Deconomix LP Storage

After many a month online, the most popular search term that brings people to this site is “LP storage”, so much so that livingwithmusic.com has taken over the top spot with many search engines. Since November of 2005, I’ve covered quite a few (but not nearly enough) of the most popular storage solutions for the vinyl enthusiast, but my bookmarks are still filled with perhaps a bit more reclusive shelving units that may be less wide-spread but have garnered as positive or even enthusiastic reviews as have the widely-known solutions discussed on this site already.

One manufacturer with a rock-steady reputation I keep coming across, especially on European music forums and discussion boards, is UK-based manufacturer Deconomix.

As far as I could ascertain, Deconomix, founded by Stuart Fisher, has been supplying the more than huge UK-DJ market with vinyl storage solutions for more than 7 years, but it was the steady flow of highly enthusiastic recommendations that turned my attention to their expandable storage solutions that reach industrial vinyl archiving proportions. Additionally, and that’s where things get interesting for people with a thicker wallet, they can also custom-make just about anything you want, from curved consoles to floor to ceiling archiving storage. If you have enough LPs or other vinyl items to open a shop with … hell, they can outfit one of those as well. Continue Reading →

Boltz LP Shelf Units

Usually I can’t even blink an eye before someone takes me to task for not including this or that in one of my posts and also this time, about two seconds after I put up a post about the nifty Boltz CD racks, Steve, hailing from the US, shot an e-mail my way, complaining that I had forgotten to include the Boltz LP shelf units, his – as he put it – “one true and only love” (did I ever mention that we collectors are a weird bunch?). In a post scriptum, he added that his wife had threatened him with divorce (no surprise, mate) if he ever bought another expansion set and, he tells me, he now has to resort to having them shipped to his office. Collecting can put a real strain on your life and relationship(s), can’t it? Continue Reading →

Gothic Cabinet Craft: LP Rack

Sometimes I think I should have kept most of my LPs, which I didn’t, but when that thought crosses my mind, I always remember how much space my old record collection took up. When I had LPs only, many years ago, I ended up with a really cheap metal basement shelf system that I could afford but which was also butt-ugly (brown and beige), and it took up an entire wall of my first rather spacious one-room student apartment. I just didn’t have the cash that time to get anything else, and just like today, I favoured investing my money into the music on the shelves instead of the shelf units themselves.

Today I don’t have many LPs left (some I have in storage to be sold one day) and they are housed in my old rock-solid IVAR cupboards. Whenver I come across some interesting posts on music forums discussing LP shelving units though, I always check them out and when I do, I always feel a tinge of regret about having sold or given away such a large part of my old vinyl collection. Continue Reading →

IKEA Ivar

As soon as this site went online, I was flooded with e-mails (please do use the comment function on the site if you have questions on a featured item or related issues). Enquiring minds wanted to know what I myself use to store my collection and what I could recommend. Well, despite my posts to the contrary, I use the ultimate budget system, a simple IKEA shelf system called “Ivar”, slightly “tweaked” to fit my needs. Before you read on: Ivar is not one of those Ikea products that you need an IQ of 200 and infinite patience for to put together. You don’t even need any tools besides a screwdriver, and the skills required to put it together tend towards zilch. Fact is, it doesn’t get much easier than Ivar (and I have lots of IKEA experience with other, err, less successful products in that regard). Continue Reading →

The Record Album Frame

When searching the Internet for LP frames to finally get some of your favorite covers up on the wall, chances are that, depending on your search terms, Rock Art Picture Show’s Record Album Frame will pop up right at the top of your search results, simply because it has been around for ages. I don’t really know when they started producing those, and their (abominably ugly) site doesn’t say, but they have a history. The site doesn’t hold back on the hype, either: Continue Reading →