It is tough going vintage everyday.

[countryclubjoe]

Since I found this board, I have acquired many nice pieces of vintage clothing, fedoras, homburgs, waistcoats, spectators, belted back blazers with pleated pockets, double breasted,blazers, German suits, and on and on and on.
However finding a good cobbler to repair those vintage edmunds spectators is not so easy. Also finding a good hatter to fix up that great stetson or adam fedora that you purchased on ebay that needs to be reblocked and ribbon changed etc.
Trying to find a watch maker to tune up and clear your vintage gruen,or Hamiliton watch, Getting these folks is not easy, they just are not around anymore at least in my neck of the woods, "South New Jersey"

I love running down a nice vintage waistcoat or that 3in brim stetson. However finding the right person to fix our great treasures is getting harder and harder. While I still love the chase and the concur I like seeing the finished product at its vintage finest,
.
So I ask my fellow loungers, is it tougher getting your fedora reblocked, or your watches send out and repaired proper.

Keep hunting.

Best regards,

CCJ

 

[GHT]

Over on our side of the pond, hats can be a problem. I have never had the need for reblocking, wearing such a large size, I buy new.
Here in London, we still have shoemakers and cobblers. Accoutrements are not difficult to source, repair or buy and sell, although I am still in the market for a 1930's cane type umbrella. Do you not have vintage fairs in The States? They are a great wealth finds and you often find a skilled craftsman, or woman. I remember seeing in a film, years ago, socks with a fairisle pattern, at a vintage fair, I found a pair, but really wanted a black pair with a white diamond pattern, and visa versa, a white pair. The lady on the stall offered to knit them for me. Oh wow. Her number has been added to my ever growing contact list on my phone.
The internet has been such a great help too, I found an amazing company in Honolulu, where I buy fabric to make tropical shirts. Have to agree with you, the chase is fun, but so is the lifestyle. Now if you have a spare fifty grand, that's pounds not dollars, get yourself to Duxford Aerodrome this coming thursday, and make a bid for this rather lovely Woody. It's right hand drive, but think of the snob appeal in South New Jersey. An American Car in Brit specification.


And do try to stay around for a few days, you will love the Air Show on Sunday. Duxford is an Imperial War Museum.
Happy hunting.

 

[LizzieMaine]

As the infrastructure left behind by the Era continues to deteriorate, the only real practical alternative for those of us left behind is to learn to do as much as possible for ourselves. There's no one around here who does clothing alterations, so I do them myself if they need to be done. There's no one around here who services tube-type radios or television sets, so I learned to do it myself. The phone company doesn't hook up your telephone anymore, so I learned to do it myself. There are no fix-it shops for household appliances, so I learned to do it myself. You can't get a grease job done on a car at a quickie-lube place, so I learned to do it myself. And on and on.

I have to drive fifty miles to the nearest shoe repair place to get new rubber heels put on or half-soling done, so I'm learning to do that myself. We have a watch repair guy locally, but frankly he isn't all that good. While I've learned to clean and maintain my clocks myself, I don't see well enough to do watch repair, so I'm stuck with him. Likewise I had to go to a professional engine rebuilder to get my car overhauled because I don't have the tools or the physical strength to do the job myself.

But in most cases, self-reliance is the key. Unless you live in a big city with lots of specialized resources and can afford to pay big-city prices for this kind of work, the best solution is learning to do as much of it as you possibly can for yourself.

 

[Edward]

Anybody with a valve radio needing repair might find looking in to an electric guitar shop that does amplifier maintenance might bear fruit. For all electric guitarists pride themselves in being rock and roll and avant guard, at least in terms of their equipment they are one of the most stiflingly conservative breeds on God's earth. If one of these places would agree to fix a tube radio (and I can't see how it would be, in that respect, massively different to a tube amp), there's every chance they'll be more affordable than a hi-fi specialist. Whereas tube amps for guitar are relatively affordable, when it comes to hifi they're very much high end stuff, with everything that implies about what the clientele can afford and thus repair service pricing... at least from what I've seen.

Shoes don't seem to be a problem - I've had resoling and everything done here in London by the Timpsons chain, and been very happy. That said, I'm going to have to find someone more specialist for a pair of co-respondents I have: bought them new a couple of years ago, and a damn moth has eaten holes in the Harris Tweed panels, which now need replaced....

 

[Tomasso]

However finding a good cobbler to repair those vintage edmunds spectators is not so easy.

The company is still in business. Why not just send them in for repair?

So I ask my fellow loungers, is it tougher getting your fedora reblocked, or your watches send out and repaired proper.

Not in the slightest. In fact there are more custom hatters today than there were 30 years ago. I use Optimo in Chicago. As for watch repair, there's gotta be over a hundred shops in NY and Chicago alone.

 

[Foxer55]

Lizzie,

As the infrastructure left behind by the Era continues to deteriorate, the only real practical alternative for those of us left behind is to learn to do as much as possible for ourselves. There's no one around here who does clothing alterations, so I do them myself if they need to be done. There's no one around here who services tube-type radios or television sets, so I learned to do it myself. The phone company doesn't hook up your telephone anymore, so I learned to do it myself. There are no fix-it shops for household appliances, so I learned to do it myself. You can't get a grease job done on a car at a quickie-lube place, so I learned to do it myself. And on and on.

You'll make someone a good husband one day.

 

[Tomasso]

Lizzie,
You'll make someone a good husband one day.

Yeah, probably one of the boys from marketing..............

 

[vintageTink]

The internet has been such a great help too, I found an amazing company in Honolulu.

Would that be fabric mart?

 

[Gingerella72]

Do you not have vintage fairs in The States?

What is a vintage fair?

 

[GHT]

Would that be fabric mart?

