Why Buy Vintage?

This post has been adapted from a piece about vintage clothing we at Concrete Cabin sent for consideration to a local magazine here in Seoul. We shall see what happens, but in the meantime, we thought we’d share <3

Why buy vintage, especially here in Korea, where it is often a boutique based market with overpriced, unexciting, or “shi shi” items?

Undoubtedly, “style”, or the personal flare and combination of clothing people choose to wear is an important form of self expression and communication. Some people whisper (shhh), some people talk and some people SHOUT, but the people who wear vintage clothing seem to especially have something to say. Here are just a few of the reasons we choose to wear vintage items whenever possible, and ultimately why in terms of philosophy we own and operate our own vintage clothing store through Etsy right here in Korea…

Finding that “Special Snowflake”. When you purchase a vintage piece, you are usually getting an item that cannot be found at every chain store by the thousands. It is a limited, or maybe even one of a kind item. And YOU found it!

Killing Two Birds with One Stone. Don’t worry, no birds were harmed in the writing of this article ;) The two birds refers to the fact that many thrift stores are run by charitable organizations who generate much needed income from thrift sales to support social programming (think Salvation Army and other such organizations). You look great, reduce waste and express your creativity, and the organization is able to help folks in need. What’s not to like?

Enjoying The Thrill of the Hunt. It’s beyond rewarding to dive into a pile of seemingly undesirable items and come up victorious with something truly awesome. We’ve probably become a little more aggressive from frequenting vintage markets here in Korea, and as a result, we’ve scored some pretty great finds (not all without conflict or a significant amount of effort or even embarrassment on our part). Knee deep in a pile of clothing, just about anything can happen….and that’s part of the fun. Remember, avid vintage shoppers tend to realize and appreciate the competitive sport like nature of vintage shopping, so don’t feel bad about your score.

Going Beyond Trends. No one is impervious to the siren call of trends. With that being said, it’s probably not all that wise (or interesting????) to embrace fashion trends too fanatically as they are just that, TRENDS. Apart from steering you clear of the trend trap, wearing vintage helps to fashion a personal style that is just more original, more interesting and eclectic. By mixing new pieces with vintage pieces, or classic pieces (new or old) with more off the wall or trendy items you set yourself apart from others…who needs mainstream anyhow?

Being Cheap, No………AHEM, Frugal. Plain and simple, vintage clothing is a great way to save money. It’s a way to source typically more interesting, or higher quality clothing for a lot less (older clothes tend to be well made, which is something you can’t say for an item in the same price point from any of the big box stores). Furthermore, if you’re like us and your personal style is always in flux, shifting here and changing there, vintage is a great way to swap some items in your wardrobe out for much less harm to the ole’ pocketbook.

Looking Good and Feeling Good Intersect. We’re not talking about costume store vintage items here, more the kind of things that look great mixed in with contemporary items in order to create that style “je ne sais quoi”. It’s astounding how one slightly off the wall, original piece can change the look of an outfit. A good way to start incorporating vintage into your wardrobe is to focus on small, but mighty pieces, at least at first.... we have fallen victim to costumey clothing ourselves, so beware. Think in terms of a great piece of period statement jewelry, a slightly wacky or offbeat pair of shoes, a cool textured or colorful scarf, a great hat or vest. Work your way out from there.

Okay, But Seriously, It Feels REALLY Good! By purchasing vintage you honor so many things…..the shifting purpose of an item, the talent and artistry of the person who made it originally, not to mention your own creativity and vision in finding new ways to use or wear something deemed no longer useful . Beyond these decidedly philosophical reasons, there’s also the environmental side of things. If you refrain from buying new, at least some of the time, you are casting a vote to opt out of the often wasteful nature of our current consumer market. You’re spending less money on things that add to the cycle of waste, and you aren’t contributing to other environmental concerns like fuel to ship that new item, the energy and cost expended to produce it, not to mention adding perfectly awesome and usable items to the landfill. Hug a tree much? I know, but it’s so true. Every tiny bit counts!

