Young vintage goods collector has an old soul

He’s a 30-year-old with an affinity for old Tappans and Amanas, a punk rock musician and tattoo artist who might feel right at home in a 1950s kitchen.

Justin Zerwekh, who is also a hot rod junkie and history buff, is devoted to turning the refrigerators and other appliances of yesteryear into something “tangible and cool” for people to use today.

The vintage goods collector, who studied history at Golden West College in Huntington Beach, said not only did these mid-century appliances look cooler, but they were also better made and more dependable than today’s goods.

“The whole culture in general was just excited that the war was over and they had extra materials to use on things,” he said about America after World War II. “So, they threw metal and chrome on everything because metal was rationed during the war. All of the stuff that came out of mid-century design was really like celebration art.”

In addition to this true appreciation for the era, Zerwekh also likes the idea of keeping waste out of the nation’s landfills by restoring and reusing. But more than anything, he has “always been into old stuff.”

In 2014, Zerwekh came across a beat-up refrigerator from the 1950s in a friend’s backyard.

It was his if he wanted it, the friend said.

With the help of paint, primer, sanding paper and the mechanics skills that Zerwekh picked up from restoring old trucks with his father since he was a teenager, he turned the old, broken fridge into a working appliance that was a conversation piece among visitors to his Anaheim home.

Friends began asking him to find and restore old refrigerators for them, and after about the sixth one, Zerwekh thought he might just develop a career out of this skill and the apparent demand for it.

Later that year, he created Vintage 55 Restorations and began publicizing his new company on Instagram, where, he said, he got an “overwhelming” number of inquiries in the first few weeks.

“I’m a firm believer in working, creating and making something tangible,” Zerwekh said. “You get a certain joy out of it that you can’t get out of other things.”

Zerwekh will find fridges with the pull-out handles, which were discontinued in the 1960s, and other items like coolers, bicycles and food mixers from the 1930s to 1960s online, at antique markets or while driving around — when he might see old metal sticking up from behind someone’s fence.

Then, if he’s lucky, he’ll purchase the item and keep it in his inventory at an Anaheim warehouse until a customer asks him to bring it up to working condition or customize it as a decor addition.

These are often people looking for authentic replicas of items they grew up with. Of course, Zerwekh might not always be able to meet specific requests if the items are hard to find.

Customers can also bring in their own old appliances for Zerwekh to restore.

He said he charges around $1,200 for this detailed work, with a two-week turnaround, and has restored about 40 fridges and other appliances in the last two years.

Zerwekh said the items, although old, can actually be better for the environment than modern appliances.

“People will always ask me if these take up so much energy,” he said, specifically referring to old fridges. “Actually, depending on how you use it, they can be more energy-efficient than modern refrigerators because the motor’s not on all the time and most of them don’t have an automatic defroster. These ones, actually, you can close it, put it in your garage, and if you don’t open it, the motor won’t even kick on for a day-and-a-half.”

Reusing the items also prevents them from being added to landfills, he said. While they can often be transformed into other objects, Zerwekh said he’d much rather see them be restored for their original use.

Zerwekh said he has a “love-hate relationship” with the idea of people purchasing record players and other vintage-inspired items that weren’t actually built in that time period.

“The first reaction is negative because I’ve been doing this for so long,” he said. “Coming from a punk background, it’s like, ‘I did it first!’ But I also love it because there’s so much cool stuff coming out, and I wouldn’t be able to do this if it wasn’t popular. It’s also really cool telling people the history and stories behind the item they’re purchasing.”

But he said vintage-inspired items are “watered down” compared to their predecessors and often don’t have the same quality or appeal.

James Zerwekh, Justin’s father, who taught him how to restore old trucks, said it only made sense that his son would combine his passion for art and mechanics.

“He’s got the inside talent in his brain,” the 60-year-old Long Beach resident said. “He doesn’t see a rusted cooler. He sees what it could look like.”

That father-son tradition has continued with Justin Zerwekh’s own teenage son.

Jonny Zerwekh, 14, helps his father with the restoration jobs about three times a week. He said he considers this a good father-son bonding experience.

“It feels pretty good having someone that teaches me things,” he said. “He’s not a mean boss. I’m glad I get to hang out with him more.”

Justin Zerwekh, who also works as an exterminator but is looking to take on Vintage 55 Restorations full-time, said restoring items creates an “all-around good.”

“There’s no losing side with reusing and restoring,” he said. “You get cool stuff, I get an occupation doing something I love and they don’t end up trashed. The person I bought it from gets a little bit of money for something they considered trash. It’s a win all around.”

Vintage 55 Restorations can be found online at facebook.com/Vintage55Restorations and on Instagram @Vintage55Restorations.