Secret Stairs

Jake Blog Post California, LA, Photography 1084 Views

A few weeks ago Jamie and I went to Malibu for a really interesting piece of Los Angeles that I never know about. They’re called the Secret Stairs of LA; a set of walking tours across the city. Before Los Angeles was so big, and before cars were so predominant, these staircases were built as a way for pedestrians to get around the hills on foot. Many of the staircases are no longer accessible, but a handful are still complete. A whole book has been written for these tours, but you have access to two of them on the authors website here. We decided to go on the tour of staircases in Malibu.

This was the view from the top of the first staircase.

And this was the first staircase. It was almost totally hidden. I never would have noticed if I hadn’t been looking for it.

There are so many interesting homes in Malibu. I loved the blues this home used.

When the day comes that I get to choose my own mailbox, I want one as unique as this.

This house really stood out to me as Californian. I’d have to run it by my dad, but I think this is considered “California Modern” architecture.

Jamie found where Mario comes out of the underground levels.

It was a great hike, and definitely a workout. Seeing Malibu homes up close was a really fun experience. If you’re looking for something to do on a weekend and you live in the area, I highly recommend you check out one of these tours.

Kids in a Candy Shop

Jamie Bartlett Blog Post Antiques, Cameras, LA, Vintage 1663 Views

When my parents were here we went to Wertz Brothers Antiques over in Santa Monica. I had seen it posted on Oh Hello Friend and it was also recommended to me by a friend. As soon as we got there, I knew we were in for a treat. You know that feeling when there are so many amazing things to see and you’re not sure what to look at first? Well that is what I was feeling; completely overwhelmed by the mass amounts of I-want-thats.

We were delightfully surprised at how many old cameras they had. They were probably Jake’s biggest weakness and hardest thing to say no to.

I wanted that cabinet so bad, but it was bigger than our dining table, and probably wouldn’t even fit through our front door.

This cubby cabinet was also one of my favorite things.

My dad spotted this beauty; an antique espresso machine. He runs a coffee shop in Colorado and almost bought it, but some parts were missing.

The store was filled with globes (which I’m currently on a hunt for). This one was nice and small and would’ve fit perfectly in our apartment.

We recently bought an 8mm film projector to watch my grandparents old reels with. Ours is a little more compact, but we really liked the way this one looked.

Jake almost bought this camera. It’s a working WWII aerial camera that you use a sight to frame up your pictures with. You can see the crosshairs on the top of the camera.

Cameras, cameras, and more cameras!

I think this would be fun to have, although I do tend to use the backspace key a lot…which wouldn’t work so well on this.

I wonder what this Coke would taste like now? They reminded me of my Grandpa because he always collected Coke products.

This is what happens when Jake goes off on his own. He finds more camera stuff, and then takes pictures of them!

Root Beer is my favorite.

Jake found these mini bottles that actually had liquid in them. He really wanted to buy the whole crate, but they were $8 a piece.

When we get our own storefront, it’d be fun to have one of these.

This is just a snapshot of the capacity of Wertz Brothers. They also have lots of furniture, jewelry, artwork, and clothing. We spent at least an hour and a half there, and could’ve easily spent more time, but we were starving for lunch. We didn’t end up buying anything; antiques are kind of pricy. It was still fun to look though and maybe next time we can save up for something.

Retrofonts

Jake Blog Post Book, Graphic Design, Inspiration, Typography, Vintage 1246 Views

Jamie and I were strolling through The Grove the other night, and found ourselves at Barnes and Noble. We stumbled upon an amazing book that we instantly knew had to be added to our collection. The full name of the book is “Over 360 of the Most Popular Retrofonts from the 19th and 20th Centuries Typedesign”, or Retrofonts for short. Actually, the book is written by a German man (Gregor Stawinski), so the official title is “Über 400 der beliebtesten Retrofonts aus zwei Jahrhunderten Typedesign”, but enough with titles.

This book is the most comprehensive, extensive, and organized visual dictionary of type design I’ve ever seen. There are 560 pages of typefaces arranged in chronological order. Each font showcases all of the characters, the designer, and where you can find the font online. The chapters are separated by era and each start with historical, political, and cultural contexts. To top it all off, 222 of the 360 fonts are included on a CD copyright free! That was the icing on the cake that did us in.

If you’re a graphic designer, I highly recommend that you check this book out. We’ve already installed a handful of the fonts that came on the cd and have been playing with them this weekend.

Photo of the Week: Golden Hour

Jake Blog Post LA, Photo of the Week, Photography 930 Views

One of the coolest parts of living in Los Angeles is golden hour. It makes everything look so, well, golden! After getting home from work yesterday I noticed that the sun was still up; Summer must be getting close!

More Time Please

Jamie Bartlett Blog Post Design, Graphic Design, Poster, Typography 1141 Views

This pretty much sums up how I’ve been feeling lately.

 Source: Chris Piascik

Chris is a Graphic Designer and Illustrator who has endeavored to do a drawing a day and post them on his website. I have a huge respect for artist who commit to do something like that. I’ve thought about it, but honestly I don’t think I could do it. Maybe some day.

Morning Brew: Disney Love

Jamie Bartlett Blog Post Disney, Inspiration, Morning Brew, Photography 1035 Views

Isn’t this so cute? They’re still going strong after all these years. Take a minute and tell your special someone you love them today. Jake, I love you.

Source Unknown
By the way, this is our 100th blog post! Hurray!

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