Book Review - Sting- Ray Afternoons

Sting- Ray Afternoons by Steve Rushin

If you grew up in the 60’s and 70’s Sting-Ray Afternoons is a must read. If you are a millennial, it is a glimpse into the influences your parents had growing up. You will find yourself laughing out loud at the references to family life, and the daily routines. The book is a memoir set in Bloomington, Minnesota.  At a time where many moms stayed home and raised the family, Rushin remembers his mom being a clean freak. Always with a can of Lemon Pledge in hand and tossing empty bottles as soon as the last sip was taken. The title refers to the Sting-Ray bicycle. Desirable by children of that generation, you certainly were a “cool” kid if you owned one. The bike had a seat that resembled a banana shape and chopper handlebars. Get ready for references to a by-gone time. Kool-Aid was the drink all kids craved. Back then we didn’t know the downfall of eating too much sugar, and kids loved Chunky, Chuckles, Chiclets and Charlston Chew candy.  Many homes had a Zenith TV with just a few channels. “When mom snapped off the TV, the image would shrink toward the center, as if also disappearing down a drain. I would pass my hand across the warm surface of the screen. It would crackle with an electromagnetic force field, literally drawing me to it, the find hairs on my arm bending toward its bottle green glass,” writes the author.  Romper room was the show all kids watched. When Rushin receives a pair of “Romper Stompers” as a birthday present, he screams “just what I didn’t want!”  This phrase is throughput out the entire book, and brings a smile to your face when Mom opens her presents and repeats it.  Food references are true to the times. Who doesn’t remember eating Hamburger Helper, Rice-a-Roni, Lucky Charms and Wonder bread just to name a few. A perfect sandwich was 2 slices of Wonder bread with bologna and a slice of cheese. Once the bread bag was empty, the bag was used to cover your feet in the winter from snow and ice. Dessert was served every night and Rushin describes the top of chocolate pudding with perfect amusement. “we skeptically tap our spoons on its trampoline surface before rolling the skin back like the lid of a sardine can.”

You will smile as the author talks about the popularity of simulated wood paneling. From side panels on automobiles, wood-paneled furniture, wood panels on the walls in the basement, wood aluminum siding, and steak knife handles made to look like rotted logs, it was everywhere!

Kids collecting things were as popular then as they are now.  Some of the authors friends collected beer cans, some soda pop cans. Topps baseball cards were kept in Rushin’s Velveeta box in his closet. At the end of the book, the author thanks his mom for not throwing away his beloved Velveeta box which contained the keepsakes necessary to write the memoir.

Records were also the rage to collect. Most kids and teenagers had extensive collections. Maybe some of you have them still? As Professional Organizers we try to encourage people to reduce clutter and help them learn new systems to stay organized. At House to Home Organizing we help clients organize items that are meaningful, and to keep them stored in a safe place. Never do we encourage a client to toss anything sentimental that would lead to regret.

Clearly the book is about growing up in a time when technology was young and life was simpler. It is a trip down memory lane and laugh out loud funny throughout.  Rushin states that the heroes of the story are his parents, and what a wonderful tribute to them he has created.

The book contains little violence and is strong on love. A truly enjoyable read that transports you back in time!

Sting-Ray Afternoons: A Memoir

By Steve Rushin

Buy on Amazon

Please note: If you choose to purchase the book using our Amazon link, H2H receives a small commission designed to help keep our rates affordable. 

Interview – Kate Koeppel of Koeppel Design

Koeppel Design is a graphic design studio based in San Francisco, CA. In 2013, Koeppel Design launched a line of handcrafted products for the home, designed and manufactured in San Francisco.

-Can you discuss your background and how you first got interested in storage solutions?                                                     I've always had an interest in collections (buttons, stamps, ephemera, vinyl) but as I've gotten older I've realized the tendency to collect is a slippery slope towards disorder if I, or anyone really, is collecting without reflection. I didn't plan for my design career to be so closely informed by my love of music or by my tendencies towards order and structure;but it happened very naturally! I consider myself very lucky to have built this funny job of design + organization + music, because it hits so many of the right buttons for me.

