Tag Archives: vinyl

Record Show Alert: South Bend, Indiana and Willowbrook, Illinois

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This weekend Turntabling will about out and about on the prowl for vinyl finds. I’ve got two nearby record shows to hit and if you’re in the area you should hit them, too.

Saturday December 11, it’s the SOUTHWEST CHICAGO RECORD & CD SHOW at the Willowbrook Holiday Inn at 7800 Kingery Highway Route 83 in Willowbrook, Illinois. Three bucks gets you in the door.

I’m told the local magazine Illinois Entertainer has a dollar off coupon…but seriously, if you’re in agony over the extra buck can you really afford to hit a record show? Support your local record vendors, either way 🙂 The show runs from 10-3.

On Sunday Decemr 12, it’s the South Bend Record & CD Collectors Show at the Comfort Suites– 52939 Indiana 933 at Cleveland Rd. This one runs from 11-5 and is said to be one of the largest midwest shows with over 50 tables. Sounds good to me!

I will be hitting BOTH shows, masochist and vinyl junkie that I am. Will I see YOU there? Come out and support vinyl culture. We’ve got it pretty good these days but it wasn’t always so and in tough times like these, it’s good to show a bit of love…know what I mean?

Turntabling.net welcomes announcements for record shows like these regardless of location. Feel free to drop me a line at (remove) jwallace (at) turntabling (dot net) to announce your next record show. Right now I’m only doing USA and Canada based shows but if that’s you, get in touch.

How To Package A Record for Mailing

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Lisa Sumner sells vintage vinyl on Etsy and spends as much half a day doing nothing but packaging vinyl to ship, one album at a time, to her customers. So it’s safe to say she knows a little bit about safely packaging, wrapping, and shipping vinyl records. And since some of her most lustworthy titles sell for upwards of $45, she’s got a fair amount of passion invested in doing it right, as you’ll read…

After my mailman delivered the SECOND broken record in a week, I was inspired to write a brief how-to on proper record packaging before my roiling anger got the best of me. This is not rocket science, people, and actually quite simple with the proper tools and a teensy, tiny bit of effort:

THE TOOLS:

1. Record Mailers – there are several websites and some record shops that carry them. OK, so they’re not the cheapest thing in the world -44 to 50 cents/ea. – but isn’t it worth the peace of mind that someone’s precious copy of (insert your personal Holy Grail here) is going to arrive in one piece–one SOLID piece?? If you must use pieces of cardboard cut into 13” X 13” squares, make sure to use thick, sturdy cardboard and NOT last night’s pizza box. I’m soo not kidding…

2. Padding/Filler – Bubble wrap, cardboard record mats, Styrofoam and even newspaper are all great fillers, and most of them can be found cheap or even free. Re-using packing materials should be your first choice as long as they’re CLEAN AND STURDY ENOUGH TO HANDLE ANOTHER ROUND OF RUSSIAN ROULETTE WITH THE POSTAL SERVICE. Mix and match if you like, but use at least TWO pieces of any of the above.

THE PROCESS:

First of all, I am assuming that your record has a poly outer sleeve on it, and is put together properly with the record in its inner sleeve on top of the cover all within the poly outer sleeve. Do not make an ass out of me (and yourself) by wondering what a poly outer sleeve is…. I am also assuming that if you are on this website to begin with, you know what the essentials are.

If your vinyl is still sealed, then of course you should leave it that way unless the recipient has requested that you open it before shipping. It will still be well protected inside the cover. Why take the record out at all, you say? I asked this question in the beginning too; it’s to prevent the vinyl from shifting in transit and possibly slicing through one of the seams of the cover. And yes, I have seen this happen.
Continue reading How To Package A Record for Mailing →

Vinyl Junkie Art

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I’ve been busy here at Turntabling HQ working on a series of vinyl-related art prints that are now available for sale at the Turntable shop at Etsy.com. I’ve got some of this stuff on my own walls at home now and thought it would be fun to put the images up for sale as a fundraiser for Turntabling. Vinyl collectors, this is especially for you.

Since it’s the holiday season, what could be better than a simple, easy gift idea like this for the vinyl junkies in our lives? I know of three people these prints are headed out to before the holiday season kicks off…how many collectors do you know that could use some spruced-up wall space? Check out Turntabling shop at Esty to see these prints and many others…I have to confess, making this turntable art is addictive…I might be on to a new sideline here!

By the way, one of my early experiments is with a set of images specific to certain bands like Goblin, like this print:

Right now, this is one of the most affordable prints for sale at the Turntabling shop. It comes as a print only (no frame). If you like the concept but have a request for a different artist or album, drop me a line via Etsy or here (jwallace at turntabling dot net) and let me know, I’d be happy to do a custom order in small or large sizes. I can do everything from 4 x 6, 12 x 12 and even larger poster sizes if necessary.

Happy Thanksgiving

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Turntabling is taking the Thanksgiving holiday off–we’re off to enjoy too much wine, turkey and dessert with friends and family. The posts resume on Saturday when I’ll dish on my Thanksgiving vinyl finds–I hit record shops in Bloomington, Illinois and Springfield–including some rarities I didn’t expect to find featuring horror icons Boris Karloff, Bela Lugosi and Basil Rathbone.

Enjoy your turkey day holiday and be sure to indulge far too much in EVERYTHING–but do not operate a motor vehicle, please. Instead, why not operate a turntable?

Til Saturday…

Joe Wallace