How the Columbo Dog Head Greeting Cards Came to Be

 

(This is cross-posted from Columbo Clothes and Laughs) 

 

 

How the Columbo Parody Dog Head Greeting Cards Came to Be: 

 

It was around New Years 2024 when Kevin said I needed a hobby besides the pandemic.

I said, "no I do not." 

 

He said, "yes you do." 

I said "okay, I will paint."

He kindly got an art kit and set up a small easel in a room downstairs. 

 

Mostly as a way to flip off AI art I started painting with acrylics.

 

I painted my "pandemic friends." 

 

I painted some psychedelic stars that have been in my head since 1988.

 

 

 

For a big challenge, I moved onto trying to paint some favorite Columbo scenes. 

The first one turned out okay. 

 

 

I thought I could share these paintings in greeting card form with other Columbo fans. 

I ordered 10 cards as a test from the most eco-friendly card maker I could find in the USA, and as they were being made, I painted 11 more of my favorite scenes. 

 

For example, John Cassavetes playing the Maestro as he's about to be hauled off to jail, shaking Peter Falk playing Columbo's hand:

I looked up whether painting scenes from TV or movies is copyright infringement. 

Sad trombone, yes it is. Fuckers!

I drafted a letter to the heirs of Columbo creators Link and Levinson seeking a license to sell these paintings as cards.

 

I realized NBC Universal Comcast is the evil overlord who owns the copyrights and having dealt with their overzealous IP lawyers for years who deactivate entirely legitimate (due to the First Sale Doctrine) vintage Etsy listings, I felt that a license would be unattainable/overly onerous, so I pivoted to DOG HEADS.

 

Putting dog heads on the bodies takes the paintings to the parody/satire level, which resolves any copyright issues. 

 

So I just photoshopped photos of some dogs I know and love onto the bodies.

 

 

My artist friend Jess Pfohl from Jess! Messin' who is Into This Stuff in a big way told me to paint the dog heads for consistency. 

 

So I painted 22 dog heads to match the characters/vibe of the actors in the paintings.

 

 

And that is how we ended up with 12 scenes from 70s Columbo with parody painted dog heads!

Cards available today from skippyhaha Etsy!

 

Four cards out today, four more next Wednesday March 6th, and the final four cards will be out the following Wednesday March 13th. 

Dogs. 

PS - IF YOU WOULD LIKE A CARD WITH PAINTINGS WITH THE HUMAN HEADS, sent via USPS with a forever letter stamp with NO TRACKING, I had a tiny run of those printed - please message or email me

Chapel Hill Leather Shop - The Only Real Thing Left T-shirt

David Honigmann owned and operated the Chapel Hill Leather Shop from 1964-1984. Located at 133 ½ East Franklin Street, his shop was always packed with customers wanting to buy his custom-made sandals and hand-made leather goods. 

 

 

 

 In the autumn of 1964, David and friend Betty Bishop began exploring Franklin Street for a storefront, so they could open up their own leather goods shop. They found a place upstairs at 133 1/2 East Franklin Street, which rented for only $35 a month, and they named it the Chapel Hill Leather Shop. 

 

 

 

 It was just one, big room, owned by Alexander Julian’s father, Maurice Julian. Word spread of David’s excellent craftsmanship, and the shop became very successful, very quickly. They were so popular, in fact, that advertising was never necessary. They just had a sign out front that read the Chapel Hill Leather Shop with a pair of sandals nailed to it, and another sign outside the entrance to the store, and that was enough to keep them in business. 

 

 

 

 By 1984 the added recession was making it even more difficult to keep the shop going and after twenty years in the leather business, they felt it was time to move on. (Via Chapel Hill Recorder)

Relive the memories from the Only Real Thing Left with this 70s t-shirt - vintage 70s tee CHAPEL HILL leather shop t-shirt Small soft thin burnout

 

Pawn Stars Vintage T-shirt Episode - Rick Gets Rolled

I watched the Pawn Stars episode this week, Season 18, Episode 9 "Raiders of the Lost Pawn", excited because "vintage t-shirts" were involved. 

A man brings in 2 baseball raglan concert tees - one from 1982 The Who tour and 1981 Rolling Stones tour. 

He said he bought them himself and hung them in his closet for the next 40 years, unworn. This is not the best idea. A better idea is to fold your t-shirts in a closet where the sun don't shine. Hanging t-shirts can stretch out the necklines, and if you use metal hangers (it appears this man thankfully used plastic), rust lines can transfer on the shoulders of the tees.

