The thrifters
With their restored 1918 loft and their 1946 Chevy pickup, the thrift-shop chairs they sit on and the vintage clothes they wear, fashion designer Elizabeth Kramer and real estate agent Robert Heller celebrate giving old things new life.
Entering the couple’s Vignes Street loft in downtown L.A., you feel as if you have wandered into a prop house filled with treasures from a bygone era. The 3,000-square-foot open-plan space, with its low-slung arches and concrete floor, was once a bakery. Now, half a dozen department store mannequins -- with and without heads -- are stationed throughout their bohemian world, which is decorated with vintage chandeliers, Grecian statues and a melange of flea-market and thrift-store furnishings.
A decade ago, Kramer moved from a San Fernando Valley bungalow into the loft, falling under the spell of the picturesque brick building overgrown with bougainvillea and climbing roses, an advertisement for the late U.S. Baking Co. still faintly visible on the side.
When Heller moved in six years ago, the couple knew they would need more space. They bought the adjacent loft and in 2006 broke through the shared wall, doubling the living space and allowing the home offices they both desired.
The loft is arranged as a series of live/work spaces sans walls. Kramer’s sewing area and a small gym flank the front door. Tucked into one corner behind velvet-chenille drapes is the bedroom, which Kramer has filled with scads of pillows. The open-plan kitchen with a vintage General Electric stove and a nearby dining table shaped like a slice of pie serve as the loft’s hub. His-and-her offices are separated by their baby grand piano in the new wing.
Nearly all the furnishings hail from flea markets or thrift shops or are alley finds, say the couple, both irrepressible collectors. Out of the Closet stores, Council Thrift Shops, prop houses, architectural salvage yards and antique malls are among their favorite haunts. Heller stops by the St. Vincent de Paul thrift shop in downtown L.A. at least twice a week. And then there’s Les Puces (the Fleas), Paris’ largest flea market and Kramer’s favorite.
“We’re like two kids in a candy shop when we’re there,” Kramer says, giggling.
The rooftop garden may yield views of Walt Disney Concert Hall, the San Gabriel Mountains and Boyle Heights, and the 1st Street Bridge may span the Los Angeles River just beyond the building’s back alley, but the biggest allure here is clearly all the old stuff inside.
“I love that each piece has a story to tell,” Kramer says. “We’re not just buying something old. We’re buying a piece of history -- as well as some part of the person who crafted it.”
Heller interjects. “And when you bring something old back to life, it’s like continuing that object’s history into the present. We have an emotional connection to everything here.”
Kramer’s late-1920s Singer is a case in point. The designer, who makes custom men’s suits for women, as well as silk ties studded with Swarovski crystals, says she used to own a modern sewing machine.
“I gave it away,” she says. “I prefer the old ones: The craftsmanship is stunning, and listening to the hand crank turning reminds me of the clickety-clack of distant trains. I like to take my time when I sew.”
The couple delight in bringing old possessions back to life. Kramer painted the ceiling off-white -- the better to show off the grain marks from when the construction crew poured the concrete and then removed the wood framing long ago. She also mixed magenta and brick red with a bit of yellow to achieve the terra-cotta hue accentuating pillars, arches and the concrete floor. The vintage stove, which the designer inherited from the former tenant, took hours to clean.
“I had to get the toothpicks out for that one,” she says. “It was filthy.”
She used a dry toothbrush to rid cobwebs and grime from the bronze base of a thrift-shop lamp, then gingerly took a soft cloth dipped in lukewarm water to renew the vintage silk shade.
“The trick is to get things clean but not lose the patina of age,” the designer says.
Thrift-shop chairs and ottomans throughout the loft got a steam cleaning and, when needed, new upholstery. Kramer replaced the torn velvet and horsehair stuffing on a lovely French chair with a lively pink stripe fabric, but first she washed the fabric repeatedly -- “until it looked like someone had sat on it a hundred times,” Kramer says. “I didn’t touch the old gold leaf frame. It was perfect.”
Heller has restored the ’46 pickup, purchased from the neighborhood watch officer, and his 1971 Mercedes 280 SE 3.5 convertible purrs.
The former fashion manufacturer uses a vintage Dremel electric polisher to buff his collection of old shoes, after first conditioning them with a Kiwi leather cleaner, followed by a rub of mink or olive oil. Every two years, his 30 vintage watches make a trip to a certified Swiss watchmaker. Heller’s collections of early 20th century fountain pens, cuff links and silk ties get similar TLC.
For the avid collectors, finding great old things is all about the hunt -- and, of course, the discovery of something wonderful at a bargain price. They’re still talking about the steal they got at St. Vincent de Paul on their 1923 M. Schulz Co. piano -- in excellent condition, just $435. A new baby grand, with all the bells and whistles, Heller guesstimates, would run $10,000 to $15,000 -- “and wouldn’t have the soul.”
“I’m a firm believer that you don’t need to spend a lot of money on things,” he says. “Especially in today’s economy, it’s nice to recycle. We’ve always done it, but now more than ever, it makes total sense.”
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A-thrifting they will go
Elizabeth Kramer and Robert Heller’s favorite Southern California shops for vintage furnishings:
1. St. Vincent de Paul thrift store, 210 N. Ave. 21, Los Angeles; (323) 224-6280; www.svdpla.org.
2. Out of the Closet thrift store, 18851 Ventura Blvd., Tarzana; (818) 881-1725; www.outofthecloset.org.
3. Council Thrift Store, 455 N. Fairfax Ave., Los Angeles; (323) 938-8122; www.councilthrift.org.
4. Minnette’s Antiques Etcetera, 2205 W. Sunset Blvd., Echo Park; (213) 413-5595.
5. Wertz Brothers, 1607 Lincoln Blvd., Santa Monica; (310) 452-1800; www.wertzbrothers.com.
6. Loft Appeal, 521 S. Hewitt St., Los Angeles; (213) 625-1725; www.loftappeal.com.
7. Silver Lake Architectural Salvage, 1085 Manzanita St., Silver Lake; (323) 667-2875.
8. Olde Good Things, 1800 S. Grand Ave., Los Angeles; (213) 746-8600; www.oldegoodthings.com.
9. Sherman Oaks Antique Mall, 14034 Ventura Blvd., Sherman Oaks; (818) 906-0338, www.soantiquemall.com.
10. The weekly Melrose Trading Post at Fairfax High School, 7850 Melrose Ave., Los Angeles; (323) 655-7679; www.greenwayarts.org/tradingpost.htm.
-- Barbara Thornburg