“Removal of Goatee in Four Photographs”

This was taken in 2005, the assistant of the photograph cut off Jack’s goatee in a perfectly timed set of 4 shots in a color Photo Booth that Jack had in his living room at the time.  It took several practice shots to ensure it happened perfectly.

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“Lost and Found”

This set of three photobooth shots (the fourth was underexposed and black) was found inside the photobooth at Third Man Records stuck in the machine when the chemicals were changed.  Note the scratches and wrinkles.

Many of these logos were designed by Jack White alongside several graphic designers from the Third Man staff over the years.

2010

Sprung from White’s challenge to find new ways to hide music on the vinyl disc format, the Triple Decker was born. Consisting of components from five separate discs, the name comes from the fact that actual assembly of the discs happens in a three layered approach.

Here two 12″ vinyl records are pressed on clear PVC with music only on one side. From there, an additional 12″ record is pressed on opaque yellow vinyl, only to be routed out and turned into a “ring.” Additionally, a 10″ white vinyl record is pressed only to also be routed into a ring. Finally, a standard black vinyl 7-inch single. The routed rings fit one inside the other and the 7-inch single at the center. The 12-inch records are oriented with their blank sides facing inward and everything but the 7-inch is glued into place.

The whole idea of this project was to ask record collectors “Why do you collect records? Do you collect them to possess an object? Or to enjoy the music contained therein?” With the music on the 7-inch exclusive to ONLY that 7-inch sealed tightly inside, the purchaser needed to decide whether or not they wanted to break open this record to hear that song…or just display the record on their wall or shelf.

Designed and constructed by Jack White with electrical wiring by Johnny Walker. The cabinet contains three types of Leslie revolving speakers. The peppermint in the viewing window is mounted on a revolving speaker baffle and spins at both slow and fast speeds.

This furniture project was born out of a long standing desire for Jack White to give a gesture of thanks to an old friend and early midwest musical companion Johnny Walker of the Soledad Bros. Johnny currently co-owns the studio “The Lodge KY” in Dayton, Kentucky which is housed in a historical former Masonic Lodge building. Jack was able to procure an antique bench that was rescued from a different closed down Masonic Temple at auction and the project began.

The bench was stripped of its former fabric, padding and foundation work, and sanded completely down. The loose joints of the wooden frame were all knocked apart and re-glued. A deep brown stain was mixed from three different shades to provide a desired depth and a top finish of shellac in multiple layers was added to bring out the beautiful quarter sawn oak lines in the wood. Jack built brand new poplar upholstery frames for the inside backs of the bench as well inspired by the hoodwinks used in Masonic ceremonies.

To match the beautiful blue carpet and drapery of the main studio tracking room, which itself were design remnants from its days as a masonic lodge ceremonial chamber, Mr. White chose a gorgeous deep blue mohair fabric for the piece.

No modern foam padding was used in the piece, instead Jack kept it as originally styled as possible underneath the fabric with metal springs, hand placed coconuet fiber and horsehair foundation, covered with cotton padding. The bench seats and backs were upholstered first in a white muslin and then a final layer of padding before the mohair top finish fabric.

“My Sonic Temple” like its namesake and the Masons themselves contains many secrets, Some of which are obvious to the keen eye, and some of which will be hidden and possibly never uncovered. Some of it’s secrets were made known to the recipient/client Mr. Walker, but not all. The largest and most accessible secret however is the ability to plug instruments and microphones into the bench itself for the purposes of amplification with the addition of strange and curious effects that can not be turned off and do not ever repeat themselves but take on a random and mysterious pattern in homage and accordance to the secrets contained in the Lodge itself.

The Warrior Chair is a piece designed for champions and warriors to rest in (when given special permission) at the Warstic headquarters. Created as Jack White’s first design contribution to the showroom of the Dallas company Warstic (which he co-owns with founder Ben Jenkins and Golden Glove second baseman Ian Kinsler), the chair itself is one-of-a-kind and contains many unique elements, some never previously created in a piece of furniture.

Jack was drawn to this specific 1930 club chair because the wood frame at the front of the chair depicted both a giant “W” (for Warstic) and a sideways numeral 3. These factors provided more than enough inspiration for him to embark on this involved, detail-heavy furniture project for the new Warstic HQ.

