I didn’t know there were any sign painters still out there practicing their tedious art. But then I stumbled across TJ Guzzardi. This guy is keeping the magic of old school sign painting alive and kicking in Melbourne. And he’s doing it in style. Look at this guy. From his fantastic mustache to the vintage blue jean jacket, this is the man I would choose to design and paint a new logo for my brewing company. And then I’d ask him to come hang out and have a beer.

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Collectors Weekly is an amazing resource about all kinds of old stuff, even if you’re not already obsessed with antiques or vintage. The site covers everything from Cosby Sweaters to opium addiction. Also, their 1,400-plus category pages feature links to contextual live auctions that are filtered for quality by the site’s editors.

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Remember back in the 40s, 50s, and 60s when beach wear was more than just a factory produced strip of fabric? There was a time when swim suites were almost little mini dresses. They were well designed and unique. Open Your Eyes swimwear is bringing that spirit back! Each suite is made of the highest quality fabric for the fashionista who wants to stand out at the beach! You won’t find more fashionable bathing suites for this price.

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Jon Damaschke is a Chicago animator-turned-photographer whose work blows us away. He has an incredible vintage aesthetic, which is easy to love, and a unique photographic perspective. Considering how amazing his work is, it’s stunning that he’s only been pursuing photography for a few years.

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You can’t get much more American than this. Field Notes has released their America the Beautiful Spring collection of notebooks. Get three of these little guys for only US$9.95 and let the world know where your allegiance stands. They even come with a sweet logo for your car. Yes, these vintage notebooks just make me want to road trip right now.

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Carl Moon shot incredibly iconic photos of Native Americans in the early 1900s, which became used by legendary pre-depression ad campaigns for companies such as Stetson. He shot a lot of photos among Pueblo tribe, who he traveled with and whose members he befriended. There’s a quiet strength in each photograph that also evokes a powerful narrative. I wonder about the stories behind the faces.

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Filthy and glamourous, drag queen and cult actor, Divine, shot to fame in movies directed by the legendary John Waters. In 1983, the make-up artist Van Smith created the Simply Divine Cut-Out Doll Book. Unfortunately, the book has been out of print for a very long time but a copy is offered for $300 (230 EU) on Ebay, if you’re interested in your own piece of kitsch alt-memorabilia.

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Do you ever feel like your self-indulgent tendencies often plunge you into a dark and strange world of non-social music listening? You know it’s happening when you constantly find yourself, headphones fixed nicely, listening to a range of usually not so socially acceptable tunes. Maybe it’s Celine Dion, Britney Spears, Shania Twain or a continuous loop of Sisqo’s Thong Song. Stop doing it to yourself.

Melbourne-based company Junk Case should be seen as your lifeline; producers of the product that could ultimately save you from a lifelong sentence of sneakily mail ordering Katy Perry releases so as not to be caught in such a terrible act. Revamping vintage suitcases and fitting them out with a killer sound set up, Junk Case speakers are totally portable and work with any modern device. Music is always better when shared with others. Just remember not to put your iPod on shuffle if you still insist on the Sisqo.

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Every piece in the jewelry line from Gwendelicious Designs pairs vintage odds and ends with a nod to the new. A skeleton key becomes an adjustable ring, reproduced in jewelers bronze to wrap your finger. An original letterpress key gets a polish, a chain, and morphs seamlessly into a pendant. Everyday goodies with a bit of history become eye-catching accessories. And, we’re lucky to have scored a few for the
Lost At E Minor store.

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Samy Sfoggia is a visual artist who shoots with film cameras and primarily with black and white negative film. Her work refers to criminal mugshots of the 20s and have a distinct vintage atmosphere.

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John Foster has been creating the weekly posts called Accidental Mysteries for the Design Observer since 2010, self-described as an ‘online curiosity shop of extraordinary things, mined from the depths of the online world’. As a design professional and collector himself, Foster has an intuitive sense for putting together each themed group of images, on topics as fantastic as lunchboxes, poison, or Vietnam War-era personalized Zippo lighters. Each week’s collection of images is as refreshing and fascinating as the last, though my favorite are the unintroduced series which flow like a visual train of thought, like this post from 2011.

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The Drill Pop Blog is a sneak peek into the strange world of yesteryear Asia. These enticing images bring new meaning to déjà vu. It’s as if you’ve seen them all before but your memories went through a black hole and returned more interesting. If it were possible, I would replace my entire memory bank with these obscure Asian alternatives.

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Magpie is a custom fashion boutique tucked away in Toronto’s Queen West district. The styles are out there, yet comforting, like Prince himself. What’s nice is we can now die happily knowing that Prince is actually a real human being that shops for clothes like the rest of us. It’s good to know that the shirt you saw on Jimmy Kimmel Live was made in Toronto and didn’t travel through a Shakespearean alien time-vortex after all.

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These ads are real. Shocking, I know. If you think advertising today is insensitive and racist, just get an eyeful of the way things used to be. Who said things used to be morally better? Because the way I see it, society isn’t quite this blatantly racist anymore. It looks like we’ve advanced just a little bit at least. If you want to see more train crash advertising in this racist spirit, take a look here.

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During the turn of the 19th century, China was home to a lovely clash of East-meets-West culture. And lucky for us, Louis-Philippe Messelier, a French wool trader turned photojournalist, was there to capture the energy of the period in this series of black and white photos. Anything from unusual street performers, pristine countryside, film studios, and the images of the reigning aristocracy all of it finds its way into this portrait of a rapidly modernized China. It’s truly an elegant juxtaposition.

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The Brew Sherpa is an awesome site we came across a while back. They sell vintage beer cans and will positively be ‘Your guide on the mountains of beer knowledge’, as they say. The Brew Sherpa is a site that will teach you about the best beer on the planet. We promise.

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This “innovative” attempt at reducing fatigue on long flights was the future of flight back in 1949. The design was meant to help air force pilots withstand the stress of a strong gravitational pull which would minimize blackouts. The caption of the photograph reads: ‘United States Air Force pilots are finding it much safer and more comfortable to lie down while handling the controls of a plane’. Well, there you have it: the future of flight.

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According to these illustrations, we should all have a personal flying machine by now. Take a step back in time and see what society was expecting life to be like by the year 2000. Each vintage image is a time capsule of thought and culture that flavors each prediction with Victorian fashion. Some of these are kind of accurate, such as the Undersea Tourist Boat and Moving Sidewalks, but others are pretty far fetched. Though I haven’t seen any cities covered by a huge glass roof just yet.

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What says ‘Peace on Earth’ better than a photo of Darth Vader releasing a white dove into space? For the past 40 years, Lucasfilm Christmas cards have been spreading holiday cheer like no other greeting cards can. These quirky Christmas cards are the perfect remedy for a tired, cliched tradition. It’s never too early to plan ahead. This year, send your loved one a vintage image of a c3p0 and r2d2 all dressed up for the holidays. It’s sure to be the highlight of their Christmas card collection.

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I found Neil Krug by accident when searching for images on Google to use for one of my mixtapes. He was recently in the desert hanging with supermodel Joni Harbeck making PULP, a book of photos paying homage to retro/vintage posters. There is this visually enchanting way he takes photographs and I’ve no idea how he treats them. The mystery he creates is like a memory from the past. It’s captivating – and I find myself wanting to be there. He’s worked with big bands now, like My Chemical Romance and Scissor Sisters. But he’s fairly new to me. I’ve never found a photographer before that I’m into, so this is a whole new experience.

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