many thanks to Jeremy and John for helping us to round up an original copy.  

 

Similarly, scoring a copy of John Henry Timmis' anthem, Destructo Rock, seemed like an impossibility until we received a minty copy as a belated wedding gift from the mysterious Mr. X. Our benefactor must've had a premonition—if only we'd had this record in time, it would've made an excellent soundtrack for our wedding night! Many thanks again, Roger!

Sadly, no YouTube video exists for the Snots' exercise in compression, So Long to the Sixties, so we'll leave y'all with J.T. IV's haunting Out of the Can. Also, anyone with a copy of his Waiting for the CTA single is most definitely invited to write us!

PS: Porky Prime Cuts has been updated accordingly here.

Home Is Where The Floor Is

Yep, we've done it again—we up and entered our humble abode into yet another contest with the fine folks over at Apartment Therapy. It seems as though we've succeeded in eliciting a polarized reaction among the site's readership this time 'round, so we're hoping y'all will weigh in with glowing character assessments, vociferous rebuttals and, most importantly, votes! Cast 'em early, often and thanks again for your help!

You can access our slot by clicking here.  

Deuces Wild (Part Deux)

Blame it on a whirlwind trip to Pittsburgh this past weekend, the resulting jet lag or maybe even a private midnight screening of The Car, but we completely spaced on two other presents that made their way pre- and post-wedding. Our sincerest apologies, friends!

Our pals Hone and Carmela kindly forked over the original art Hone whipped up for our wedding invitation's record label. I think Hone really captured my inner-legume (!) and the steaming grains teeming between Valery's ears. Expect this illustration to adorn a full merchandise line in the near future! Also, a special thanks to Carmela for encouraging Hone to sign this one for us!

Many thanks to Tim, our Facebook friendster and spiritual advisor, for acknowledging my defeated, feeble whimpering when he unveiled his sizable duplicate stash. This'un features one of Eric Stanton's best covers and seemed especially apropos considering the circumstances.

Deuces Wild

Despite the fact that most of our wedding presents came in the form of much appreciated cash-money, a few of our friends elected to make some wholly appropriate donations to the GG&S archives.

Our friends Ryan and Gianna were kind enough to give us this rhino pair, adding to our ever-increasing herd of Travertine limestone animals. Ryan claimed that he and Gianna had no idea that we already had a few of these Mannelli creations around, and picked 'em up completely on a hunch. Nice!

Ryan and Gianna also submitted these wondrously gift-wrapped marital aids—with similarly uncanny accuracy! No big surprise, Valery has already memorized select passages from She Lived for Lashes. 

Our pal Mike really outdid himself, presenting us with this 3' smoked acrylic/wood floor lamp. This'un is slated for a spot in the home office, so we apologize for our impromptu placed atop shelving staging. We promise we'll find a more ideal setting for it in the coming months.

Last but certainly not least, Mike must've been implying that we needed better lighting, because he also gave us an orange Nesso by Artemide. A classic designed by Giancarlo Mattioli in 1964, we'd always wanted one of these lamps, and were especially pleased that Mike delivered it in its first edition which, unlike subsequent examples, is fashioned entirely from fiberglass.

Again, thanks to you three, and thanks again to everyone else—we're really excited about starting in on our home renovations, and we're exceedingly grateful for the funds that are making it possible. Expect plenty of pics in the near future!

Surprise, Surprise

Alright folks, we're back to updating this blog on a semi-regular basis, so here's our first official post as man and wife. Thank you to everyone, again, for their kind comments re: our wedding photos. 

About a month prior to our wedding, Valery and I walked into one of our favorite antique haunts and bumped into the teak behemoth that's now looming center-stage in our great room. We'd seen a similar Danish hutch in Phoenix shortly before I moved here and we really debated picking it up; however, timing and circumstances didn't permit it ...a situation we'd regretted ever since. Fortunately, getting this one home wasn't much of a hassle: all it took was a rental van and an extra set of hands—thanks, Lewis! Also, a big thank you to Mary for all of her help!

A more significant obstacle was figuring out how to get this room back together—of course, right after we thought we'd finally finished it off! We had to rearrange some of our artwork and assorted pieces of glassware, but we're pretty happy with how it all ended up.

 

Another consequence of the new set up was a blank spot that popped up unexpectedly. Fortunately, our friend Justin helped us fill it out with this large woodblock print by Frederic Marvin. This creepy lepidopterist comes housed in his original, heavy wooden frame, and he's from the same estate sale that delivered the large metallic Dodo stationed in our foyer. That must've been some spread!