First the club chair was stripped down to its bare wooden frame, its loose joints reglued and the veneer show pieces sanded down and stained jet black. The springs were in great shape and were 4-way tied (as had been done originally). A special red burlap was used to cover the springs to represent the warriors’ blood inside of the living piece. Rubberized horsehair and cotton padding were used for all of the foundation.

The deck of the seat has a white fabric square machine-sewn in by Jack as a new addition to the chair, representing a “base” as in a baseball diamond and also the four way elements of the game of baseball. Most sports contain a “home” or a “goal” or an “endzone” and could all be represented by this square whilst subsequently the trademark two Warstic stripes exiting the black space of the deck in four directions.

The Warrior Chair is quite possibly the first chair in history that emits a customized scent when a person sits on its cushion.  The Warrior Scent is a blend of different smells both natural and unnatural that center around the sport of baseball, where Warstic got its start. Leather, wood, dirt, glove oil, burnt umbers and other various secret scents were sewn into mesh bags with wood baseball bat shavings. These bags were hung inside the arms and back of the chair. When the main cushion and deck are depressed, openings to the interior of these cavities are allowed to “breathe” enabling the Warrior Scent to diffuse. All of this imbues the chair with a sense of ephemerality as there is no telling how long the scent will last.

For the final fabric, White employed two gorgeous gold and black mohair velvets. The trademark two stripes of the Warstic brand are present as skinny stripes in three directions and two large stripes are represented in the channeled inside back. Memory foam was used on the sewn cushion and a blank baseball bat billet was sawn in half and finished in jet black stain with both halves placed at the base of the chair. There are many more secrets inside this piece that might only be discovered by another upholsterer decades from now…if ever.

The Warrior Chair is viewable to the public at the Warstic HQ and showroom in Dallas, Texas.

Released Feb 14, 2012

Music video by Jack White performing Love Interruption, from Blunderbuss.

“Veronica” was the third and final guitar White designed based on the Gretsch Rancher model. Along with “Claudette”, and “Rita” each of these guitars was dedicated to a classic film star…one blonde, one redhead, and one brunette.

“Veronica” is a tribute to the peek-a-boo blonde star Veronica Lake. Design illustration was carved/burned into the guitar by artist Kore Flatmo. The dual pickguards of these guitars were meant to be the “hair” of each woman while the sound hole of the guitar was meant to symbolize their faces. The ornament on this guitar design is more Art Nouveau and Art Deco. The guitar was designed to be played for Jack White’s acoustic songs in The Dead Weather band and for solo performances as well.

“Hotel Yorba” b/w “Rated X,” recorded by Brendan Benson in the Hotel Yorba Rm # 286 in Southwest Detroit, May 2001, on black vinyl.

Design and layout by Jack White. 

Recording tape reels of various sized silk screened with the logos of Third Man Recording.  These reels are used in the studio, in the lathe room at both Third Man Nashville and Third Man Detroit, as well as at the Third Man Mastering studio.

Custom Ludwig drum kit designed by Jack White. The kit has been used live in The Dead Weather, in the recording and video for the James Bond franchise theme song “Another Way To Die” and used extensively by White himself and multiple drummers at Third Man Recording Studio.

Third Man Photo Studios features a full cyclorama wall for infinity filming (inside of TMR’s famous “Blue Room”) as well as a fully functional film developing lab specializing in negative development of black and white and color film. Photo enlargements, custom prints and a full professional lighting equipment make Third Man Photo Studio everything a creative photographer could ask for as well as being accessible to the novice looking for professional analog prints made of their work.

The initial design from Jack was never incorporated into a full public business until ten years after it was constructed. The studio and photo lab now handle hundreds of clients every year and have become the go-to analog film developing spot for Nashville.

Originally undertaken anonymously in 2009, White provided both the funding and design to this field in the neighborhood where he grew up in Southwest Detroit. The first major work done on the field in decades, White’s design provided shaded shelter for both players and spectators, new fencing, and a red dirt infield to replace the previously existing gravel.

