Classic Hardware

Are you Devo?

classichardware — Thu, 10 May 2012 23:42:21 +0000

This Friday, May 11th 2012, the band Devo will be performing at the Hollywood Park Racetrack. They are a band that is quite nostalgic to me on a couple of levels. I mean, they are the true trailblazers and weirdo genius of the new wave/punk scene of the 1970′s. I learned about them in my early teens and loved them when I myself was getting into new wave and punk but later found their commercial success annoying when I would go to high school and kids would laugh at my pink colored hair, Black Flag t-shirt and thrift store garb and say, “Are you Devo?”

According to Wikipedia, The name “Devo” comes from their concept of ‘de-evolution’ – the idea that instead of continuing to evolve, mankind has actually begun to regress, as evidenced by the dysfunction and herd mentality of American society. I guess defined here … we are all a bit Devo?

When I was 16, my best friend’s father was working on Toni Basil’s album, “Word of Mouth” with the famous song “Mickey“. The guys from Devo were her back up band and they were at my friends house all the time. Toni’s boyfriend was Spazz Attack. He is the spiky haired guy doing spastic flips in Devo’s video “Satisfaction”. Spazz was around a lot, too. We were fascinated by his flips and the stories that he would entertain us with. Once he had gotten pulled over by the cops and did his famous forward flip for them (landing flat on his back), and they let him go. He later went on to “Spazz” out on David Bowie’s 1987 Glass Spider Tour. A show I got to see with with Siouxsie And The Banshees as the opening act. Check out the videos they are very nostalgic for me and give a good glimpse of 80′s fashion and style. For better or worse!

Their song “Mongoloid” (the first single) is still one of my favorite songs to dance to! You can’t beat the edgy driving build up on the guitar in the beginning of the track. Genius! Dorky Genius for sure!

Tips & Tricks with Class & Sass …

classichardware — Tue, 01 May 2012 01:12:49 +0000

I was recently teaching someone how to assemble jewelry by using jump rings via Skype. This was kind of funny since it’s not super easy to see such tiny objects such as jump rings through a computers camera eye. I figured it would be a good time to start doing some short instructional videos an repairing jewelry, creating display items and other things I’ve been asked about through the years. I spent years teaching jewelry making and craft projects to kids, so let me know what other jewelry related things you’d like to know about. Here’s our debut video of “Tips & Tricks with Class & Sass: The Perfect Jump Ring”

Craftcation 2012 in Ventura

classichardware — Fri, 30 Mar 2012 02:05:59 +0000

Last week I was part of the event, Craftcation, a three day indie business & DIY workshop conference which took place in Ventura CA. I was one of the presenters and I did a lecture on Retail vs. Wholesale and talked about the pros and cons of both.

I was also on a panel of “Start Up Stories” with Melanie and Dana Harvey of Harvey’s Seat Belt Bags and Christine Hayes who has published books and sewing patterns and is a master seamstress. It was fun to be on a panel and hear their stories and the similarities and differences we all have in start up and running of our businesses.

I am still very proud to make our products here in the USA and it was nice to be able to meet with many people that are working towards the same goal. A special thank you to Nicole Stevenson and Delilah Snell who put on Craftcation. They are also the lovely ladies who run Patchwork a great craft show we love to exhibit at. Come see us there soon and Keep on Craftin’!

Panel time!

Leopard ladies! Me & Nicole

Me & Ron getting our 80s on!

Classic Staffware

classichardware — Tue, 06 Mar 2012 02:12:37 +0000

I want to introduce you to my lovely staff aka The Classic Crew.
As some of you may know, I originally started Classic Hardware in San Francisco in 1995.
10 years later, I moved back to Los Angeles, having the desire for change and to be closer to my family. It was a huge business move but SOOO worth it. I was lucky enough to get a great team of people. I attribute the companies huge growth spurt upon my return to SoCal to the people who were and are a part of the company. I feel really honored to work with such talented, creative, loyal, and caring people —Classic Hardware wouldn’t be what it is with out them and when I say our products are made with love …I mean it!
It doesn’t hurt that they are a bunch of fun and they even laugh at some of my jokes!

“Class”

“Sass”

Music is alive this weekend in LA

classichardware — Thu, 09 Feb 2012 21:28:06 +0000

This coming Saturday evening, some really great musicians are performing at Viva Cantina, here in lovely Burbank, CA. Exene Cervenka from one of my all time favorite bands, X, will be performing with another LA based fave, Phil Alvin of The Blasters. In addition, Petunia and the Vipers who have been making their way down from Canada a fair amount lately (and gaining quite a following here), are Headlining the bill. They could simply be defined as roots music but I much prefer the writer’s description here:

“Imagine that David Lynch and Nick Cave had a hillbilly baby. A hillbilly baby that yodeled. That’s Petunia. Now imagine he’s backed by a band whose talents match his own. That would be the Vipers. Imagine that man and that band can step onstage and hold a crowd in thrall song after song, until the last note fades away, and that would be Petunia and the Vipers” – Cascadia Weekly, Bellingham, WA

– Not to mention their super cool look and style which can also be seen in their video here. Check out their site to see when they are making it out your way.

Also this Saturday is another great “goings on” in LA. The Chit Chat Club, is a once a month club that mainly hosts swing style bands. It takes place in the beautiful and historical Park Plaza Hotel, originally an Elk’s Lodge built in 1925, it later became a venue where I saw quite a few punk rock shows in the 1980’s (kind of a fancy place for punk shows). I’m glad to see it back in swing again (literally), check out their schedule here.

