That's Why They Call Me Shine!

One of my very favorite places in Los Angeles is the original Farmers Market.  Founded in 1934, Farmers Market has become a Southern California institution and a major tourist destination.  Truly, it deserves an entire post of its own as it is such a beautiful landmark.  On any given day, visitors can buy fresh produce, sample foods from all over the world, and visit Shine Gallery!   

I guess I am a bit of a junking/treasure hunting/thrifting snob.  I don't really feel like I have found a treasure unless I have unearthed it from among a pile dirty clothes, chipped ceramics, and broken electronics.  There is something about sleuthing in a thrift store, bargaining at an estate sale, or broiling under the California sun at a swap meet/flea market that makes me feel like I have earned the artifact - a less-handsome, less-rugged, less-adventurous, trash-digging Indian Jones.  For that reason, I resent stores where cool things are abundant and out in the open for everyone to see.  Shine Gallery is really no exception to my nutty neuroticism, but I can't help but love it.  Shine is a wonderland of dead stock novelties and collectibles and every time I go to Farmers Market, I come away with something awesome from Shine.  This post is just a bunch a photos that hopefully, will have you making your way to Farmers Market for some food, fun, and treasure hunting!

Mary (Mary-Go-Round) & Jessie (Jessica Stopnik Photography)
at Shine Gallery

An interior view of the store.
Don't let the giant $1.50 sign fool you; not everything at Shine
comes at dime store prices.  I go there for inspiration but usually
find a few things that fit my miniscule budget.

Vintage Fold-Away shopping baskets
 make loading up a heck-of-a-lot easier.

I love the way the store is designed/merchandised.  It is very clean and but far from sterile as the goods are so colorful.  They even use those Fold-Away shopping baskets to stage items for sale.

They're doing nothing to quell my fixation with pennants!

Pennants and the circus!!!!

For reasons that will be forthcoming shortly, my most recent obsession is vintage circus/carnival memorabilia.  I realize I am either very late to jump on the bandwagon or very early for the next 

go-round.

The oversized, novelty, name buttons are a hit with me; I have two already.  Unfortunately, they don't have any that say "Mr. Tiny."  One day I hope to achieve "Picture Patch" status.  Sadly, I think I've passed my teen idol years.  Dick Clark, Ricky Nelson, and Fabian have nothing to worry about.

3 great reasons to START smoking with you new Finger Cigarette Ring:
"Hold your cigarette while your hand relaxes,
No hazard of dropping cigarette while fatigued,
No more nicotine finger stains"

Shine Gallery carries everything from everyday, vintage postcards to more obscure and 

collectible pieces like this ice-skating, beer bottle man, lamp with fiberglass shade.

I love Christmas stuff.  I think this feather-bearded, glitter
Santa would be even happier at my house.

Babies in a box and monkeys in a sack.

They even have 1930's Disney merchandise!

They carry some things that are pretty socially unacceptable, but that 

offer insight into the mindset of a different time.

Vintage cowboy/girl goods!  Fortunately, I have a little self-control.

Mary & Jessie were not above flirting with
 the staff to try and get a discount!

Shine Gallery (Inside Farmers Market LA)
6333 3rd St #134
Los Angeles, CA
(323)954-4700

shinegallery.com

"Shine" - Louis Armstrong

We just started a new Facebook page to accompany our little ol' blog.  Consider this an engraved invitation to join wacky tacky on Facebook!

Cheers!

Mr. Tiny

Collecting: I Don't Give a Sheet!

Collections can be carefully curated or amassed with wild abandon.  Collections can be born out of the discovery of a single item or thrust upon one in one fell swoop.  My collection of vintage sheet music is an unholy combination of both.  Music has always played an integral part of our not so well-to-do family.  Thusly, sheet music and a love for music has been the rich inheritance passed down through generations.  Being the natural pack-rat that I am, I took the initial inherited library and have added to it over time based on the beautiful images that adorn the covers.  Naturally, it has begun to spiral out of control and for someone who, beyond hammering away at a child's color-coded xylophone or picking out "Mary Had a Little Lamb" on the piano, couldn't play a musical instrument to save his life, the idea of a shelf full of sheet music is rather ridiculous.  I was told by a wise friend that, "the greatest collectors are the best editors."  So, my new goal is to try and collect better by collecting less.  Okay, so maybe I'll just try to try....

The only redeeming quality about a sheet music collection is the relative ease with which it can be stored.  It requires no special shelving.  It takes up very little space.  It can actually be quite useful (like I said, it's like one never-ending sing along around these parts and my siblings can all play "real" instruments).  Here are some pieces from the collection that are particularly attractive, interesting, or musically inspiring.

COWBOY SONGS

I don't know if I could love the cover of "Cowboy Songs" any more than I do right now.  It is an anthology of ridin' and ropin' songs with 1936 cover art that makes my heart sing.

"Wah! Hoo!" - Ray Whitley (1936)

I couldn't find the Fred Waring recording but this one needed to be heard.

I LOVE cowboy music!!!

DORIS DAY

"It's Magic" - Romance on the High Seas (1948)

It just doesn't get better than Doris.

TINY HILL

Mr. Tiny would love to find more music with Tiny Hill on the cover

BING CROSBY

"San Fernando Valley"

One of my favorite "Der Bingle" tunes

BROADWAY & MOVIE MUSICALS

"That's for Me" - State Fair (1945)

One of my favorite songs from one of my favorite movies.

Could Vivian Blaine get any more beautiful?

"Tip Toe Through the Tulips" - The Gold Diggers of Broadway (1929)

And I'll bet you thought Tiny Tm wrote that one...

"Sonny Boy" - The Singing Fool (1928)

"Rosalie" - Rosalie (1937)

LYRIC BOOKS

I love these lyric books because even if one didn't play an instrument, 

they made it possible to sing along with records or the radio.

POPULAR TUNES

"Accent on Youth" - Duke Ellington (1935) 

"The Merry-Go-Round Broke Down" - Shep Fields (1937)

It's not Guy Lombardo, but it is a pretty great recording.

"Near You" - Francis Craig & His Orchestra (1948)

"It's Been a Long, Long Time" - Stan Kenton w/ June Christy

This has always been my grandparents' song.

PATRIOTIC

These two (WWI era) are especially interesting because I always tend to think that past generations 

were inherently more patriotic and dutiful than today.  Placed side by side, it is clear that war is 

always a hardship and not everyone was joyful or proud to see their child become a casualty 

of war.

"Bell Bottom Trousers" - Kay Kyser (1942)

The real reason I collect sheet music is because I can't help myself.  The colors, graphics, accessibility, and generally low price tag have me on the hunt for more and more.  I love that almost every single piece is inscribed with the name of the original owner.  Although, I kind of wonder why.  Did sheet music get so blotto at parties that it wandered off to strange homes?  Did it get loaned out so often that the borrowers forgot from whom it was lent?  Why did it require that handwritten ID bracelet?  Whatever the reason, it is just another one of my silly collecting passions.  Again, it does have a useful side - especially if you are a musician.  If you are not, it is wonderful for use in decorating too.  In the home of a staunch recreationist, what lends a more period character than colorful, musical ephemera?  In a modern setting, what provides more charm and interest than the beautifully-printed images of sheet music?  Please keep an eye out for me for Tiny Hill!

Cheers!

Mr. Tiny