one perfect thing

neon clock 1

neon clock 2

What is it? Minty vintage aluminum clock with painting we commissioned from John Dee.

Where did it come from? David and I came across the clock in the dusty corner of a stripmall antique store in Pueblo, Colorado, ages ago. The tag said $25. Sold! Spun aluminum case, un-dinged (finally got all the paint off). Original glass with pinstripes, unscratched. Hands and clocky bits, working. The face had some awful lunchmeat promo on it, sloppily hand-painted right over the top of what was probably a great Chevy bow-tie sign. It was begging to be stripped, so I did.

Had the neon replaced. Mmmmm, glowy. Then it sat in the corner of our loft until I asked John if he’d  throw his paint voodoo on it. Now it sits dark and unplugged in the corner of our house longing for a wall.

Circa? Unsure. Guessing the ’40s or ’50s.

Interesting tidbit: John Dee is a UI artist and illustrator at Harmonix working on games like RockBand and, well, probably all their other titles as well. His paintings make me smile. More here.

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One Response to “one perfect thing”

  1. […] a few other perfect things I’ve dug up while sifting through our premodel mess? I can show you a vintage aluminum clock we hope to have a place to hang someday and a vintage steel sculpture David’s grandfather made […]