New Item In The Shop | Wool Wood & Whiskey

01-13-12

ON SALE

Way, way, way too busy with writing gigs to be excavating the good stuff for y’all these days, so I’m closing up shop. I’ll still sell original stuff — mostly hats and whatnot, which are not on sale — but everything else is marketed way down.

Help a brother get this stuff out of his tiny house, eh? Super good deals to be had all over the site, check ‘em here.

11-14-11

ROUGH & TOUGH: NEW SALVAGED GOODS

Spent some time scouring the coastline south of here recently, a welcome break after some days spent roofing in MA — Dang, that is some work! Seriously, you owe it to the dude who does your roof to get up there from time-to-time. It’s pretty hard to just eat a sandwich on a pitch, never mind haul around shingles and a nail gun.

Of course, being that high up is kind of great, too — especially with a view of the Merrimac River on a series of perfect fall days. When we finally buttoned everything up, Peter and I went off searching for surf on creaky knees. Unfortunately, despite some swell in the water and our proximity to the miracle that is the New Hampshire coast, we didn’t exactly score.

Buck up though man, that Route 1 is a wilderness of amazing things to discover. I had to flip a U turn through oncoming traffic to deposit the surf whip in the lot of the rare goods emporium that housed these particular items, but I think you’ll agree that it was worth it.

Item 1: an amazing vintage Wrangler shirt — soak in the embroidered “W’s” on the pockets! Killer fit, too.

Item 2: The pre-patina’d vintage work wear jacket by Wares. God knows how long they’ve been making these things — you can still buy them, but certainly not this broken in. Coincidentally, I’m pretty sure this thing was owned by a roofer (there are a few tar stain on it, but don’t worry about those, they look sweet).

Item 3: The ultra-cheap vintage Levi’s shirt that I was so excited about I failed to notice some blotchy white stains. They’re all small though, like they might have been from some paint brush bristle spray. For the right dude, they definitely enhance the style — so Right Dude, please stand up.

BUY THESE NOW

11-05-11

SEEN IN SAN FRANCISCO

Last week San Francisco saw its first pro surf contest in something like 10 or 15 years. The Rip Curl Search series makes a point of going to the lesser-known and less-hyped coast lines corners of the surf kingdom, and San Francisco’s Ocean Beach definitely fits that description. 7-straight miles of open ocean on the western edge of the city equals pounding, fickle beach break. Elusive perfection lurks about, but it’s an uncertain gamble to schedule a surf contest out there.

I spent three years getting educated on the finer points of duck diving and ledge hucking at Ocean Beach, so I was interested to see how the big boys handle it. The paddle is a beast, it’s sharky, and conveyor belt currents give you a great view of the western edge of city — because you’re floating down it at an alarming rate. So far the conditions have been fair enough, but nothing spectacular.

Seeing a Wool Wood and Whiskey Northern Lights hat on a spectator on the sand 3,000 miles away has been the highlight for me so far. It’s a little murky, but I swear that dude on the right is rocking one. Sorry if you were playing hooky from work that day, pal — don’t mean to burn you.

10-28-11

BY, FOR, AND OF THE PEOPLE

I know I’m sounding more and more like my Grandpa every day, but remember when American Made used to mean something? Take this Pendleton Lodge shirt (I think, at least in part because they just released a “Vintage Fit” one), for instance. I just looked on the Pendleton website, and they’re charging $105 for a new one that’s “Imported if USA fabric.” A) What does that mean, and B) seriously?

I haven’t handled a new Pendleton shirt, ever really, but I did recently lay my paws on a new Lewbowski-style zip up cardigan they made. I was in the Store That Shall Not Be Named (Urban Outfitters — checking out the validity of my Obey hat rip off claims), and they, of course, had a rack of the suddenly-standard-issue Navajo pattern sweaters. Ever picked up one of the originals? I don’t mean bought, I mean picked up — hefted, hoisted, raised. The old ones are like buffalo hides (and often smell like them): heavy, wooly beasts meant to keep you warm in a tipee mid-winter or driving around looking for a Christmas tree in an open Jeep. The new ones? Not so much, and of course, Made in China.

I realize I’m digressing here, but I should at least also say that I have no problem with Chinese people. It’s the American suits who are shipping all our manufacturing over there, to factories that care about neither quality nor their workers’ well-being nor the environment. How can you bastardize an heirloom brand like that? And still sell a sweater for almost $200?!

