American Stuccolow

Lisa and Louis created the small publication American Stuccolow, based
on their own preservation ambitions and irritations. Currently the
couple are restoring a 1906 Craftsman-style bungalow in Jefferson Park.
We sat down to talk in their recently painted dining room, where the
wood had been stripped, sanded, stained, and varnished the previous
year.

Adam: What inspired American Stuccolow?

Lisa: 1529 Grace St, I think that was the address. A fanzine from
Chicago, named for the apartment building in which the writer lived.
He wrote about the building and interviewed neighbors. I showed it to
Louis, and he said, “if this guy can do a zine about his building, we
can do one about our house.”

Adam: Is it also a reaction to American Bungalow?

Lisa: Yeah, we were subscribers to that tired publication until we got
bored of looking at doe-eyed carpenters showing off their five thousand
dollar headboards and McMansions with bungalow-reminiscent detail,
kitchen islands, and can lights. We looked at our own home and that’s
not what we saw at all, nor was it our aspiration. And I used to
publish a zine called American Homebody, which was about staying at
home, so it seemed like a good project for us.

Louis: We wanted to create a sense of community that was extremely
local. And by “extremely local,” I mean the space between the parkway
and the back alley.

Lisa: American Bungalow isn't about the reality of renovation. It's
about advertising and creating consumers.

Louis: We don't have any advertising, unless you'd like to take out an
ad?

Adam: Are there any preservation myths you'd like to debunk?

Louis: Restoration is significantly more time consuming than anyone
cares to admit or imagine.

Lisa: I flinch when anyone says it's “just painted.” It sounds so
simple to rectify—but paint stripping is pretty involved, smelly, and
noxious.

Adam (#4): Are future issues planned, what will it feature, and how
can people secure a copy?

Lisa: We’re planning a holiday issue with a Jefferson Boulevard
shopping guide to all the 99 cent stores and party stores and pawn
shops within walking distance, pictures of recently stucco-ed houses,
and one lone recently un-stucco-ed house, yard news, and a new section
called “Vegan Living.”

Louis: And more Fight Club--there's a lot of Fight Club...[transcripts
of disagreements between the couple}, a list of meetings we didn’t
attend, Yard News, something about furniture....

Adam: How can people get a copy?

Lisa: They can go to StealthisSweater.com and contact the
proprietress.

Adam (#5): What about the biggest surprise?

Louis: How beautiful and sensible the architecture is, how beautiful
1/4 sawn Douglas fir is, the grain...

Lisa: We’re pretty central. I can be at Whole Foods in 30 minutes on
my bike from here.

Louis: And no one at work believes my quick commute.