<body><div><figure><img src="https://img.particlenews.com/image.php?type=thumbnail_580x000&amp;url=4ZgBNt_1H12rZVs00" alt="https://img.particlenews.com/image.php?url=4ZgBNt_1H12rZVs00" width="2048" height="1536" ><figcaption>Cavalear Co., at 1301 S. Westnedge Ave., has its official grand opening at 6 p.m. Friday. It’s owned by Lynn and Jed Robertson, who sold vintage furnishings in the Park Trades Center for two years. Photo by James Sanford.</figcaption></figure><h2>Cavalear Co./Invite Records</h2>1301 S. Westnedge Ave., Kalamazoo11 a.m.-6 p.m. Wednesday through Sunday (closed Monday and Tuesday).(269) 312-7311You could say history has always played a part in Lynn and Jed Robertson’s relationship. On the afternoon of the interview for this story, they were celebrating the 18th anniversary of the day they met at an underground film festival in Chicago: Nov. 4, 2008, the day Barack Obama was elected President.On Friday, the Robertsons will officially open vintage furniture and furnishings store Cavalear Co., a boutique record shop, Invite Records, and the Pink Room Tattoo Parlor, owned by Rich Reed and Kyle Reardon, that will specialize in traditional tattooing – all within the 112-year-old walls at 1301 S. Westnedge Ave.The grand opening starts at 6 p.m. Friday, with a ribbon-cutting at 6:30 p.m. The evening features live jazz from Night Bank and DJing by DJ Dan Steely.Jed began laying the groundwork for Cavalear six years ago, when he was laid off during the pandemic and became the primary caregiver for the Robertsons’ two children. Selling items on the internet led to taking over a space in the Park Trades Building for a couple of years. When the Vine Neighborhood buildings became available, the Robertsons decided to take a chance; the previous tenant at the Cavalear location was the Kzoo Swift bicycle shop, which relocated to 3415 Ravine Rd three years ago. (As part of Friday’s celebration, Kzoo Swift will be giving away a custom-built bike during the evening.)“We just saw it as a fleeting opportunity,” Lynn added. “You know, there’s not very many buildings like this: mixed-use buildings in Kalamazoo. And they’re all going to be out of our… price range, we feel, in the next five years. If we waited until we were ready, I don’t think that we would ever do it, you know?”The couple actually purchased the trio of buildings at the intersection of South Westnedge and Forest Street in June and spent the summer renovating. Everything old really is new again: About a decade ago the building housed Retro, a resale business very much like Cavalear.<figure><img src="https://img.particlenews.com/image.php?type=thumbnail_580x000&amp;url=000z0d_1H12rZVs00" alt="https://img.particlenews.com/image.php?url=000z0d_1H12rZVs00" width="2048" height="1536" ><figcaption>“We do everything from the ’50s through the ‘90s,” Lynn Robertson said of the pieces she and her husband, Jed, are featuring in Cavalear Co. “We try not to pigeonhole ourselves.” Photo by James Sanford.</figcaption></figure>The Robertsons have 400 square feet of space to work with, which gives them room to let their imaginations run wild.“We’re definitely having in-store shows with the record store,” Lynn said. “And we’re thinking about possibly having a flexible space where we could rent it out for small parties, like corporate parties, birthday parties, small weddings, maybe even yoga during the day.”As for the two adjoining structures, the couple is currently keeping their options open. A cafe or restaurant might be a possibility in the 1305 building, and the 1309 building has a spacious upstairs area that could be converted into a loft apartment. For now, they have the luxury of time.“If you’re not, like, a little bit stressed, or nervous, or challenging yourself in some ways, you’re not really moving forward,” Jed said. “And this is, like, a risky, nervous thing that we want to do. But we can see what is to come if we succeed at it. And now is the right time.”<figure><img src="https://img.particlenews.com/image.php?type=thumbnail_580x000&amp;url=3RqPW4_1H12rZVs00" alt="https://img.particlenews.com/image.php?url=3RqPW4_1H12rZVs00" width="2048" height="1536" ><figcaption>This English sycamore dresser from 1933-1934 was designed by Gilbert Rohde and produced by Herman Miller. Photo by James Sanford.</figcaption></figure>One piece he’s particularly proud of is an English sycamore dresser, designed by Gilbert Rohde and produced by Herman Miller, from 1933-1934. “It was a real transition period for Herman Miller that echoes some of the design characteristics of Bauhaus and Art Deco,” Jed said. “It was important for the beginnings of modern furniture being accessible in the mainstream, because (Herman Miller) would mass-produce it.”“The only other example of it that Jed has been able to find is in the Brooklyn Museum,” Lynn said. “It’s a special one.”Cavalear Co. is stocked with pieces the Robertsons have collected, many of them mid-century modern, such as a chrome “jax”-style tripod table topped with a thick circular piece of glass. There are 1960s-ish wooden cabinets, glassware, and art from the 1950s and, adorning one wall, a very 1970s large red tapestry decorated with geometric patterns. A full-size vibraphone in one corner is not for sale, but Lynn said anyone who wants to play it is welcome to do so.<figure><img src="https://img.particlenews.com/image.php?type=thumbnail_580x000&amp;url=0YtWjr_1H12rZVs00" alt="https://img.particlenews.com/image.php?url=0YtWjr_1H12rZVs00" width="2048" height="1536" ><figcaption>Taking on a new business in a 114-year-old space has been a challenge for Jed and Lynn Robertson, but Jed said, “If you’re not, like, a little bit stressed or nervous or challenging yourself in some ways, you’re not really moving forward.” Photo by James Sanford.