-You have mentioned you believe a well-organized collection is going to be a well-used one, can you expand on that?
Sure, I think that its much easier to enjoy a collection if you know you're not going to be frustrated by it. If you can't find what you're looking for, or you've forgotten whats on your shelves, it is harder to invest quality time in that collection. I get a lot of pleasure out of listening to vinyl, because it forces us to take a break from work, our phones, etc. This is something that my husband and I enjoy together, and our friends and family often come together to spend time listening to music, socializing and unwinding together. Our vinyl collection is large, and it could be intimidating, but it is easy to access because it is organized with a clean visual system- any friend can stop by and pull out a record, which makes it more fun and social. We get to share what we love with the people we love.

I think a collection, (no matter the content) says so much about a person's values and interests-- I am often so delighted to be "invited in" to other people's collections- whether they collect a certain genre of music or time period, its like a little museum of that person's life! I design products to help others engage in more active, analog experiences, because I hope that my work encourages more people to pause more often to enjoy whatever media format they collect-- and if it happens to be more organized and looks good, even better!

-Can you discuss the importance of products being handcrafted?
For me, it is important to know and understand where I am investing my money, because I want to understand the full life cycle of a product. I'd rather have only few things that are well made than lots of possessions that are poorly made, or will need to be replaced. I really respond to objects that I know were handcrafted, it feels more meaningful to know where something came from, and how it was made. When I launched our first collection of products, I wanted to make the products that didn't exist on the market, and I wanted to make useful, durable products that I would use in my own home, and would be easy to incorporate into other people people's home aesthetic. In business we try to honor the values that we think makes good community- we work locally, we support other small businesses, and we try to use all our resources and materials very carefully and responsibly. 

All our products are made with a high grade european birch wood. Panels are laser-cut and engraved by machine, however every other part of the production process is done completely by hand. Every product we produce goes through multiple rounds of inspection to ensure we're delivering the strongest, cleanest and most useful product we can. All of our wood products are hand-sanded to ensure a clean, smooth finish.

-How does the custom creations process work?
We offer quick and simple customizations of individual record divider panels, (this will be available starting Oct 1-Nov 10th only)  but if a client has a large collection they need help with, we also do fully customizable design.

We work with clients to help customize systems that will work with their home, library or personal system. We can make dividers for any kind of media, storage system or space. We can do any size or shape panel, and we can laser-engrave just about anything! We usually start with a conversation about the collection, and after getting all the necessary measurements the process is pretty simple- We'll mock up a design, then once it is confirmed we'll move into design and and production. The whole process for a custom set usually takes about 3-4 weeks depending on the size of the order, and how busy our production team is (this is available year-round, expect in December).

-A lot of our clients don’t know what to do with their vinyl records, what are your best recommendations?
For me, taking the time to listen to vinyl is an immersive experience that you have to be present in. The format dictates that you have to be physically present to move the needle, flip the record, and be ready with the next LP. Listening to a full album is about taking a break, and actually focusing on the experience of music- physically being present and engaged as opposed to a possibly more passive music experience, say in streaming music.

I think knowing what is in your collection, is a big step towards actually using and appreciating it, no matter what you collect. If you've got a ton of vinyl LPs, CDs, or DVDs I think the first step is to put them in a place where you can see them, and then organize in a way that makes sense to you. The method doesn't matter so much, whether it is alphabetical, by genre, or artist, but that way you can see what you have, and its easier to find the things that you love. I've personally found that I'm more likely to spend time listening to my music collection when I can see it, and when its easy to access.  Our products also help preserve and protect collections, which is really important for vinyl collectors.

-What are your most popular products and why?
Our record divider collection is by far what we're best known for. Our record dividers allow our clients to build a organization system that works with their collections, no matter how they like to organize. Alphabetical organization (and our A-Z dividers) tends to be the most common way vinyl collectors organize, but I don't feel like there is one right way to catalog- its more about finding a system that works for you. Many of our customers also love genre panels, so they can use a mix of genre dividers and alphabetical dividers together.

Around the holidays, we offer gift certificates which is a pretty popular way to give the gift of organization to collectors in your life! We offer wood gift certificates in any denomination.