Where a shirt can take you

I had an interesting experience this week, brought on by a western shirt and I had to share. Almost every piece of clothing we have has to be researched before we put it up. How old is it, what is the company who makes it, anything that might add to the listing and give it some punch. This particular shirt was western and the label said "Tru-West Rockmount Ranch Wear". I found Rockmount easily enough, but wow! where it took me! The site has a "Celebrity Gallery" and I discovered Nicholas Cage wore a Rockmount shirt in "Red Rock West". Heath Ledger and Jake Gyllenhaal really gave the shirts a name in "Brokeback Mountain". The list goes on and on. The company was started in 1946 in Denver by Jack Weil. He is the CEO, and at 106 years old still works every day. He wanted cowboys to have a "look" that went beyond the hats and boots. And there were practical considerations that could make the shirts better for cowboys, such as a tailored fit to keep the shirt from getting snagged. After reading all I could from the website, I still didn't have a date or origin of the shirt I had so I decided to ask and hope for an answer. Sometimes it works and someone in the company will take the time to date the piece and provide some history.

I got an answer from the company President, Steve Weil! He said if the label was blue on white, it would mean after 1978, but he would need a picture to further identify the shirt. I sent pictures. He responded that he designed the shirt in the late '80's. Steve brought back all cotton to their lines and also introduced relaxed fit to broaden their market. He runs an international company, designs the clothes, and can answer an email from an inquisitive spectator. I was so impressed, I had to give him a plug here (for whatever audience I might have) and hope that some of you will actually check out Rockmount shirts. They're amazing!

http://www.rockmount.com/our_story.htm






This is the shirt that brought on the questions!

Merry Christmas maybe

We cancelled Christmas this year. It was a conscious decision, arrived at by consensus by the three of us. Now the day is here and I'm not sure if I'm struggling because there's no hoopla, no presents to open or if I'm struggling because it's hard to believe it's Christmas. There were several driving forces-my dad (which also involves time, etc), money, and a desire to see Ronan Tynan perform with the Buffalo Philharmonic. We couldn't get tickets and do Christmas too. When it came down to it, the decision wasn't hard. The concert will be worth it. Except for today.

I'm the one who makes Christmas happen. I've been making it happen for years. I find the perfect little antique beaded bag for Becky in February, I buy it and squirrel it away. A good-looking shirt for Charlie in July, ah, there you go. This year, because I don't get out shopping any more-it's tough to even get the necessities-and there hasn't been any money, I haven't done that. So my family doesn't get to tease me about the stuff I can't find because I don't remember where I put it, and they don't get to tease me about finding stuff a week later. They get a big kick out of that and so do I. It's part of Christmas. I make the sweet rolls, get the party rolling, keep it going, and put on a spectacular dinner to cap it all off. We switched around last year because we didn't think Newt would last all day, so for lunch we had a picnic. Hamburgers, hot dogs, macaroni salad, just like summer. Then Newt went back to the nursing home tired and full. Now he's here with us, weaker and much less with it. So we called it off.

I've talked to several people this year who have either scaled back, cancelled Christmas, or wish they could once they hear what we're doing. I'm sure there are still people rushing around and making the holiday perfect and that's fine. For me, I think stepping back will give me new appreciation when we do have Christmas again. And maybe sense enough to keep it reasonable and in a lighter tone. That would be something. I'll have to work on that. After today.

Everybody's going green

It's an ongoing theme these days, people and industries looking for ways to hop on the growing "green" bandwagon. There are alternate forms of energy like ethanol and windmills, hybrid cars, and industries of all sorts trying to tap the boom. These include the car manufacturers, oil companies, Pepsi, Starbucks, Walmart, everyone is trying to look more environmentally savvy and are at least making attempts to stop the waste and emissions. Whether you agree or not, it's a wave that is going to keep gaining over the next few years, and probably many more after that. It's a tough nut. Ethanol is proving to be maybe not the boon it was first thought to be. Simple things like "paper or plastic" are not so simple. If you live near the coasts, plastic wreaks havoc on the wildlife and everywhere it adds mountains of stuff to our already overflowing landfills. I'm sure that in 3007, those plastic bags will still be on earth. They are working on biodegradable plastics, but will they cost more to make, will they take more energy? Paper bags cost much more, but they do eventually break down and can be recycled. So everything has arguments on all sides, and my intent is not to get into what is better or if the green movement is a good thing.

