ILY 6: Grown Ups Should Have Posters, Too
They are just vintage and framed professionally.
I was recently in my childhood bedroom, and tucked away in the back corner of the closet were rolls and rolls of posters and collages that used to adorn powder blue walls.
Lots of One Direction. Lots of Olympics. Lots of cut outs from my mom’s old Essence magazines.
My room growing up was nothing special, but the second you looked at the wall facing my desk, you knew exactly what I was about.
Harry Styles and making Team USA’s track & field team (RIP).
Now I’m a bit older, a bit wiser. I no longer tape torn-out photos from magazines to my walls. But, I still think posters punch above their weight in telling others (and reminding ourselves) what makes you, well…you.
Last week, I scored a 1970s poster from the Los Angeles Public Library, Venice branch, that is oh so good. I found it on Chairish, passively scrolling to keep my mind far from the recent fires. It’s by Earl Newman and says “Only People Can Read Library Books” 🐘
The second I saw it, I laughed — and double clicked Apple Pay.
It’s perfect; and in a strange way, I see myself in it. I’m a sometimes avid reader who loves Los Angeles and the color orange, believes everyone should have a library card, and is a fan of the elephant’s high tops (which I can only assume are Chuck Taylor All Stars).
Like a tailor, every woman should have a framer. It’s one sure fire way to feel grown up. Mine guy’s in Chinatown. And contrary to my own prior misconceptions, having a piece professionally framed doesn’t have to be terribly expensive; I’d argue it’s actually a no-brainer investment to guarantee that special piece can hang proudly amid the dust and sunlight and that tipsy friend that stands a little too close to the wall.
With the expert eye of my most trusted framer, we fitted my elephant bookworm with a cream mat and blonde oak frame, and it is the proud new resident of my stair landing.
While scrolling, I found a few other posters that would make me feel warm if I saw them at the end of hallway…
A 1965 Los Angeles County Museum of Art Litograph Poster by Alexander Calder
A 1966 Ellsworth Kelly: Ferus Gallery Poster
A hand signed poster for the Los Angeles 1984 Olympic Games by Martin Puryear
A 1950s Original Vintage American Airlines Travel Advertising Poster (though I’m more of a Delta girl)
A circa 1965 Original Poster for The Antique Guild Poster by David Lance Goines
So…what teenage heart throb did you have on your wall??
Happy framing! ILY