Where to shop vintage in Korea:

$ Seoul Folk Flea Market: Sinseol-dong station on line 1 or 2. Take exit 9, turn immediately around. Turn left at the first street, then walk straight for 80 meters. Enter the building through any of the many entrances

$$ Dongmyo Station Area: Dongmyo station (line 1 or 6), exit 3, and look right.

$$ The Salvation Army: Hoehyun Station exit 4, check the Salvation Army website for more locations (http://www.korea4expats.com/service-Salvation-Army-Family-Stores-Secondhand-Goods-Seoul-861.html)

$-$$ VinPrime: Express Bus Terminal. There is one location on the line 7 corridor a floor above the platform, and one in the line 3 area, a floor below street level.

$$$-$$$$ Hongdae Based Thrift Stores: There are a few around the same location near Sangsu Station. Sangsu station, line 6, exit 1. Make the U-turn to the right, then walk about 300 meters to the first side street past a larger road, Wa-u-san-ro-19-gil (와우산로19길). Walk 50 meters to the second right, Wa-u-san-ro-21-gil (와우산로21길), and walk another 50 meters. Look left and up, to the third floor. If you reach the Hongdae Children’s Park, you’ve gone too far.

$$- $$$$ Etsy based stores (online): Vintage clothing from all over the world. Most stores will ship to Korea for anywhere between 10-20 dollars. https://www.etsy.com/browse/vintage-category?ref=fp_ln_new_vintage-category

Our own store, Concrete Cabin Vintage is based here in Korea and our shipping within Korea begins as low as 3,000 won. Shipping to the rest of the world beginning at around $8.00. https://www.etsy.com/shop/Concretecabinvintage?ref=search_shop_redirect

Scavenging for an Oasis

As spring knocks on our door, we are continuing our rooftop prep for our summertime oasis. The travel bug has been biting pretty hard lately, but we've realized that having this garden will definately hinder our abilities for a summer time journey. I'm not really in a position to rig up an irrigation system on a timer here. It's hard enough to communicate that I don't want corn and sweet potato mousse on my pizza, so I'm not going to walk into the little hardware store/tent and try to make that happen. I'm kind of scared of going to a hardware and garden store the first time I'm back in an English speaking country. My mind might just be totally blown. Anyway, we've decided to keep the long awaited Thailand trip for our winter break. It's better then anyway.

So while we are in Seoul for the duration of the spring and summer, we are making some new furniture and putting some finishing touches on the rooftop garden in order to make it as much of an escape as possible. We have dreams of tending to the veggies while listening to music, hanging out with something tasty on the grill, or just a good book and some sunshine. Of course, that is when it's not raining and the air isn't suffocating. So, about 2 weeks out of the year.

I have gone through hundreds, maybe even thousands of drum sticks in my lifetime. It always pained me to toss away those perfectly straight wood poles with just the tip missing, but I never had an idea that would give them a second life. Until now. During our hikes up Namsan mountain I started scavenging old logs that were cut and laying in piles. I decided to make a stool and use the old drumsticks for cross braces. I really wanted to try fitting wood together with nails, and these worked perfectly. Then I decided to do the same thing with some branches as well. They aren't perfect, but I'm learning and loving every minute of it.

We decided on steering our lives in this direction a long time ago. Basically when we first met, which isn't that long ago, but now that we are baby stepping our way there it gets better and better. Out of nowhere after we'd been together a couple weeks, I turned to Chelssie and told her that I wanted to get a little goat farm and make cheese. She never loved me more. I have a lead on an organic farm here that has goats, so the next post from me will hopefully have been after my first goat milking. Obviously my goals in life have changed.

Gearing up for Spring!

Hey everyone it's Herconcretecabin. We've been slack with posting lately, mostly because there has been so much going on around here! We've been "putting around" a lot outside as of late, and just trying to organize things in general for our garden this coming spring. Living in Korea, our growing season starts slightly earlier than in the West, so with mid March quickly approaching it's on...like Donkey Kong, in a sarong, hosting a telethon, in Gabon...sorry. It couldn't be helped. Ahem, anyhow.Here are just some of the things we've been up to...I'm not sure I'm even going to scratch the surface, but I'll give it a try!

We starting bell peppers, ancho peppers and heirloom tomatoes indoor in our seedsnow seed pods. Seriously, these things are amazing. I just soaked them in warm water for 5 minutes and they plumped up nicely. In goes the seed and viola until I transfer them (stress free!) into the raised beds. I started them on February 16th, and they take 7-14 days to sprout so every morning and evening we've formed the habit of checking in on them, monitoring their sunlight and the room temperature, misting them a bit and maybe whispering a few words of encouragement.

Aside from our plans for an outdoor, raised bed garden, we've also committed to starting an indoor herb garden in several large pots. These pots, plus our trays of seedlings are currently taking over our big wooden dining room table. Whatever, just a good excuse to eat our meals on the couch :) So far, we've planted thyme, basil and dill, with tarragon, rosemary and a few others still to go. I was disappointed to read the other day in one of our gardening books that tarragon rarely grows well from seed for the average gardener (developed seedlings purchased from a garden store are best supposedly) but we're going to give it a shot anyhow....we shall see.

