Swizzles with Sizzle - Page 5
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When Ashlund began buying swizzle sticks on eBay in 2012, and later selling them, "I'd buy a number of single sticks on eBay and then sell them in sets," she recalls. "I had no idea of the significance of the individual sticks. It was just, 'here's a cute set of giraffes.' It wasn't until almost a year later when I realized that some individual sticks were actually quite rare, and that all of them had great histories behind them."
Nancy Wallace, a swizzler collector in San Rafael, proudly shares her collection in photos and recounted memories. "The Playboy swizzle sticks are from the Chicago Playboy Club in early 1970s," she says. "We also have Trader Vic's swizzlers from San Francisco, and two from the Great Electric Underground at the Bank of America building in San Francisco."
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But Wallace sounds melancholic as she shares memories surrounding some of her barware. "I used to have swizzle sticks from the Whiskey a Go Go [in Hollywood], also a special glass one." But now they're lost.
For Wallace and so many others, swizzlers became little memory sticks. Collector Dan Chusid, who lives in a suburb of San Diego, continues to seek out unusual swizzle sticks "from long ago, from my childhood. I get most of them from estate sales. Some rarities fill my collection. My promo swizzle sticks of [exotica bandleader] Juan Garcia Esquivel are rarer than hen's teeth."
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Heck, you might even be a swizzle stick collector and not even know it. Are swizzlers hiding in the back of your junk drawer, or jammed in with those bone-dry Bic pens and blunt pencils in the jar on your desk? Inventorying your swizzle stick collection may be as easy as tidying up your Eichler.
One thing is certain: if you find a vintage swizzle stick, it's sure to spark joy—and perhaps some hidden memories too.
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• Author Carol Sveilich reveals her adventures on everything mid-century and coming of age in a San Jose Eichler. Her 'Reflections From a Glass House: A Memoir of Mid-Century Modern Mayhem' is available in soft cover, e-book, and audiobook.
• For more on Pam Ashlund and the Swizzle Stick Collectors Club, visit swizzlestickcollectors.com
Photography: Susan Kinast/WAK Pictures, Pam Ashlund/House of Swizzle, Ernie Braun, Annie Wood, Todd Lappin/Telstar Logistics, Stephen Day/Shutter Bear Photography, Brandon Glover, Trevor-SuperTrev22, James; and courtesy High Jinks Apparel, Shag Store
