#9 Timothée Chalamet & Vintage Furniture via Instagram.
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This album (that I love so dearly!) turned 1 yesterday. If you lived with me last Fall, this song is unlistenable to you now ❤️
feature of the week: @doubles_tennis
Hello! What is @doubles_tennis for those who don't already know?
“hi! :) @doubles_tennis is a traveling circus of vintage furniture, art, design objects, sometimes books and clothes too. for me it’s a research project to find out what makes the world look and feel fun—for everyone else it’s an instagram based shop that is all over the place—sometimes mid century, sometimes Memphis, sometimes folk art, sometimes shaker, sometimes psychedelic.”
What made you want to start @doubles_tennis?
“there’s a few practical explanations—i was cycling through a bunch of furniture, trying to figure out what i liked in my home (i still have yet to figure that out, my apartment when not a storage unit is under constant redecorating) and would sell on craigslist often to put what wasn’t working for me back out into the world. @doubles_tennis sort of emerged from that rhythm. i’ve always collected, mainly books but i’ve always liked all old stuff, so i wanted a rationale to get my hands on more stuff—even if only for a short while before handing it off to someone else.
impractically, when i started @doubles_tennis i was reading a lot of the great collector and writer Walter Benjamin—who wrote a big book on junk called The Arcades Project, sort of a living investigation of history by studying objects and daily life in and around the arcades (malls of their day) of paris. i started seeing the things i would pick up in thrift stores as little messages from someone else and some other time, each object or piece of furniture sort of has a case to argue about aesthetics or history and it just got really addicting. a lot of sellers, many of whom i respect, are committed to a certain period or style or movement, but i have a bit more open-ended of an approach and i think it weirdly sort of works. i don’t know, does it look coherent? i really don’t know what i’m doing—I’m learning something interesting pretty much every day i do this and find thrilling.”
And tell me more about yourself, the founder!
“my name’s madison! i live in ridgewood, queens—one of my favorite neighborhoods in the city—with my noble hunting dog Jackson. i come from a lovely little slice of hell called daytona beach, where, if you ask anyone “how’s it going?” they will, without missing a beat, contemptuously say “another day in paradise!” spent some time studying in north carolina and traveling around for a while then i moved to New York—which i had not visited once prior, with no plan and less money. i worked some jobs that i didn’t like that much and luck had it that i could live off selling furniture. now Jack and i drive around, find cool stuff, listen to the radio and eat ice cream from whatever roadside stand we come across.”
How and where do you find the things you sell?
“you can never have too many sources. i like thrift stores the most—it feels like the hand of fate throwing things toward me that i otherwise may not have found. so i spend most of my time in goodwills these days. plus the thrifting model is more fun, it’s all about the amount of time you’re putting into finding stuff instead of the connections you might have. i don’t have a design background or a network of people that do have that background, so it’s a little more ground up for me. of course i love a good garage sale too. sometimes i find stuff in the trash. i avoid estate sales unless they’re really something spectacular—it’s just too competitive and that style doesn’t interest me much (if someone else has spent a lifetime collecting, and someone posts photos of that collection to an estate sale page then it’s pretty boring). a few people have invited me to their barn or garage to check out if there’s anything cool and that’s really fun—i like talking to people and hearing stories. i make a lot of friends in goodwill, it’s been a wonderful place to meet people—right now someone who works there moving furniture is sending me some ambient music i hadn’t heard yet and i’m sending him some soul.”
How would you describe the style of @doubles_tennis?
“carnivalesque! i think it’s a little chaotic and all over the place, but i really want it to look fun and playful.”
Why do you think vintage furniture and reimagining your space is rising in popularity right now?
“it’s fascinating really. certainly people are confined to their homes more than ever—which is probably the main factor but i’m hoping there’s some other things at play. i think people are becoming increasingly alienated (rightfully so!) against the aesthetic sanitizing of the big box retail market. i mean why buy a “mid-century style” particle-board table that will just break in two years when you could have a solid wood mid century table, full of life that’ll last a few more lifetimes—and for less money.”
What are your interests outside of vintage and furniture?
“books and movies mainly, also cooking, bread baking and bike riding. when it’s warm i love swimming. i try to play chess and tennis as often as i can, though i’m not very good at either!”
Any hopes, goals, and dreams for @doubles_tennis? :)
“honestly, i never expected to get to do this exclusively—so that’s a major goal checkmarked right there. i’d really like to start a zine called “doubles tennis quarterly” but am nowhere near organized to throw that in the mix right now. i have played around with the idea of doing a super limited run of original furniture one day— but i’m not sure if i want to bring more stuff into the world. my big dreams are to open a bookstore and curiosity shop (with some furniture) and to style the interiors of a bowling and library. hopefully this year or next year i can sell at brimfield—the collector’s circus.”
Follow Madison on Instagram at @doubles_tennis for a unique curation of vintage furniture, art, and more!
a power lunch
“that’s hella tight.”
a real text convo with my mom.
The Making (and Remaking) of Timothée Chalamet GQ
I imagine a world in which I can publicly express my love for Timothée Chalamet without being bullied by my friends. And now apparently my mother.
Going Sohla Vulture
My jaw dropped at the part about Chris Morocco. SOHLA!!!🥺 She truly is too good for The Failing Bon Appétit. If you live under a rock/did not follow what happened to B.A., here is a whole timeline. Sohla is so brave and talented and deserves the world!
💰
Every month I’ll be choosing an organization raise funds for. This month, I’ll be collecting donations for The Bail Project™.
“On any given night in America, there are nearly half a million people sitting in jail before trial simply because they can’t afford bail. The Bail Project™ National Revolving Bail Fund provides free bail assistance to low-income individuals who are legally presumed innocent, and whom a judge has deemed eligible for release before trial contingent on paying bail.
[Cash bail] criminalizes poverty and is a structural linchpin of mass incarceration and racial inequality. It affects entire communities, devastates families for generations, and guts the presumption of innocence.”
Here is a good video that explains America’s cash bail system. Swipe through this post as well!
Check out last month’s organization here.
Venmo me at @elisebang (email me if you prefer a different method) and at the end of every month, I’ll match up to $50.
et cetera
I do not need a plain $200 sweater. I do not need a plain $200 sweater. I do not need a plain $200 sweater.
The funniest behind the scenes photos on the set of Twilight.
My recent obsession with coconut water. It’s so good??? Why did no one tell me this!
The checkered obsession isn’t over. Look at this puffer!!!
This podcast episode:
Scrolling through Grand Street Local’s vintage tees. I bought this one last year!
same time next week?
Thanks for reading! It means a lot :) I can’t wait to share next week’s guest with you! Here’s a hint: 🧃🍊
Is there anything you wanna see in a future newsie? Shoot me an email at eliseabang@gmail.com, Tweet me, or DM me on Instagram.
Talk to you next week! (ノ◕ヮ◕)ノ*:・゚✧