Last night we were talking (we do that a lot), and Becky brought up an interesting point. She said we're doing our own little part for the green movement and have been for years. She said wearing vintage clothing is saving in many ways. The fabrics have been made, the clothing manufactured, often many years ago. Now what we're doing is reusing those items, helping the environment, recycling, and the best part-looking great! There is something about going back to former styles that is just different. No one at the party will have one like it. We tend toward casual, hippie to 80's ourselves, and often get stopped-where did you get that? Man, that's great! It's no wonder retro is big now, because many of those styles really were great. Instead of going to your favorite store and getting a retro style, why not get some real vintage? It looks terrific, you'll have a truly one of a kind look. Start your own trend. Go green your own way. Here's just one shining example:

Musings in the Snow

We have about a foot of snow on the ground. Today is a picture perfect day. The backyard is untouched, covered in its blanket of white. Gorgeous! The sky is beginning to brighten and the dire predictions and warnings have been lifted. Yesterday was a great day to hole up and watch football and generally be glad to be inside. It was snowing, blustery, nasty. But today is the kind of day to go get in it. Not too cold, the wind is quiet, and the snow is beautiful. Man, I love snow!

Last week I talked about Heffy hitting 100 feedback on eBay and 100 friends on myspace-a big deal for Heffy's Collections! We rolled out more clothes and quite a few pieces of jewelry for the holidays. We're rolling out more this week, and will try to add some collectibles because we're down to-oh dear-none. Gotta fix that. So keep an eye open for Heffy's latest.

Last week was the anniversary of my Mom's passing, many years ago. She was my best friend, idol, mentor, and so much more. We spent a lot of time together, talking, cooking, laughing, sharing, and shopping. When I was younger, we didn't have much money, and my mother was very frugal. She was very careful where and how she spent money. She liked to search rummage sales, thrift shops, Goodwill, wherever she could get a bargain. She took me with her and I loved it. One church had a woman who liked the same styles of clothes my mom did and wore the same size. Every year, she would donate her clothes to the rummage sale (I always imagined to go get new ones). Butte Knit suits, cashmere sweaters, Daltons, the good clothing names of the day. Not couture, but good. This particular rummage sale was popular, so it became harder and harder to be sure we'd get the best stuff. We'd go early to be first in line. We'd plot how to move when we got inside-I'd go one way and my mom would head in another. I thought it was great fun to have this joint adventure. Most of the time we succeeded in coming away with enough for my mom's wardrobe, exhausted and laughing at our exploits. Later on, my mom kept adding by going to any sales she could find. One time my dad counted and she had 80 sweaters. Most were someone's discards. Lucky mom.

When I went to Iowa, I quickly located the local Goodwill and made it one of my shopping spots. They had marvelous vintage, even then, and I had fun finding unique clothes. I even got a full length beaver coat to wear to football games. It was great. My mom would still pick up things for me when she found them. She found a wedding dress from the '30's at a rummage sale and bought it for me. No reason-I think I was a sophomore at the time and she would have been horrified if I'd even been thinking about getting married. When it did come time though, I had a friend look at the dress to see if it was possible to wear it. The satin bodice was pretty badly stained. She removed the old lace, replaced the bodice, and returned the old lace just perfectly. My grandmother had a '30's pearl choker that was just the right necklace for the dress.

Now, Becky and I are continuing the hunt, only at flea markets (I don't think there are many rummage sales any more, but there isn't much difference between a rummage and a flea). We search the local Salvation Army. We laugh, we cook, we talk, and we shop. Now Becky is my best friend and we are determined to make Heffy's Collections a success together. I think my mom is smiling!