Bonni Reid “Cartes de Visite” Show at La Luz de Jesus Gallery

classichardware — Wed, 01 Feb 2012 01:55:44 +0000

One of our favorite artists, and a great gal to have a cocktail with, Bonni Reid, is having an opening this Friday at our favorite gallery, La Luz de Jesus. If you haven’t been to one of their openings, they are well attended and lots of fun. La Luz is also located inside another gem, probably the best gift store in LA, (in my humble opinion) WACKO Soap Plant–it’s called a lot of names but we just call it fantastic fun! They sell everything from art books to jewelry (including Classic Hardware- ahem) to toys to amazing tchotchkes you won’t find anywhere else. The best place to buy a gift for yourself or someone special.
Click here to see Bonni’s work with Classic Hardware.
A few of my favorite pieces from her upcoming show:

FROM LA LUZ’S SITE:

“Cartes de Visite”
February 3 – 26, 2012
Opening Reception: Friday, February 3rd; 8-11 PM

Cartes de Visite: Noun, French. 1. Small photographs, traditionally mounted on card stock, for mailing and trading purposes.
Used during the Victorian era.

“Having a professional career in creating Saturday morning cartoons, I wanted to break from this candy-coated world in order to depict another side of childhood, one that is much darker, haunting or just plain weird — to evoke a time before we child-proofed everything. By utilizing old photographs of family, friends and found images, this collection portrays the alter ego that resides in all of us –
the real inner child which isn’t always what we as adults want it to be.” – Bonni Reid

Bonni Reid lives in the West End of Vancouver, British Columbia. Her work has appeared in various galleries throughout North America. Aside from brewing her own visual concoctions, she is an illustrator, graphic designer and an animation colour designer.

Contact the Gallery Director for availability and purchase info: (323) 666-7667

The Pheonix Hotel San Francisco

classichardware — Tue, 06 Dec 2011 23:37:42 +0000

This weekend we were up in my old stopping grounds of San Francisco. Classic Hardware did a trunk show at the Wak Shack Salon and then the Annual 3rd Street Warehouse Sale. It was great to see old friends and meet new jewelry fans.

We stayed at The Pheonix Hotel in the always interesting Tenderloin area of town. This is known as the rock n’ roll hotel because for many years (including today) many young bands stay there due to their central location and great prices (and the heated pool doesn’t hurt!).

When I was still living in SF years ago they renovated it and it continued to grow in popularity. The restaurant/bar, Chambers, that is attached to it has changed names and hands a couple of time but I was pretty amazed to see how hugely popular it was this weekend. When we arrived on Thursday night it was very quiet, but I fell in love with the decor. They had thousands of vintage albums lining the walls on bookshelves with tube lighting built in. This gave it just enough light to see the display, but still keep it dark and groovy. This is such a great decor idea because you can constantly change the theme by just displaying a different record. Since it’s holiday time, they had all the Christmas albums showing. This is right up my alley as I still have many of my own albums from over the years and recently have done a retro-style necklace line of 45RPM records using some of my favorite songs as part of the art. I love that the record is making a comeback in style and design!

The record lined walls in Chambers Bar

The view from our room!

A sampling of our new 45RPM record necklaces.

And the icing on the cake, 7×7 is having a contest, you can win tickets to Pink Mammoth’s New Year’s Eve Party at the Phoenix Hotel!

Our Little Factory

classichardware — Tue, 29 Nov 2011 22:23:54 +0000

Happy holiday season from our little factory in sunny Burbank! Welcome to our new fun & fabulous website. I am very thankful for the way it has turned out. Many thanks to my fantastic staff, family, friends, Classic Hardware fans and, of course, kittens!

We are busily working away shipping orders to our customers and prepping for our many upcoming holiday sample sales and parties. If you’re in the Los Angeles area please come visit our Burbank Studio during our Holiday Sample Sale and Party, ie: drinks, snacks and fun! This is the BIGGIE! Super duper deep discounts for not deep pockets. Cheers!

Classic Hardware Holiday Sample Sale and Party
December 9th 2011, 5-9pm
December 10th 2011, 11-3pm
Classic Hardware Headquarters
2607 West Olive Ave (West of Buena Vista)
Burbank, CA 91505

Hope to see you!

w/Love,

Karyn

Upcoming Craft Shows & Sample Sales

classichardware — Fri, 18 Nov 2011 20:12:56 +0000

Upcoming Craft Shows & Sample Sales

Our first blog post, yeah! We’ve got some craft shows and sample sales coming up. Come say hi!

Santa Ana Patchwork Indie Arts & Crafts Festival
Nov 27th 2011, 11-5pm
2202 North Main Street
Santa Ana, CA 92706

UniqueLA
December 3rd & 4th 2011, 11-6pm
California Market Center
110 East Ninth Street
Los Angeles, CA 90079

Classic Hardware Trunk Show at Wak Shack Salon
December 2nd 2011, 4-8pm
782 Haight Street
(near Scott Street)
San Francisco, CA 94117
(415)255-8554

San Francisco 3rd Street Warehouse Sale
December 3rd 2011, 9-4pm
2575 Third Street
Between 22nd & 23rd
San Francisco, CA 94107

Classic Hardware Holiday Sample Sale
December 9th 2011, 5-9pm
December 10th 2011, 11-3pm
Classic Hardware Headquarters
2607 West Olive Ave
Burbank, CA 91505