Bus roll envy

Posted on Wed, 6 Aug 2008 by midcenturyjo


One of my favourite things is a vintage bus roll. Love them! Have several. I used to find them in flea markets in the old days but now it’s eBay. It looks like I have competition. Jennifer from Atlanta emailed. “I fell in love with the destination rolls and got one on eBay from London!!! I put stretcher bars together for my frame and stapled fabric to the sides. Then I used upholstery nails to tack the sign to the frame. I thought you’d like to see the finished product!!!” The upholstery nails are brilliant. If you’ve tried to stretch one of these babies you’ll know there is not much spare fabric on the sides. I am so jealous of your roll Jennifer. Great destinations and fabulous job! (And from what I can see of your house, it’s fabulous too!)


OH MY GOD!
YOU ARE MY LEGEND!
I’ve seen this in stacks of movies, but I never knew what they were called.
And I asked EVERYONEEEEE if they knew what it was or where I can ge tthem from.
Where can you get them from?
I’m totally desperate.

Pearl.

kim. says:

Pearl, your best bet is eBay or Etsy.

Anonymous says:

Just bought one the other day…..not sure if I got a good price or not…I paid $600? any idea if that is outragious or not?

kim. says:

I don't know much about the going rate for bus roll paraphenalia, but I'm thinking $600 is kinda pricey. Might be due to the growing popularity though. I'd rather just get a big canvas, paint it black, and stick some white lettering on it – DIY ALL THE WAY!

Depends on how long and the destinations anonymous but I'd say that is about right and might even be a bargain if quite old and fabric with cool stops. Even 1.8m reproductions here in Australia are selling for around $800 (see Print Dolls). Gone are the days where you could pick up a 10m roll for $15 like I used too 🙁

Peps says:

LOVE THESE.
I saw them in a couple of movies and ever since then they've haunted my mind because I never knew what they were called!!!!!!!!!!

I want to make one because I don't want to spend so much money on one. Do you know any websites or places where I could get the text or addresses to put on?

Thank you

Pearl

Hi,
We are currently working on a reproduction canvas version of these which will be on our site for sale early December 09.
You will also have the option to have your own text printed if desired.
They will be very close to the original as we have gained a licence to use the font which is closely guarded under copyright.
Regards,
Michael.

bunglesque says:

http://www.britishbusblinds.com

British Bus Blinds

Got a very cool London blind direct from them in England. Even after import to the USA I still saved almost 40 % for what they are are for sale for here. Friendly, helpful service, website says they ship worldwide. All are custom-made to order, nice thick borders & frames, I looked at others – go direct. Two more on order, can’t wait.

Jamison says:

I have started making reproductions of these and are available in my etsy shop http://mercantilemill.etsy.com

Haydn says:

I can supply very long original London bus rolls suitable for use as wallpaper or for framing as you are doing. Happy to ship anywhere!

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