La baleine noire – Or, the debut.

I found the black whale at an antique store in Pacific Grove, CA. I love it. Its cast iron body feels great to hold and looks worldly and wise with its paint chipping off and big round eyes.

The black whale is a good little whale.

From what I can gather on the Internet, my black whale is an advertisement paperweight from the 1920’s. On one side is etched Tung-Sol in faded yellow. Some more research taught me that Tung-Sol was started at the very beginning of the 20th century and made the first electric headlamp for cars. They also developed the flashing turn signal and that ticking under the dashboard for almost every American car until the 1970’s.

Their motto? Simply Make the best that can be made. Sounds like a pretty good philosophy to me.

So as I’m starting this here blog thing, I will keep the whale’s motto in mind and share with you guys the best I know. The best things that were ever made, and the people who make them best. For starters, this little whale, and a list of other bloggers on the right who are a constant pleasure to read and a renewed source of inspiration.

Next up? A Christmas trip home to France. Stay tuned…