</figcaption></figure><figure><img src="https://img.particlenews.com/image.php?type=thumbnail_580x000&amp;url=0ZnDWc_1H12rZVs00" alt="https://img.particlenews.com/image.php?url=0ZnDWc_1H12rZVs00" width="2048" height="1536" ><figcaption>The full-size vibraphone is not for sale, but any customers who feel like they’re the next Lionel Hampton are welcome to play it. Photo by James Sanford.</figcaption></figure>“We do everything from the ’50s through the ‘90s,” Lynn said. “We try not to pigeonhole ourselves.”“Timeless design: It’s really design-based,” Jed said. “It doesn’t have to be from a certain era – just stuff that has a really unique quality to it, a striking quality.”<h2>‘Sometimes the first idea is the best idea’</h2><figure><img src="https://img.particlenews.com/image.php?type=thumbnail_580x000&amp;url=2TZ5CD_1H12rZVs00" alt="https://img.particlenews.com/image.php?url=2TZ5CD_1H12rZVs00" width="2048" height="1536" ><figcaption>Vintage vinyl albums line the wall at Invite Records, which has its grand opening Friday evening. Photo by James Sanford.</figcaption></figure><figure><img src="https://img.particlenews.com/image.php?type=thumbnail_580x000&amp;url=45xnZv_1H12rZVs00" alt="https://img.particlenews.com/image.php?url=45xnZv_1H12rZVs00" width="2048" height="1536" ><figcaption>Jed Robertson has long had a passion for vinyl records. He found the signage for his Invite Records store alongside a dumpster at the Park Trades Building. Photo by James Sanford.</figcaption></figure>The background music Jed was playing complemented the decor. To warm up for the Invite opening, he was spinning some vinyl, and Vincent Bell’s groovy 1967 disc, “Pop Goes the Electric Sitar,” was the audio equivalent of a patchouli haze: You truly have never heard “The Shadow of Your Smile” or “Eleanor Rigby” until you’ve heard them played on the electric sitar.Invite Records is a pet project Jed has been contemplating for years. The name came from a plexiglass INVITE sign he found alongside one of the Park Trades Building dumpsters. Jed used to use it to welcome shoppers to his Park Trades space.“I’ve been digging through (record) crates since I was a teenager,” he said. “Have I run a record store? No. But I’m adjacent to that culture and immersed in it. … It’s like recording music: Sometimes the first take is the best take. Sometimes the first idea is the best idea. Let’s not over-think it, and it’s gonna work out great.’”<figure><img src="https://img.particlenews.com/image.php?type=thumbnail_580x000&amp;url=3912p1_1H12rZVs00" alt="https://img.particlenews.com/image.php?url=3912p1_1H12rZVs00" width="640" height="480" ><figcaption>Also opening Friday, just around the corner from Cavalear Co., is the Pink Room Tattoo Parlor, which will specialize in classic tattoo styles. Photo by James Sanford.</figcaption></figure><figure><img src="https://img.particlenews.com/image.php?type=thumbnail_580x000&amp;url=06jjeu_1H12rZVs00" alt="https://img.particlenews.com/image.php?url=06jjeu_1H12rZVs00" width="2048" height="1536" ><figcaption>The Pink Room Tattoo Parlor is located in a space that used to house a wellness center called Elements. Photo by James Sanford.</figcaption></figure>He has local connections. He has DJed at Satellite Records, which is only a few blocks from Cavalear, and he’s working with Dan McAllister, aka DJ Dan Steely, who has supplied some stock for Invite – “stuff you don’t find too often” – including the Vincent Bell disc. So, Invite seemed a logical pairing with Cavalear.“Some people I think would say this is kind of a trend: ‘Ooh, records are cool, this stuff is cool,’” Jed said. “But we’ve been doing this our entire adult lives.”<h2>Author</h2>James Sanford was hired as a “teen reporter” for The Grand Rapids Press while he was still in high school. He is a graduate of Western Michigan University and taught journalism there for seven years. In his 12 years at The Kalamazoo Gazette, he was an arts writer, film critic, and section coordinator, and won three awards from the Society for Features Journalism. Later, he was a restaurant reporter on Martha’s Vineyard, an arts editor at Lansing’s City Pulse, and a reporter at The Battle Creek Enquirer. His 2011 memoir, “The Sum of My Parts,” was published by Amazon Kindle Singles. After 11 years as a creative manager/programmer for Alamo Drafthouse Cinema, he is delighted to be returning to his roots. He has appeared in numerous shows at the New Vic, Kalamazoo Civic, Whole Art, and Farmers Alley theaters over the years, and was part of the Crawlspace Eviction improv comedy troupe for its first seven seasons.</div></body>

Block Source: nowkalamazoo.org

Misinformation

Clickbait

Old or repetitive news

Explicit content

Location not relevant

11 a.m.-6 p.m. Wednesday through Sunday (closed Monday and Tuesday). You could say history has always played a part in Lynn and Jed Robertson’s relationship. On the afternoon of the interview for this story, they were celebrating the 18th anniversary of the day they met at an underground film festival in Chicago: Nov. 4, 2008, the day Barack Obama was elected President.

‘Now is the right time’

NewsBreak

11 a.m.-6 p.m. Wednesday through Sunday (closed Monday and Tuesday). You could say history has always played a part in Lynn and Jed Robertson’s relationshi

‘Now is the right time’

Comments