Quote of the Week
May 26 2020
“We’ve got a few changes we’d like you to make”
-Every Art Director ever
Essays And Yarns
Copper Rivet Day
May 20 2020
Happy Copper Rivet Day! It was one hundred forty-seven years ago on May 20, 1873, that the copper rivet was patented. Levi Strauss and Jacob Davis collaborated to bring about the manufacture and implementation of what is an indispensable and iconic feature found on every pair of denim jeans. The copper rivet has been a fascinating part of everyday life, and is barely noticed and often under-appreciated. Actually, without the humble little rivet, we may not even have the denim jean as we know them today. Although Mr. Strauss designed and manufactured denim work pants, he found that at critical points of stress during use, the pants would rip and tear. He needed a solution to strengthen them, and this he found in the little rivet invention of Jacob Davis. Like so many other things in life that go so well together, buttons and cards, Girl with Guitar, ink and paper, The Copper Rivet, will be forever united with the clothes we love to wear.
Read more about Levi Strauss, Jacob Davis, along with the ubiquitous Copper Rivet and the History of Jeans and Denim, here.
Quote of the Week
May 17 2020
‘That’s alright, I still got my guitar.’
-Jimi Hendrix
I guess it’s like Jimi Hendrix when he got a bad, bad feeling that his baby don’t live here no more, and said ‘She ain’t comin’ on back neither – That’s alright I still got my guitar.’, the guitar has been a faithful companion for me too. There is one generally within arms reach, whether at home or work. Most of my axes are simple affairs, basic playable guitars, although a couple are indeed rather unique, one guitar, my favorite – a 1940’s Gibson LG-1. There is something about this guitar that keeps my hands on it several times every day. It is usually kept out of the case, leaning in a corner or lying on the couch, ready to be picked up and played. Alas, when I’m asked ‘How long have you been playing guitar?’, I usually reply, ‘Oh, about 20 minutes or so.’ If my answer were ‘almost fifty years,’ the inquirer would surely wonder then why I wasn’t better at it for all the years of playing.
Get the Red Blues Bag
Quote of the Week
May 10 2020
“What is done today is tomorrow’s past.”
-Elvis Swift
Sew many questions
May 6 2020
At times words fail us. The subject of this picture appears to be one of those times.
Apparently, this is a photo of Mr. Swift sewing while seated behind some sort of screen or scrim. That being the case, why is he outdoors? Is this plen air sewing? Again, why is he sewing outside? The machine is not a treadle – where is it plugged in? We don’t think we are going to satisfactorily answer these and many more questions this picture begs.
Let’s just accept it for what it is – an odd timeless picture of an elusive, eccentric Elvis Swift.