Good News

My name is Haephestas, I am the cat whose picture adorns the logo for all of the Heffy's Collections. My family calls me Heffy, and that's okay because I have trouble spelling Haephestas (my mom, Barb, does it for me). My sister Becky and my mom entered into their partnership a mere 5 months ago. Now we've hit 2 major milestones in the same week! The first was hitting 100 feedback on eBay and getting a turquoise star. It adds, don't you think? You can check it out at http://stores.ebay.com/Heffys-Collections, my eBay store. I'm pretty pleased about it. They tell me it shows we've been working hard and are beginning to be established on eBay. The other (woot!woot!) was reaching 100 friends on myspace! Man, am I thrilled about that! You can check out my friends at www.myspace.com/heffyscollections. I like to collect friends, even before all this business stuff started, so getting all these new ones is pretty exciting! So 5 months and a lot of progress. Now I guess I've got to start hitting milestones on my web store heffyscollections.com. I think I'd better go take a nap. Concentrating on those URLs and getting all this down has worn me out. I had to get out the good news!

Random Thoughts

Gray is my favorite color. Kind of a strange thing, I know, but it's been a solid fact for quite a few years. Heffy, of course, also loves gray (he sees himself). I like it partially for it's versatility. Black goes well, but so does almost any color splash I choose to put with it. And I love the color splash. A red shirt, a paisley scarf, or a flashy necklace or pin. When I describe certain items we are going to sell, I have to keep in mind that most people do not share my devotion to gray. Silver does well. Gray does not. And I can't go into what I think one can do with it, so I work around it. But here, I can elaborate on what can be done with it-or any color, in fact.

Scarves have been around since the early Romans. Often they are functional: to keep one's hair from blowing or to keep precipitation at bay. The past century brought scarves into fashion, with the wonderful creations of Hermes and others who followed. Peter Max brought a whimsical artiness to his scarves, playful and bright. I think it was the boldness of the hippies that still comes out in me. Throw one on and color your life, I say. You can express your own statement rather than echoing the latest fashion trend. Whether it's a scarf or something else, make it your own. And be proud. And bold.

Several trends have emerged in jewelry this year,many of them hawking to a past era. Jewelry is another great way to add color and pizazz. J Crew is showing bangles of all sorts (o-o-o-o-oo '60's again!). Charm bracelets that hawk back to the '50's and '60's. Layers of jewelry, necklaces, bracelets, rings, pile it on. Why not do it all in vintage instead of doing retro copies? The originals are more unique, and will say you are too more than any reproduction. Go vintage! It's the real thing!

Delayed but still okay

I wrote this 11/23, but I want to get it in. Guess better late than....

We worked Thanksgiving Day to push for the holidays. It's okay, it's what we do. But we will have our Thanksgiving and it will be a true "old-fashioned" one-turkey, dressing, cranberries, peas, squash and of course, pumpkin pie. I started working in restaurants in my college days (and that was a lo-o-o-ong time ago). This meant that holidays were often moved to another day. Couldn't do Thanksgiving on the traditional Thursday, I had 20 or so turkeys to prepare for the crowd. Christmas was moved earlier or later, whatever seemed right. I chose hotels, man, I loved it-but the restaurants were 365 days a year out of necessity. The best part of this was learning the day didn't matter. Explaining to other people was weird, but our holidays weren't to us.
It still is strange: "How was your Thanksgiving?"
"We didn't have it yet."
"You what??!!"

I once did a feature for the Buffalo News on Thanksgiving dinner. I was teaching a class on American cooking at the time and the food editor thought it was a good tie-in. I tested all the recipes multiple times to get them right. Then I did the whole menu like I was preparing it for the paper so I knew I could do it when the real time came. Like a dress rehearsal for food. My family ate it. Then I did it for the "big day" for the interview and photo shoot. My family ate it again. And Thanksgiving? Hey, by now, I can almost do it with my eyes closed, so yup, third time. Lots of turkey, lots of leftovers, that's for sure. If you would like to try this to share the experience, have the same squash soup, succotash, creamed onions, corn muffins, and turkey 3 times in 3 weeks. Overload!