Barkcloth dot com

 

[GHT]

What is a vintage fair?

The Vintage Fair
Judy's Vintage Fair
The two links are the two biggest players in the UK. What they do is to hire a large display area, anything from a ballroom to the public gallery of a racecourse. They book venues all around the country and then sell space at those venues to traders that operate in the vintage sector. The range is immense, virtually everything that we have on all the threads throughout The Lounge. So if for instance, you had a business, lets just make up something, you bought from people that did house clearance, perhaps you called yourself, I don't know, something like: "Grannies Attic." You may have a retail premises, you may sell at festivals, you may work from home selling exclusively on the internet. To give another string to your bow, you can buy space at a vintage fair venue, set up your stall and sell your wares at these functions. Meeting your customers face to face, you get to know individuals particular likes. That way when you are buying a large stock of old clothing, you will know just how much you can sell almost immediately. It's a huge enterprise here in the UK. The main sellers are clothing, bric-a-bras, records, household items, old electrical goods, slot machines from the penny arcade days, so many. We have various publications to like Vintage life and The Best of British. There is a huge vein of vintage to be had, and these also tend to overlap with what we term as weekenders. These are a three day event at some large camp, where for a given price you get very basic accommodation, your meals and wall to wall music, dancing and entertaining. Plus all the various vintage and new, made to a style from yesteryear. I will list a few and if you are just curious to see, put the name mentioned into a search, you will probably get a promo video come up. So, try: HepCat Holidays, The Rhythm Riot, War & Peace, Twinwood Festival, Goodwood Revival, Pickering, Yorkshire 40's weekend. To that you can add: War on the Line. We have a lot of heritage railways. These are preserved track and stations that volunteers rescued when, 50 years ago, our rail system was streamlined. With war on the line, you might add Great Central or Severn Valley. All these venues are a rich source of heritage detail. You have to sift through some dross, but what's dross to some is a goldmine to others. Happy hunting.

 

[VintageBee]

http://alamedapointantiquesfaire.com/index.php
This one is close to me...check it out!

 

[Gingerella72]

I'm glad the love of all things vintage is alive and well in England. Wish it were that way here! There may be enclaves of vintage-ness in large urban areas like New York and L.A, but elsewhere.....nada.

 

[GHT]

Gingerella, how much free time do you have? Enough to start up on your own? It might take some research, but it sounds like you are sitting on a gold mine.

 

[Michaelson]

.
So I ask my fellow loungers, is it tougher getting your fedora reblocked, or your watches send out and repaired proper.

Keep hunting.

Best regards,

CCJ

Short answer? No. You need to network. Join watch collecting forums, like the IHC 185 for instance. They have a great many actual watch makers who are more than happy to work on and/or repair your vintage time piece. I carry watches dating anywhere from 1869 through the 1950's on a daily basis and have done so for decades.

Same with hats. There are a LOT of excellent craftsman in the country who can and will do an excellent job on your hat.....many members right here. I've had work done by Garrison, Peters Brothers, Village Sillouettes, (just to name a few) who are well versed on hat rework/blocking, many doing so for generations.

So, it's all in where you look. There are a lot of folks doing the same thing you are, and once you've established in their midst, will take care of your requirements.

Regards! Michaelson

 

[W-D Forties]

Anybody with a valve radio needing repair might find looking in to an electric guitar shop that does amplifier maintenance might bear fruit. For all electric guitarists pride themselves in being rock and roll and avant guard, at least in terms of their equipment they are one of the most stiflingly conservative breeds on God's earth. If one of these places would agree to fix a tube radio (and I can't see how it would be, in that respect, massively different to a tube amp), there's every chance they'll be more affordable than a hi-fi specialist. Whereas tube amps for guitar are relatively affordable, when it comes to hifi they're very much high end stuff, with everything that implies about what the clientele can afford and thus repair service pricing... at least from what I've seen.

Edward, when we lived in London many moons ago there was a fabulous shop on the Deptford High Street called 'The Semiconductor Archives' (if I remember rightly), that specialised in obsolete valves, amps, etc. I wonder if it's still there?

 

[Feraud]

Short answer? No. You need to network.

You've hit the nail on the head. Most people have computer access and/or a cell phone. It shouldn't take much time at all to research a source to supply or refurbish the item in question.

When all else fails, learn to do it yourself!

 

[V.C. Brunswick]

Edward, when we lived in London many moons ago there was a fabulous shop on the Deptford High Street called 'The Semiconductor Archives' (if I remember rightly), that specialised in obsolete valves, amps, etc. I wonder if it's still there?

Looks like it's still there.

https://maps.google.com/maps?q=48+D...=us&ei=qBJXUpT9D4f7iwL6u4CwCQ&ved=0CC4Q8gEwAA

 

[Baron Kurtz]

While the trades (for want of a better term) are indeed dying, the internet at least has opened up access to the remaining tradesmen.

My father (an oldschool watchmaker) has been trying to get a kid - any kid - from the high school to start as an apprentice with him for 20 years or so. No-one's interested. For years in the UK we've been doing down the value of apprenticeships, the argument being that the modern economy needs university-educated folks rather than tradesmen.

When he finally retires, which will be soon, or dies, there will be no watchmaker for miles around. Sure, there'll be plenty folk who can change batteries, but all the country houses with their 16th century clocks will find themselves without anyone who can service their clocks.

 

[LizzieMaine]

My father (an oldschool watchmaker) has been trying to get a kid - any kid - from the high school to start as an apprentice with him for 20 years or so. No-one's interested. For years in the UK we've been doing down the value of apprenticeships, the argument being that the modern economy needs university-educated folks rather than tradesmen.

Come the apocalypse, masters of business administration will be begging for crusts, and carpenters and mechanics will rule the world.