Spreading the good word!

[vintagehoover]

Today at the gallery, I had my first experience talking to a large 'live' audience, extolling the virtues of 'Positive Agitation', and discussing the design, engineering and evolution behind Hoover cleaners. I also went into the general history of the vacuum cleaner, to provide a little technological and sociological context - for most of the people who attended, it was the first time they'd seen an Air-Way upright, a Bylock Table Vac, or a General Electric 111!

Obviously there is a LOT of history to talk about, and I had to condense it down into the space of an hour, but I was pleased with how it all went. The audience seemed well-engaged from the beginning and asked a lot of intelligent questions, so it was actually quite fun! Lots of people waited around afterwards to speak to me in person, too, and that alone really made the whole thing worthwhile.

Here are a few photos. And a tip for anyone who wants to explain WHY we collect vacuum cleaners to the general public, the Bylock Table Vac has the required 'wow' factor! People can't fail to see why such a cleaner is interesting, and that seems to be the key to explaining the whole fascination in a way people can identify with.

http://www.vacuumland.org/TD/THREADS/VINTAGE/7676.htm?29

 

[vintagehoover]

Throwing down a handful of rice to show how it dances across the surface of the rug!

 

[vintagehoover]

Vacuuming up some more rice with the crevice tool. This was to show how the hose fits on and operates before the 150 was introduced!

 

[vintagehoover]

'The first basically new cleaner in 10 years! Made of magnesium, the new airplane metal!'

This 150 was one of my North Canton souvenirs, from Tom Anderson's garage sale! Tom, as you can see, it's being put to good use!

 

[vintagehoover]

Another Table Vac pic...

This is the last of the photos; I wish there were more, but my friend, who kindly gave copies of her pictures to me, got engrossed in listening to the presentation, and forgot to take any more!

Hope you enjoyed them, anyway. I wish some of you guys could have come along to heckle me - I mean - provide encouragement

 

[joe22]

well done ! i would have called out *dyson* lol.

how often are you going to do the talks. call the press next time.

again well done !!

 

[crevicetool]

I know everyone had a great time with your presentation Jack!! I can just imagine how you captured your audience! What fun!!! I'm sure you got a lot of "My________had one of those"!!! I can understand why your friend had trouble taking pictures, that's a very good sign.

OK, per your request, some heckling!

"Hey! which one of those machines ate your hair?"

"There's no electricity hooked up buddy!" You're gonna have to clean up that rice by hand!"

"Hey! can that thing be used as a table in a room with no electricity?"

Great stuff as usual, Jack!

Thanks.

Rick

 

[vacfanatic]

Nice work!

Very nice Jack - would love to have been there to hear the presentation. You'll have to tell me all about it!

Andrew

 

[vintagehoover]

I got my dad to film everything for me - unfortunately, due to what we shall refer to as 'technical difficulties', we lost a huge chunk of the film; the talk was an hour long, and we're left with 37 mins of footage...

Here's what was lost - sadly, these were (I hope!) some of the best bits!

* Demonstration of Hoover 725
* Discussion about the discovery and development of 'Positive Agitation', and the attacks made on the principle by other brands!
* Demonstration of Hoover 150
* Discussion of Henry Dreyfuss and his work with Hoover
* Demonstration of Bylock Table Vac
* Demonstration of Air-Way Fleetwood Special
* Discussion of Hoover's use of styling and colour, and the pyschology of consumer manipulation via advertising

However, we did get everything else! Since YouTube only allows 10 min clips, and we have nearly 40 mins of film, it'll take quite a bit of editing to assemble something I'm happy to put online, but I'll post the clips here when they're done.

In the meantime, here's a 27 sec clip of me chatting to some of the people who stayed behind afterwards to ask questions. Not my most exciting video, but there are better things to come!

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[vintagehoover]

Joe - people did ask quite a few questions about Dyson, which I answered...I really wasn't 'pushing' any particular brand or agenda today, though; if someone wants that, they're gonna have to pay me!

Rick - I had to laugh out loud at those comments! Wish you could have been there, you always have something great to contribute

Andrew - call me!

 

[gottahaveahoove]

KUDOS

to you!!!!! I'm sure "Boss" would be very proud.

 

[normvac]

Awesome!

Jack
absolutely wonderfull presentation. So glad that you found an
audience with real interest !
You'll have to find a way to bring the show state side !!
Norm

 

[surgilator_68]

I would have loved to have been there. Thanks for sharing Jack.

Jason

 

[kenmore81]

Very nice Jack

I watched the video the day you posted, I very happy your prsentations went well

 

[kirbyg4]

a table vac?

jack could you maybe tell me something about that very very interesting table vac, and also the hoover 150. i really love the older hoovers, but don't know much about them, a history lesson would be greatly appreciated.

~Frankie~

 

[hygiene903]

Excellent Presentation, Jack!

You did a great job and I'm sure your audience learned some interesting history that they would not have heard anywhere else.
I agree with Norm and Jason, wish I could have been there, and wish that you could bring your presentation stateside sometime. Looking forward to the video.
Jeff

 

[edgar]

table vac.

good work Jack.
I love the table vac, if I had know there was such a big presentation I would have come to. T bad you lost some of the film, I am sure these are moments you would like to keep for later.

greetz Edgar