Miller, Jessica
Store of the Ish
Issue #28
Revival
By Virginia Pelley
Published: June 1st, 2006 | 12:00am
Finding Revival, sister co-owners Marion and Leslie Weimer’s “revitalized” vintage furniture store in Los Angeles, is a bit reminiscent of finding a rave back in the day. A call to the store yields intricate directions that take you over railroad tracks and through little-traveled industrial areas before you see the small, bright-turquoise corner building. But instead of drugs and booming techno, those willing to make the trek and find the circus sideshow-style sign promising “furniture and curiosities” are treated to refurbished, gorgeously painted and découpaged pieces — mostly from the ’50s, ’60s, and ’70s — all at startlingly low prices.
“Well, look at our location,” Marion says, laughing, adding that with the venerable and cheap St. Vincent de Paul thrift store across the street, they “have to keep our prices as low as possible.”
Maryland natives, the sisters worked as a team in Hollywood for 15 years as scenic painters for movies David Lynch’s Wild at Heart was the first film they worked on.). But “tired of working for other people,” Marion says, they opened Revival in March 2003, selling flea-market pieces they painstakingly repair, refinish, and elevate into works of art. In addition to mixing custom paint blends for their pieces, the sisters découpage furniture with pages from vintage comic books, Chinese newspapers, and animal and human anatomy textbooks from the ’40s.
“We match the color and design with the form of each piece,” Marion explains, gesturing toward a late-’40s, austere-looking metal table painted matte black and découpaged with textbook-style body parts appropriate for the “medical table” design she chose.
Revival isn’t easy to find, but the knock-out furniture and modest pricing (hardly anything is more than $200) has earned Marion and Leslie a band of loyal followers. Some of the Weimers’ best customers, for better or worse, are owners of chi-chi antique and vintage stores in more heavily trafficked and higher-rent areas like Pasadena and the trendy Silver Lake neighborhood in Los Angeles. They routinely tell Marion delightedly how they resold such and such a piece for three times as much as Revival sold it for. “They’re nice people,” she says, shrugging. “What can I do?”
The same compliment must be paid to the sisters themselves, who not only put gobs of work into items they sell jaw-droppingly cheaply but who frequently lend a hand carrying furniture out to people’s cars. That’s just the kind of ladies they are. And their customers genuinely appreciate the personal touch and high-quality work. “Ninety-five percent of our customers say what a good job we’re doing and appreciate that they can come here and afford things, but still get quality. [Our work] is a reflection of us.” Yep, really nice.
Revival is located at 181 Avenue 21 in Los Angeles, 323.222.6069.
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