So I'm working on clothes and planning my turkey moves. We had an interesting day yesterday-rain, sleet, hail, then snow. So we pulled out more sweaters, coats, and cold weather gear because we're cold and adjusting to the coming winter. It's fun! We love winter, we love snow. Wish everybody did. Hey, we live near Buffalo. It snows. Deal with it! We do very happily.

Haephestas

Heffy is a cat. He didn't set out to be famous. Becky brought him home from Equistar, a therapeutic riding center. They had enough barn cats, and well, Heffy just didn't seem like he was going to be a standout. He couldn't climb, he was clumsy, and he had no sense of where his body was, which he demonstrated daily by crashing into the bottom of the couch. For reasons known only to her, Becky named him Haephestas, for the Greek god of the forge. Since we had trouble saying it, let alone spelling it, he quickly became Heffy. When I decided to start selling a mixture of antiques, collectibles, and clothing, Heffy's Collections seemed a good repository for just about anything. We'd like to get into more offerings, but for now are focusing primarily on vintage and other clothing. Heffy doesn't seem to mind.

Heffy's take is that if we're willing to put in all this effort to have our own web store, eBay, myspace, and this blog, it's all the more publicity for him. I try to get him to become more involved in the whole enterprise, but like most cats, he prefers to let someone else do the work and he'll just sit back and reap the rewards. He figures it's his name, his picture, and adding all that is plenty for him to do. Just like his brother Mac, the yellow lab, he won't even get a paper route to help get us started. It doesn't do any good to plead, he turns a deaf ear. So Becky and I carry on, making Heffy famous (we hope). You never know, he could be like Morris and have his picture all over the media someday.

Thoughts

Becky and I started doing this because my dad-and Becky's grandpa-needed round the clock care. So we take care of him (we call him Newt) and we needed to do that and earn a living too. Enter Heffy's Collections and our partnership was born. Four months into our business, 10 months into caring for Newt, our trials and tribulations have been many. The joys: Newt is still home and we know exactly the care he is getting and for me, working side by side with my daughter is worth whatever it takes. I get to see first-hand her many abilities, her fears, and her immense maturity and compassion. Newt appears to be the underlying theme and he really is, but long after he's gone, I'll still have this connection to Becky. It just doesn't get any better. We do the business, Newt, we cook, we talk. And it will continue throughout all of what we do.
In this space, sometimes I'll talk about taking care of a 91 year old father. Sometimes I'll share recipes. And most of all, I'll talk about Heffy's Collections and the vintage clothes. Life is good.

A Beginning

When Becky suggested we do eBay and her take on items to sell was vintage clothes, I wasn't too sure. Could we do it? Was vintage clothing the right place? The right time? What did we know about it? I didn't factor in a lot of the things (my error) because I didn't see them. And mostly I didn't factor in where it would take me. Now, four months in, the thing I love the most is the clothes. That may seem like a funny statement, but through the course of this I will try to elaborate-on our journey, on the business, on our life, and on that statement.

I'm the one who takes the pieces with issues-from seam repairs to seemingly impervious stains-and works until they're solved. I have huge containers of potions I dunk the clothes in to solve problems. Then I gently dry them and hope. If the first take doesn't work, I try again. Once they're okay, I take them to the ironing board. There another inspection, and if it's fine, I get to iron it for picture readiness. The ironing board has become my fast friend (yeah, I'm weird), and the iron the ultimate tool of my trade. By the time the piece is ready for Becky's pictures, I am intimately acquainted with every inch of its idiosyncrasies. If I haven't already, with my iron in hand is where the love comes. Getting an item to the final state of perfection is pure joy. By the time it's off the board, I have thoroughly ingested the smell, the feel, the loveliness of each and every article of clothing. Did we make the right choice? I live for that final melding-the peace of mind that follows knowing I brought this dress, skirt, whatever it may be to the acme-or as close as I can get it. Yeah, it's right, it's so right.