American Made labels shouldn’t be reserved for couture work wear that will never feel the give of soft earth underfoot or the bite of a shouldered load of shingles. Whether or not the irony inherent in the current trends ever unfolds, I’m generally a fan of unearthing the real deal, iron clad stuff straight from the source. At least this vintage Pendleton shirt is Made in the USA, and that, on top of the fact that it’s pretty amazing, should probably make you want to make it your very own heirloom today.

BUY IT NOW

10-20-11

SERIOUSLY?

They say imitation is the sincerest form of flattery, but WTF Shepard Fairey? Things are getting downright bitey up in here. I guess you could call this similarity a coincidence, but I do know for a fact that these days “design” at bigger companies consists of sitting on the internet browsing for “inspiration.” It’s just a little extra-disconcerting when something like this is perpetrated by a company that’s supposed to be “an extension of Shepard’s range of work.”

If dude wants align his art with a bunch of cheap, Made in China BS, that’s his business — but get me involved, eh?

10-07-11

NEW IN THE SHOP: SIERRA DESIGNS

Made a random stop at the South Portland Goodwill last night in the midst of running errands. Goodwills can be kind of depressing places these days, chock full of used Walmart clothing that will never, ever survive to become anything close to classic. But look what sprang forth from the piles last night! A Sierra Designs anorak from way back — in perfect condition.

Which brings me to a related point. How’s a fella supposed to leap over the “vintage” tiger pit these days? There’s a reason why I don’t put this stuff up on Etsy, and the term “vintage” has been thoroughly played out. It conjures up images of girls in cat glasses with cupcake tattoos — basically the opposite of what Wool Wood and Whiskey is all about.

I like to think of what I do as a salvage operation. I purposely only find the best quality stuff, relics from another era that have yet to out live their usefulness. So dudes, realize that if you’re into classic styles with none of the stigma of kitsch, you can find it all here. Make the most of quality and forget the naysayers.

10-05-11

READY MADE OUTFIT

Lots of new stuff in the Wool Wood and Whiskey shop for fall. Some serious goods, too. Dead stock work coats, 50s-era tin cloth hunting trousers, waffle stompers and the only sweater vest you’ll ever need. If the flannel were a size smaller, you could pretty much just drop right into this outfit feet first.

BUY IT NOW

09-26-11

NEW IN THE WW&W SHOP: THE WHITE BUFFALO

Trying out a new format for the gear photos here, let me know what you think of the set up. Really, there’s no better way to kick off the new look than with this shirt.

Here’s the story: Once there was a nice warm, soft Woolrich chamois shirt. It was worn and loved, maybe every day, but some hard working fella out there in the world. In time it lost its fuzz, and a few holes shone through. But it was a good shirt, a sturdy shirt, and it kept going.

Many years later, the shirt — now like perfectly broken in duck canvas — came into my hands. I know I’m not alone in appreciating the strands of authenticity that spring out from worn seams over time, so I decided to find it a good home. Here’s to the next chapter.

BUY IT NOW

09-16-11

LAST BLAST OF SUMMER IN THE WW&W SHOP

Yeah, yeah — I know that summer is basically over. Thing is, it was hectic, and in accordance with the laws of the universe, I didn’t find any real choice short sleeve shirts until it was all said and done.

So rather than sit on these gems, I’m going to put them out there for one and all. It’s one last go-around, boys — get ‘em and get old!

BUY THEM NOW

07-20-11

NEW IN THE WW&W SHOP: COLOR? NO, COLOUR

Here’s the deal. Sometimes it’s all about classics — canvas, wool and primary colors. But without a few off shades and colours (yeah, I’m keeping that ‘u’ in there), you’re just not complete. So what you do is, you get this shirt. Then, you wear it all summer — if it’s hot, just roll up the sleeves. You’ll look wise for your years, but still a little fun, and you’ll stand out from the crowd.

Come winter, keep the Très Colours close at hand. Apply with a heavy wool shirt or work shirt over it; go plaid-on-plaid and see what the world thinks. Do you really care? You shouldn’t. Because you’ve got a secret, buddy. A little bit of spring peeking out, a little summer in your collar, and just the thing you’ll need to get you through those cold spells. That is how it’s done.