There has been something new in the works over here this past year. Jon has been working on a new business late at night after he is done helping me with One Love Photo. It’s been inspiring to watch him develop his ideas and create Mod Radio. Jon’s radios are updated vintage radios with new speakers, amps and MP3 jacks. The process starts with a hunt at antique shops for the perfect radio in need of some TLC. Once found the radio is stripped down to it’s shell, the outside is buffed and sometimes given a fresh coat of paint. Inside he installs everything new from the amp, speaker wire, mp3 jack, power cord, led jewel light and retrofitted knobs. A back plate is custom cut to hold the brand new speakers. Careful care is considered to speaker placement to get the most sound out of each radio.
Jon has always had a “low-fidelity eye” preferring grainy blurry photographs over clean hi-fidelity images. In order to abstract the digital quality of his images when he first started photography he created his own set of homemade lenses to match our vintage aesthetic. He took a modern hi-fi digital camera and made it function like an old film camera. For Mod Radio he is doing the exact same concept but completely opposite. With the digital camera he took something new and made it old. With Mod Radio he is taking something old and making it new again. Being a big fan of mid-century modern design he is drawn to the overall look of vintage tabletop radios, but being a musician he’s always been picky about sound quality. When his “low-fi eyes” combined with his “hi-fi ears” Mod Radio was born! Jon’s been juggling making new radios with designing a website. The website is up and looks amazing! In addition to the website, Mod Radios are also for sale at the Bellevue Arts Museum. This weekend we are heading down to a craft show in Portland called “Crafty Wonderland” to debut about 20 new radios! Please check out the website www.ModRadio.com. But be forewarned, you’ll probably fall in love at first sight!