We've also begun filling our garden beds with a good quality soil we purchased online from a website here in Korea called gmarket. Once we had some of the soil in, I realized the neighborhood strays may begin using our beds as a very large and ideally located litter box, so the order for tonight is scavenging some wood to cover the beds. Seriously folks, I'm a cat lover, but these cats are so feral and fearless not even I would venture to touch them, so I'm hoping they aren't too enamored with our setup. Will there be a few "presents" for us up there on the roof, if not tonight then inevitably? Here's hoping not.

Aside from covering the soil, we also need to begin mixing in a bit of compost to condition the growing environment. As we've mentioned in previous posts, a lot is riding on us being successful this growing season. Yes, we live in an urban area, so we can always rely on the grocery store and our weekly CSA share box, but it's more a matter of pride and principal. For anyone who knows either of us, we're stubborn, prideful, creative and energetic people....this equates to a fair bit of disappointment when a project we've started (and really believed in) goes South. If we've taken the time to order seeds (and, ahem, "arrange their entry" into the country via a package including clothing and such from home), plan the garden, fret and grow our plants from tiny seeds, as well as make compost and condition the soil, well SOMETHING had better grow! Also, while we tell ourselves we're looking at this as an experiment only, there is a matter of wanting to prove the viability of our future here. If we can't grow something on a comparatively tiny scale as a hobby, I wonder (I think with good reason) how successful we'll be at homesteading. Only natural right? So, it has also quickly become a matter of building ourselves up with a somewhat productive garden here in order to have confidence in ourselves to really dive in once we get to Canada. In the process I admit to having become a "helicopter" Mom, just as I know the other half has. We are constantly hovering over our tiny green babies, watering, fussing and recording/taking notes diligently. We keep telling ourselves just wait, be patient and see where this goes, but that's not really how we operate.

Okay, so now to the creative endeavors of the other half. While we have a small patio table immediately outside our door, the Hisconcretecabin has begun foraging for materials in order to build some furniture for the rooftop/garden area specifically. Think more rustic, colorful, non commercial pieces that are more in keeping with the greenery. So far we have a bench made from scavenged pallets and logs we found while hiking up on Namsan, as well as a stool made from logs and old hickory drum sticks, which we had laying around the house. Both are really amazing pieces, and I really can't believe what Hisconcretecabin is able to do with a hacksaw, screws, a drill and a healthy sprinkling of imagination. We're thinking we may make the top of the stool into a chess board as well, which would only involve some tape and a bit of paint, so we shall see. We'll be sure to share pics of both pieces once they're finished. Can't wait!

Lastly for now, we've signed up for an online growing seminar called "Food Growing Summit". They'll provide access to interviews and lectures by all sorts of key folks in the growing/real foods community including Vandana Shiva and Joel Salatin, with many more spread across a few days. I'm sure we'll enjoy listening in and getting some ideas for growing, composting, and just living a real/slow food lifestyle. Can't wait! Here is the link if you're interested. Cheers until next time :)

Sky High Possibilities....And a Few Pics!

"The bad news is time flies. The good news is you're the pilot." Michael Altsuler

Here is the first post from, not necessarily the better half, but the other half of this slightly dynamic duo. We are moving steadily into February with some projects percolating and others that are just dreams in our silly little heads that we can't start until we have moved on to our home continent.

We are improving our potential garden beds and now we have a supply of seeds to fill them with. Actually, we have seeds for about a 2 acre plot, but we have just under 1/100th of that in space. The rooftop is going to hopefully become a magical place filled with growing things to tend to while we enjoy our morning coffee and some Seoul sunshine. That's the idea at least. For those who have been here, it could be a place to bake and sweat while in 2,000 percent humidity while I curse and moan like only a true McKinney man can. I'm optimistic about this though, and I better be good at it or else I have a great weight loss plan in store for us.

In the mean time I'm trying to find a great use for this old counter top that I found on the street. This method of living is a fine balance between minimalist and hoarder. On one hand, I don't need stuff. I have lived a pretty stuff free life for the past 15 years and I quite enjoy it. When you live in a one bedroom apartment with 3 people, and then a van with 5, you get pretty good at it. Living in Korean apartments is pretty close, so I have honed my skills quite well. Then there's the part of me that sees something laying on the street that isn't ready for the landfill. I have decided that, for better or worse, whether true or false, I can turn anything into something useful. Sometimes I'm sure it will be a complete over estimation of my abilities, but I'll never know unless I try. So far I've been doing alright making some tables and other furniture out of pallets and scraps I find on the street. Hey, I gotta start somewhere.