The field is where White learned how to play baseball as a child in the 1980s.

Jack White collaborated with the Silveri Architects firm on designing this ballpark.

January 1, 1907 – March 7, 1989

Norman Blaine Saunders was a prolific 20th-century American commercial artist. He is best known for paintings in pulp magazines, paperbacks, men’s adventure magazines, comic books and trading cards.

In Detroit’s Cass Corridor neighborhood sits Third Man Records Detroit. The more than 15,000 square foot Jack White designed location houses TMR’s second retail location and label office along with Third Man Pressing vinyl manufacturing, and the Third Man Mastering studio.

In 2015, White bought the former 1920s Olds Motor Works Service Center building at 441 W. Canfield and immediately began conceptualizing a design to transform several spaces at the Detroit site. This would give TMR its first physical footprint in the city, White’s largest single location design project to date.

The storefront exterior is an arresting facade of all early 1910’s Packard plant factory casement windows that White had restored to fill the original brick surrounding structure…. an almost 30-foot vertical glass and steel stretch leading to a custom rooftop neon TMR Tesla tower with glowing lightning bolts.  

Entering Third Man Detroit is a surprising threshold moment. Visitors enter through an all-steel frame and yellow tinted glass vestibule structure sitting atop a low curved yellow glazed Pewabic tile wall that quickly leads you into the expansive 18-foot ceiling former industrial interior. White’s vision to design multisensory spaces for Third Man locations is fully realized in the 4500 square feet of retail space. Over 40 different architectural finishes make up the visual design experience mixed with product, vintage and custom furniture, a live performance stage and custom steel mezzanine that accentuates the scale of the interior. 

During the opening of the Detroit store in 2015, it was announced that Third Man would also be opening a vinyl manufacturing facility directly behind the retail space. White was adamant about creating a literal light at the end of the tunnel, a long hallway to be discovered by visitors that led people back to an all-glass atrium overlooking a soon to be 11,000 square foot custom vinyl pressing plant. The mission was to build it, let people stand in it and if they can watch, hear, and smell the records being made, we will instill the emotion of reverence for the medium of vinyl.

Third Man Mastering is a full service analog and digital Mastering Studio located in Detroit, Michigan in the heart of the Cass Corridor right next to the Third Man Pressing plant.

Jack designed the layout of the studio and the specific materials used to absorb sound in different ways. White was inspired greatly by the thought of trying aluminum foam sheeting as a sound absorbing material in the walls of the mastering studio.

The Mastering Studio has done incredible audio engineering for many interesting clients, including the works of talented audio engineers Bill Skibbe and Warren Defever. Clients find Third Man Mastering very convenient with its location adjacent to the Third Man Pressing plant.

“Rita” is a design in tribute to the film great Rita Hayworth, a tremendous influence on Jack White’s creative life over the years. Rita was the second in the “Three Women” acoustic guitar design trilogy. Intended to be played solely in White’s band The White Stripes, Rita was broken-in on the 2007 touring in support of the band’s final studio album “Icky Thump.” Seen in many of the videos, promotional photos and live shows of that era, Rita was the lone acoustic guitar Jack would play during this period. The guitar is a “White Falcon” version of the Gretsch Rancher acoustic model with the standard gold flake trim replaced with sparkly red vinyl. Kore Flatmo refined his unique wood burning tattooing technique and elevated the beauty of the piece with a stunning woodburn of the face of Rita Hayworth on the rear of the guitar.

Rita is visible in such places as the concert film “The White Stripes Under Great Northern Lights” and videos such as the single ‘You Don’t Know What Love Is.”

As requested by the Phillips family, Jack White was honored to be given the opportunity to refurbish an original Sam Phillips Recording studio couch and bring it back to life. The family gave White carte blanche to do whatever he saw fit and his visit to the space in April 2016 helped White land on his color and fabric choices.

Sam Phillips Recording was opened in 1960 after Phillips outgrew his Memphis Recording Service/Sun Studio. The studio has been fully operative since its opening and has recorded artists such as Jerry Lee Lewis, Bob Dylan, Phil Collins, Hank Williams Jr., Johnny Cash, Robert Plant, The Yardbirds, The Cramps and many more. Third Man Records’ Margo Price was recording her second album at the studio at the time of the couch’s return.

