Photo by James BunoanThe Yellow Pages is great for some things, like calibrating the sights on your crossbow or filling in as impromptu booster seat. But when you need to figure out which Orange County antiques store carries Confederate money—not so good.
Which is where Reece's Antique N Retro Shopper's Maps come in: for all things Jefferson Davis (try E. Helme House Furnishing Co. in Huntington Beach) and more. Three free editions cover coastal Orange County, Long Beach and Los Angeles, showing the most direct routes to dozens of vintage emporiums. The maps also summarize each store's merchandise—from French and English furniture at Fountain Valley's Abba Antiques to vintage Hawaiiana at San Clemente's Aloha Spirit.
They're even made by an antique—no, not really: Christopher Reece, former Social Distortion drummer and current owner of the Pike restaurant in Long Beach, and his wife. Antiquing is how Social D. spent much of its time, Reece says over lunch at the Pike—when not watching reruns of The Rockford Filesor playing Slug Bug. (Editor's note: they never played Slug Bug.)
“That's kind of what we would do to pass the time when we were on tour in different cities. We'd go around to the different shops and look for stuff,” said Reece, 44, who was audible on Social D.'s “Prison Bound,” “Social Distortion” and “Somewhere Between Heaven and Hell” before leaving the band in 1996. But before looking for stuff, they'd have to find the antique shops—not an easy task.
“I knew a map was something that people needed because whenever you went to a new town and you got out the Yellow Pages, it didn't really tell you much about what was in the shops, or how to get there, or even if they were still in business,” he said.
His maps—the street grids are designed by his wife, Otilia—have more than mere phone numbers and addresses. Designed with distracted drivers in mind, they show the best streets to get from shop to shop. The couple's Beach Cities edition, for example, connects the dots between about 40 Orange County stores from San Clemente to Huntington. Updated four times per year—the most recent is dated Dec. 1—it could make your holiday shopping commute less, well, punk.
Get Reece Maps at Abba Antiques, 11210 Talbert Ave., Fountain Valley, (714) 751-2070; Aloha Spirit, 111 W. Ave. Palizada, San Clemente, (949) 361-4306; Beau Maison Antiques, 34091 Pacific Coast Hwy., Dana Point, (949) 248-8282; French Antiques, 17912 Cowan, Irvine, (949) 863-0733; M.E. Helme House Furnishing Co., 517 Walnut Ave., Huntington Beach, (714) 960-1902; the Hidden Hide House, 33741 Camino Capistrano, San Juan Capistrano, (949) 496-8711; Jack N Gloria's Antiques, 2981 Fairview Rd., Costa Mesa, (714) 751-3809; Lake Forest Antiques, 23222 Lake Center Dr., Lake Forest, (949) 597-1189; Leisure World Consignments, 23595 G Moulton Pkwy., Laguna Hills, (949) 770-7626; Long Beach Antique N Collectible Mall, 3100 E. Pacific Coast Hwy., Long Beach, (562) 494-2526; Maison Michelle Ltd., 2515 E. Coast Hwy., Corona del Mar, (949) 723-3335; Steven-Thomas Antiques, 800 E. Dyer Rd., Santa Ana, (714) 957-3989; Swellegant Vintage Clothing, 3409 Newport Blvd., Newport Beach, (949) 673-3604; Warren Imports, 1910 S. Coast Hwy., Laguna Beach, (949) 494-6505.
