“ChazAir Studios relocates from mall to Pace Boulevard - Pensacola News Journal” plus 1 more

ChazAir Studios relocates from mall to Pace Boulevard - Pensacola News Journal

Posted: 28 Sep 2009 05:20 AM PDT

ChazAir Studios and Academy has opened at 1421 Pace Blvd. after four years in Cordova Mall. Owner Tina Cozart has filled the 1,200 square feet of retail space with art such as tigers, praying hands and landscapes.

"Our academy is a place where you can make your artistic ideas come to life," Cozart said.

ChazAir also paints blank T-shirts, creates custom automotive art and makes designs for helmets and motorcycles.

"Airbrush is in high demand and we offer many different varieties of paint jobs for signs and murals," said longtime airbrush artist Chaz Ogden.

The shop is decorated with murals on the walls plus an airbrush display on shirts, pants and custom guitars.

Studio and academy classes are Wednesday evenings and offer a one-on-one learning experience, "preparing people for paying jobs such as airbrushing on cruise ships and vacation resorts," Ogden said.

Classes are held 5:30 to 7 p.m. and are open to anyone 5 and older.

Retail shop hours are 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. Monday through Friday; and 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. Saturday.

Call 490-6744.

Block windows built locally

While many companies import their products from China, Pensacola-based Hy-Lite/U S Block Windows, 3000 E. Johnson Ave., recently took their manufacturing out of China and moved much of it to the local plant.

"U S Block Windows acquired the assets of our primary competitor, Hy-Lite Products, in March and we added 25 local employees. We offer a wide selection of prefabricated privacy products and are considered a leader in the window industry," said Roger Murphy, company president. "We anticipate hiring even more employees as the housing market recovers and demand for our products increases."

Giuseppe's reopens

Giuseppe's, a familiar Italian restaurant name in Pensacola, is open at 15 Brent Lane in the Big Lots strip mall.

"This is the fifth one I have had, and nobody has food like I do. I work for myself, and I just want to make my customers happy," said Giuseppe Gigliotti, who makes his bread and pizza dough.

The restaurant has three tables; the emphasis is on pick up orders.

The menu includes calzones, strombolis and three kinds of pasta.

Hours are 11 a.m. to 8 p.m. Monday through Thursday; and 11 a.m. to 9 p.m. Friday and Saturday. Call 497-6587.

This posting includes an audio/video/photo media file: Download Now

Southern California's 'Kustom Kulture' goes on the block - Los Angeles Times Blogs

Posted: 21 Sep 2009 01:13 PM PDT

Relics of Southern California's recent past will be on sale this weekend in Los Angeles at an auction focusing on the region's "Kustom Kulture" style of automotive design.

The auction, at the Petersen Automotive Museum on Wilshire Boulevard, will feature 80 vehicles, including such Kustom Kulture classics as the 1964 Ed Roth Road Agent and the 1965 Ford Econoline "Von Dutch" Van.

Kustom Kulture reached its apex and achieved its lasting identity in the sand-and-gasoline culture of Southern California in the 1960s. Auto designers such as Compton High alum Kenny Howard (better known as Von Dutch), Ed "Big Daddy" Roth of Bell and the Barris brothers played a key early role in setting the tone for what became known as the '60s counterculture.

According to Wikipedia, "Everything from wild pinstriped paint jobs, to chop-top Mercurys, to custom Harley-Davidson and Triumph Motorcycles, to metal flake and black primer paint jobs, along with music, cartoons, and monster movies have had an impact on what defines anyone and anything who is part of this automobile subculture."

Roth's "Rat Fink" character was perhaps the most recognizable icon of Kustom Kulture. But for Americans of a certain age, the Munster Koach and Drag-U-La, both products of the Barris bothers' twisted auto-imaginations, are other memorable examples of the style.

"These are things that we grew up with," said Keith Martin, publisher of Sports Car Market magazine, which monitors the classic car auctions. "They were wildly popular back then."

And now that boomers can afford to own the icons of their youth, artifacts like those up for sale at the Kustom Kulture auction often find ready buyers, he added.