So for now, if I see someone jump off a tower with a homemade helicopter on youtube, I won't try that. But a lamp made from old wine bottles... Now that, I'll try.

Pictures Below:

-Pallet Table for the end of our bed, unstained...

-The beginnings of the rooftop garden made from salvaged bookshelves and lattice...

-Our bed, with the finished pallet table mentioned before...

-Bird house made from wine corks and pounded beer caps...

-Mini spice jar necklace made for Herconcretecabin this past Christmas...

-Grilling. Open fire...

-Pallet side table to house the record player and plants...

Organized Chaos

Hey all,

It's Herconcretecabin again. A short post today because I mainly wanted to pop in and yap about some of the things I've been reading as of late.

From one of the homesteading pages I follow on Facebook,I got side tracked to a site called "Apartment Therapy", where I read an article about a young couple who built their very own mini/ off grid cabin in Tahoe, California. The cabin is compact, but well thought out and contains everything they need. Even better, one of the duo had no experience as a builder, which gave me hope as a relative novice myself. Anyhow, as I was reading about their space, I was brought back to something I've been thinking a lot about lately....The fact that while our compact space here in Korea is pretty great, it is filled with lots of um, unnecessaries. That's being polite....really it's a lot of junk. You know the stuff I'm talking about. It runs the gamut. Old papers, unmatched socks, random travel sized shampoo bottles, tools, craft supplies, old gift bags/magazines/denim scraps etc etc that I'm saving in the interest of re-purposing, not to mention the usual suspects like that 50% of my wardrobe I never wear, or the heaps of books I thought I would read and haven't. yada, yada, yada.

I took the first step a while back to cut out the clutter by hosting a clothing exchange, which was a great way to git rid of things and helps save money as well (new clothes for free? Um, yes please). I felt better for a bit, like I had accomplished something, but here's the thing with purging....it's kind of addictive and you get to looking at all the other crap you have with a very critical eye. I'm of that personality type anyhow, where I do something in an all or nothing manner, which can get kind of intense at times. Just ask Hisconcretecabin. Soooooo, instead of approaching this as a whirling dervish (as I normally would), we're taking small steps by making a concerted effort to a) not bring any more into the house b) assess what we actually have and periodically get rid of the stuff we don't need and c) organize the stuff we do. Easier said than done, on all three points. Best case scenario, it's a work in progress, worst case... we're on a future episode of hoarders and that cat we thought got out of the house is found under a pile of the aforementioned crap. Oh dear.

Til next time, Cheers!

Herconcretecabin

As promised, here's the link! www.apartmenttherapy.com/tim-and-hannahs-diy-tiny-tahoe-cabin-house-tour-199722#_">

Concrete Beginnings

Hey all,

It's Herconcretecabin here...

Well, we (Hisconcretecabin and I) have finally decided to stop haranguing our family and friends with incessant facebook posts related to the "place" we currently find ourselves to be in life. By place, I mean both a state of mind or being, and a literal place....hence the title of the blog. Seoul = concrete, and us rustic folk trying to get it right and live purposefully within said jungle = cabin. Get it? Anyhow, I digress.

You know those posts I'm talking about...the ones that are all like "hey, look at what I cooked with my CSA basket veggies", or "hey, look at yet another article about urban gardening" or "seriously guys, look at this amazing thing I made from recycled/repurposed _______ " (could be just about anything...we're slightly obsessed with that whole process), orrrrrrrrrr even better (and by better I mean possibly more obnoxious), those ones that are like "folks, here's something I'm super angry or fired up about", that in all honesty is probably slightly political or kind of random, or just plain weird. Sigh. Sometimes it feels like we're those kids that force their parents to watch while they perfect their dive ("Mommmmmm, look at meeeeeee"). Don't get me wrong, we know that some folks enjoy it all from their incredibly positive responses, but we also realize these posts have the potential to elicit an obligatory like, disinterest, yawns, or even gasp! eye rolls.

Beyond hoping to stop annoying family and friends and clogging up the news feeds of our nearest and dearests, we intend for this to be a place to document our progress. Someday, in the not so distant future, we plan on making the transition from an urban environment to a more rural, homestead oriented lifestyle. Therefore, we're of the mindset that this is the perfect time to perfect our skills. If we can do it in a concrete laden, urban, not to mention foreign environment, well, we feel our chances are pretty good for the future. Researching was the initial phase, and we've done a fair bit of that, but now we're also delving more into gardening, re-purposing, crafting, whole foods cooking, alternative business opportunities etc.

There, that's the gist of it all. We are over the moon excited with this whole process, and will be sharing as we go. Check back to see what's up every now and then.

Cheers,

Herconcretecabin