Chum Lee expressed how cool the tees were but he wasn't an expert so they called one in. 

The expert did not appear to be an expert in my opinion. He didn't even look at the tags! The Rolling Stones dragon graphic has been reproduced thousands of times by places like Forever 21. I appreciate his mentioning "single stitch" on the hems, but you don't know what you have unless you LOOK AT THE TAGS.

The tags were not even mentioned. I take this as vintage t-shirt blasphemy. 

What size are they? If they're Small or Medium, 90% of the population will never fit in them so their value is less than if they're Large or XL. 

The expert called the Rolling Stones tee a "holy grail" and valued it at $500.

I have personally sold several vintage Rolling Stones tour tees, one from 1978 that said "Happy Birthday Mick" and had Peter Tosh on back for $420 in 2005, 

 

and one from the Pontiac Silverdome for $50 (!!!) in 2011. 

 

 

 

 I think both of these are cooler and more rare and more valuable than the generic 1981 tour tee that doesn't even have the co-bill on back, it's a list of 20 tour stops.

There were thousands of these tees made for every stop of the tour. They're not a dime a dozen, but they're not a holy grail either, especially since big box retailers are reproducing the graphic. Rick pays $300 for this, he could have bought one, even cooler, for $125 any day of the week. 

 

 

Rick ends up paying $100 for the Who tee. Rick got a decent deal on this - I would ask $200 for that tee. 

I see on their website they're now selling the Rolling Stones tee for $525 UPDATE they jacked the price to $550 yesterday and there are no pics of the tag. Silly. 

All in all, I'm disappointed there was no focus whatsoever on the TAGS of these t-shirts - that is the only way to gauge their authenticity. Very cool t-shirts, in mint condition which certainly adds value - Rick got a bad deal on one, and a good deal on the other. I give the episode B-.

Rick, if you need a t-shirt expert like Rare Books Rebecca, call me!

Behind the T-shirt - Cap's Place

Here's a 70's t-shirt from Cap's Place Island Restaurant and Bar - Lighthouse Point, Florida

The back says it's been there for 100 years so I did some digging. 

Their website claims they're Broward County's oldest restaurant - "with roots as a 1920's casino and rum-running speakeasy, it sits on an island off Lighthouse Point and can only be reached by Cap's motor launch.

 

Back in the 20's in No-Man's Land Florida, Cap Knight, Lola Knight and Al Hasis brought together a group of wooden shacks attached to an old barge which was floated up the present day intracoastal waterway from Miami to its location on Cap's Island near the fabled Hillsboro lighthouse north of Fort Lauderdale.  This was a rum-running restaurant and gambling casino, nestled on an island in the coastal marsh."

 

 Look familiar? 

"Among some of the notables who have enjoyed Cap’s creative cuisine are Franklin D. Roosevelt, Winston Churchill, the Vanderbilts, the Rockefellers, Al Capone, Meyer Lansky, Casey Stengel, George Harrison, Errol Flynn, the Temptations, Susan Hayward, Gloria Swanson, Mariah Carey, "Norm" from TV's Cheers and Joe Namath. Cap's has hosted the famous and infamous for decades."

 

NORM!  

For this incredibly soft and thin authentic wearable piece of Florida's rum-running and gambling history, please visit -

vintage 70s t-shirt CAP'S PLACE bar florida soft thin burnout tee Medium Small

Skippy HaHa Jam by Guadalajara Joe!

 Our friend Guadalajara Joe is out with a bangin' new album today - Allergic 2 Society

If that wasn't exciting enough - Track #2 is Skippy HaHa Jam! 

 

Check it out! The whole album is thought-provoking and funkalicious!

 

this track is about my friend Heather's awesome online vintage clothing and accessories store!
Simply visit skippyhaha.com !!!!

lyrics

Skippy HaHa
Skippy HaHa
It’s an online store
vintage clothes galore!
Skippy HaHa
Skippy HaHa
It is the best
Rated Highest

There are rad hats
That’s wear its at
Plenty of pants
So you can dance
And rad t-shirts
From wild concerts
As well as skirts
This truth don’t hurt

Skippy HaHa
Skippy HaHa
A vintage online store
Created by Heather

Skippy HaHa
Skippy HaHa
It is the best
Rated the Highest

No need to buy a vowel
There’s old school towels
Historic hockey pucks
So you won’t get stuck
Without a sweater
When in cold weather
Or perhaps a jacket
So you can make some racket

Skippy HaHa
Skippy HaHa
It’s an online store
With vintage clothes galore!

