TIKI RANCH... Vintage Goods, Rose Bowl Icon, Inspiration 2011

This great Osh Kosh B'Gosh work wear sign can be seen at Inspiration 2011 

TIKI RANCH at Inspiration 2010, Barker Hangar, Santa Monica Airport

Randy Jones, aka TIKI RANCH is a master of what I like to call "the art of display". I am always impressed with the great selection of goods he brings to market and find myself checking out what fun stuff he has that I just can't do without every month at the Rose Bowl Flea Market. We are fortunate to have TIKI RANCH as a neighbor at the Bowl, so much of what he specializes in goes hand in hand with the vintage workwear we specialize in. Long time seller at The Rose Bowl, Long Beach Veterans Stadium and now Inspiration for the 2nd straight year. TIKI RANCH can always be counted on to serve up great visual appeal that seems to attract a most diverse crowd, pretty much anyone who appreciates cool and unusual vintage signs & crates with great graphics, parts bins & drawers of all sizes, industrial & machine age lighting, printers blocks and all sorts of other unique and inspiring finds that are always available... that is if you get there early!

Have a crate!

Nice drawers

TIKI RANCH also provides graphic design & quality printing services. So if you appreciate vintage graphics with a touch of both humor & edge, then Randy is your guy. 

Contact him at tikiranch@yahoo.com and check out his fine blog at www.tikiranch.blogspot.com   

Great Shirts, Nigel Cabourn & The Rose Bowl

There was lots of interest in this great vintage 1940's era Par-Val chambray work shirt last month at the Rose Bowl Flea. One very nice gentleman with an obvious sense of style who liked it a lot and hung out for a while to discuss a few of it’s finer points was none other than Nigel Cabourn. As he convinced his friend Sam (who had a great pair of glasses hanging around his neck) to try it on I commented on how nice it must be to have someone pointing out great pieces and Nigel stated something to the effect that he was Sam’s personal dresser. I told Nigel that if the shirt fit a bit better that it would be a keeper and not for sale. Bet more than a few people out there would love to have Nigel Cabourn as their own personal dresser.

CITY ICE DELIVERY CO. CANVAS BAG Part 2

Found this great BIG bag this past month at the Rose Bowl Flea. Before the end of the day, I was offered 3 times what I paid for it from someone who saw it in the back of our booth. He liked it so much he left us his number just in case we decided to sell it at a later time. I remembered seeing a similar City Ice Delivery Co. Canvas Bag posted by Michael on ACL and recall being a bit jealous at the time (and not the first time). I decided to clean this one up and hang on to it; if nothing else I’ll use it to lug around some tools.

Nice logo

Another nice logo hiding on the inside

Much respect to the benchmark that is A Continuous Lean.

Mister Freedom Gap (PRODUCT) RED Ts and The Rose Bowl

With summer in full effect here in the Valley and temps reaching over 100, I thought I would check out the local Gap to see if there were any deals to be had on plain Ts. After spotting the new Gap (PRODUCT) RED Mister Freedom edition Ts my search was over. I grabbed both the Blue Mermaid & Black Gents Furnishings and Goods versions and left the White Navy Jeans & Terra Cotta Navy Coat versions since I just didn’t want to roll around with images of jeans & jackets on my chest no matter how much I like Christophe’s fine artwork. Priced at under $25 each with a portion of the profits going to a great cause and with a buy one & get one free promotion in effect, I went off and grabbed 2 of each, that’s 4 shirts for under $50 before tax. While I do love Mr Freedom’s work, these days I just can’t afford those prices so these low cost Ts were a treat.

Broke out the Gents' Furnishings version this past Sunday at the bowl after the morning rush left me in need of a fresh shirt. I do like the fit of these shirts, what I don't like is that protrusion under the graphic. Gonna have to work on that.

Our new permanent space.
The San Fernando Valley Mercantile at The Rose Bowl, check us out in the white section space # 3282, just across the bridge & close to the garlic fries!

Inspiration, Jeep Grand Wagoneer & The Rose Bowl

The 1989 Jeep Grand Wagoneer All Valley Handyman Service company truck has been putting in some overtime these days and can currently be found at the Rose Bowl Flea Market in Pasadena, CA on the second Sunday of every month.

Rin Tanaka’s inspiration event held Friday & Saturday Feb 12 & 13, 2010 was the perfect jumping off point for the Sunday Feb 14, 2010 debut of our little slice of the vintage clothing pie known as The San Fernando Valley Mercantile Co. The focus is on vintage workwear from the 1940’s thru 1970’s. We’re off and running having sold some great old garments and made some great new friends. Stop by and check us out if you are at the Bowl, space # 5282.

Here's a great old FINCK'S sign that we just sold this past month.
Big thanks to Rin for all the inspiration and Ben from RRL for the hook ups. The Kogi truck at the RRL Melrose after party Saturday night was a real nice touch. Check David Himel’s blog The Art of Vintage Leather Jackets for a nice inspiration event recap.