The building was formerly a Midas Muffler shop and was stripped to its shell and completely rebuilt. The reupholstering of the original couch was one of the first projects in the family’s efforts to refurbish and restore the building to its original glory.

“Everyone from Jerry Lee Lewis to Sam The Sham has crashed on that couch,” said Phillips’ son, Jerry Phillips. “Every piece of furniture in that studio was custom made in 1959 for Sam Phillips. To have had that sofa personally reupholstered by a creative spirit like Jack White represents a real honor for our family. Jack shares the same independent spirit as Sam so his contribution has really resonated with us.”

The peacock den was designed by Jack to house a present he had been gifted…four all-white baby peacock chicks. Three of the chicks survived infancy and were named Charlie, Feathers, and Sprout.

The structure is rustic knotty pine wood. The painter was directed to stain all of the circular knots black and then to white wash the rest of the wood. This was intended as an homage and representation of the “eyes” of the peacocks’ feathers.

The coop is heated in the winter and contains a small side hatch door to facilitate cleaning. Large roosting branches were placed inside the den and windows to allow light. A mirror was put outside the coop as peacocks enjoy looking at themselves quite often.

Spanning two addresses and more than 10,000 square feet, the Third Man Records Nashville headquarters is inarguably the most detailed, in-depth and wide-ranging design work White has ever undertaken.

White bought the main building (623 7th Ave S) in October of 2008 and immediately assembled his preferred team of collaborators (carpenters, architects, painters, fixers) in a furious reimagination of the space that had previously served as a somewhat dull office/photo studio.

By March of 2009 Third Man made it’s public unveiling and just one month later, on Record Store Day, the storefront would open to a line of fans and looky-loos eager to see what treasures lay inside.

The growth of both Third Man’s record label endeavors and its other operational expansions led to the purchase of the former Stuttgart South automotive repair shop next door at 621 7th Ave S in 2011. Serving primarily as warehouse storage and office space, White concocted the invented backstory of the building having previously served as an industrial factory (with mock blast furnace) and then later as a motel to drive the narrative and design choices.

From dark room to live performance stage, vinyl mastering to climate-controlled master tape storage, direct-to-customer mail-order to hospital kitchen…the Third Man Nashville headquarters is a dizzying array not only of function, but of eye-catching design and decor that over twelve years on continues to wow and impress all who walk through the door.

1995

materials:  plywood, pvc pipe, plexiglass, oil based paint, rubber sheeting 

White made this for a chihuahua named ‘Daisy’.  There is only a photo of the house after it had been used for a few months by the dog, the second photo is a photoshop rendering to depict what the original chartreuse roof of the house looked like.  

The house was designed so that only one of the three legs could be visible when looked at from any direction.

2015 · Text by Third Man Records
From The Dead Weather Technique and Instrument Series

In this episode, vocalist Alison Mosshart lets us in on her favorite way to come up with ideas for lyrics. Please note that we don’t necessarily condone her unique method, but we trust her and love the results – a lot. The video, directed by Jack White, concludes with a full band live performance of the smoldering voodoo of “Lose the Right” from the album Dodge And Burn.

Constructed on-camera as the opening scene to Davis Guggenheim’s award-winning 2009 documentary “It Might Get Loud,” White’s assembling of the one-string, entry-level instrument, primarily originating from the American South, is followed with the quip “Who says you need to buy a guitar?”

White’s Diddley Bow was displayed at the Museum of Design Atlanta as part of their 2019 exhibition Wire & Wood.

2010

The first single by The Black Belles, “What Can I Do?”

Directed By Jack White
Third Man Films 2010

Released May 2000

The lone single off of the Stripes sophomore “De Stijl” album, “Hello Operator” was selected as “single of the week” by legendary UK DJ John Peel even though the record wasn’t released in the UK. If that wasn’t enough, the B-side showcases the band’s cover of Dolly Parton’s “Jolene” a long-time live favorite only ever available on this single.

Design and layout by Jack White.