Skippy HaHa
Skippy HaHa
It is the best
Rated the Highest

There’s really cool shorts
There are all sorts
And plenty of polos
So you won’t go solo
And accessories
To make memories
So Let’s go bananas
There’s even bandanas!

Skippy HaHa
Skippy HaHa
A vintage online store
Created by Heather

Skippy HaHa
Skippy HaHa
It is the best
Rated Highest

For the best in Vintage clothing
And accessories visit skippyhaha.com

Thank you Guadalajara Joe! 

WTF Wednesday: Is One Bag Enough, Sundae Head, Dead Fish Hat

Greetings, Wednesday! Greetings, WTF!

Let's begin with a ceramic cat wearing a rhinestone necklace. 

Is one bag of ice enough to instill so much fear in you that you buy extra bags of ice? 

Next, I'd like to spotlight some WTFs from a few great Etsy vintage sellers: Robin Egg Surprise, Fresh to Death Vintage, and Black Market Pop.

How about a Spoil Me! frou frou terrier dog t-shirt? (via Robin Egg Surprise).

Here's an 80's cross stitch needlepoint of a woman with a hot fudge sundae on her head. (via Fresh to Death Vintage). 

Everybody needs a real taxidermy fish attached to a trucker hat. (via Black Market Pop). 

As with all wtf wednesdays, there are no answers, only questions leading to more questions.

For more vintage wtf wonders (for sale), click here: vintage wtf

New WTF this week: 

• 80s Nike Track Jacket w Zip-Off Sleeves
• 80s Russia Sucks Blinking Light Mesh Hat
• 80s Sheepdog Shaggy Face T-shirt

WTF Wednesday: Clown Lounge, Sloth Lounge, Tree Lounge

Welcome to Wednesday! Welcome to WTF!

Good morning side lounging clown and teddy! Nicely organized, thrift store. 

You could have tried harder. 

Hi crazy tall creepy doll. 

Let's hug it out. 

Conserve energy. Carve a half assed sloth.

This seems to be a native girl figurine featuring mushrooms. 

I can't make heads or tails of it. Leapfrog?

Medieval clown straddling a clock. WTF!?

Here's the Tree Lounge Advantage VHS.

Actual hunting scenes. At least double your chances of seeing or shooting deer.

As with all wtf wednesdays, there are no answers, only questions leading to more questions.

For more vintage wtf wonders (for sale), click here: vintage wtf

New WTF this week:

• 60s Reindeer Christmas Sweater Vest
• 70s Afghan Crochet Granny Square Tank Top 
• 80s MAHEC Inventing Extra Acronyms T-shirt
• 90s Lithotripsy Kidney Stone Busters T-shirt

WTF Wednesday: Druggie Unicorn, Love Monkeys, Dangling Generators

Welcome back to WTF Wednesday!

Let's begin with some woodcarving wall mural aboard the Carnival Fantasy cruise ship. 

Hello, drug addled unicorn. 

Here's a work of thrift store art.

Hello, drug addled mallard ducks. 

I do not understand why the grocery store has a display of life sized Valentine's monkeys for sale.

How about a permanent dryer vent cutting through the Mexican restaurant? 



Here's a scene from Sunday along the highway in South Carolina.

 

The site was completely deserted with those heavy machines dangling from a cable. WTF?!

As with all wtf wednesdays, there are no answers, only questions leading to more questions.

For more vintage wtf wonders (for sale), click here: vintage wtf

New WTF this week:

• Vintage Frog Legs Disabled Funny T-shirt
• 80s I Love Kentucky Teddy Bear Tee
• 80s Horse Head Women's Sweater 

WTF Wednesday - Banana, Waffle, Aerobics

Greetings, Wednesday! Greetings WTF! 

Welcome to a short and sweet holiday edition of WTFW. 

In the past month I have found 2 food items left behind in cupboards by previous owners. Both expired in 2011.

Moving on to an 80's wunderproduct. 

Better off raw?And did somebody just take a bite off the front corner of that meat slab?

This 1979 book was full of black and white drawings and step by step instructions to show you how to enjoy exercise the way you've never enjoyed it before!

Last but not least, here is a waffle faced hound dog. 

peoplepets.com

Happy Holidays!

As with all wtf wednesdays, there are no answers, only questions leading to more questions.

For more vintage wtf wonders (for sale), click here: vintage wtf
 
New WTF this week:

• 80s DC's Country Junction & Zoo Tee
• 80s Ford Print on the Pocket Tee
• 80s The Pea Team Opening Crew Tee