These are short films directed by Jack White for the purposes of being shown on the projection screen behind the band during live performances of the tour of the album “Boarding House Reach.”

Third Man Hardware has had many collaborations over the years with numerous music equipment and effects pedal companies.  The designs of this various equipment are usually a collaboration between the company, Jack White and Third Man’s hive of designers.  

Most effects pedals are released in two versions, one as a limited edition yellow color based version, and another as the standard black painted version which stays in stock for as long as possible.  

Jack oversees the designs and encourages them to be unique. The intent is to have something that isn’t offered in that company’s normal version of the effect.

2015 · Text by Third Man Records
From The Dead Weather Technique and Instrument Series

In this episode, bass deconstructionist, Jack Lawrence, reveals the secrets of how he achieves his distinct bottom end sound for The Dead Weather. Lawrence demonstrates some of his most head nodding bass lines and leaves no question that without the bass, there would be no Dead Weather. The video, directed by Jack White, concludes with an incendiary live performance of “Mile Markers” from the new album Dodge And Burn.

Utilized by The Dead Weather, Sea of Cowards, 2010
Jack White, Lazaretto, 2014

See also: Lazaretto Ultra LP

A design collaboration with Dean Blackwood and Susan Archie.

The original idea presented by Blackwood offered a beautiful, if somewhat impractical cylindrical housing. It was White’s suggestion to model the case on that of an old, portable phonograph owned by his bandmate, Jack Lawrence, with the idea that the quarter-sawn oak and brass adornments utilized on the box would be a call back to the preferred material and cut of wood used on popular furniture of the day (Paramount was, first and foremost, a furniture company. It only released records as a way to persuade the public to buy its record players). Additionally, the interior velvet upholstery was a call back to White’s previous career as an upholsterer.

This collection won the 2014 Grammy for Best Boxed or Limited Edition Package

Completed with either a pack of simple letter stickers OR the most basic turn-of-the-century version of Photoshop, Jack White’s flyer design is in total service of clearly conveying information. While a clever aside or poetic flourish may hide in the margin or minuscule type, the who, the what, the where and the when are all distinctly laid out with no distraction or confusion.

Forced perspective painting painted by Chris Clawson.
Image design by Jack White and Julian Baker.
Directed by Jack White.
Filmed and edited by Jo McCaughey.

Released January 25th, 2011.
Design and layout with Miles Johnson

1996

materials:  various tools, metal and debris found on an old workbench, black lacquer, clear lacquer finish poured on, chartreuse oil paint, lumber, plywood

Read more on “My Sonic Temple“

Born from the concept of a new Third Man Records branch opening in Detroit, Third Man Pressing was a long time dream of Jack White and the staff of TMR.

At the time of its construction there were no companies producing new vinyl record presses that were known. After many attempts at buying vintage presses, the company Newbuilt out of Germany stepped forward and supplied 8 custom manually operated presses for the plant.

This working sculpture was designed and constructed by Jack at his Detroit studio in 1997.  It uses a “Squirrel Cage” industrial fan used for heating and cooling along with an old electric motor. Jack cut ‘bullet holes’ into the squirrel cage apparatus to allow the air out,  mounted the piece to a rolling square of plywood and using the third man upholstery colors of yellow, white, and black. Jack constructed the sculpture as if it was part of a fantastical world war II type defense system.

Side mounted machine gun and canvas dust cover highlight this concept.  it is still used today as a fan at the Third Man Upholstery studio with the original motor.

A previously “lost” video from the B Side of The Belles first single for “Lies.”

Directed by Jack White and edited by Kevin Carrico.

Designed by Coppersound Pedals & Jack White

The Third Man Triplegraph is a digital, triple function octave pedal designed by Coppersound Pedals and Jack White. This exciting collaboration began in the summer of 2016 in Nashville, Tennessee.

After four years of rigorous engineering, prototyping, designing, and real-time road testing from Jack himself, the Triplegraph has come to life.

The collaborative result is an innovative, high powered digital octave pedal with three functional telegraph keys. These keys trigger a full octave down, killswitch, or ‘auxiliary loop’, and octave up, respectively.

Jack’s studio in the Pioneer building made him the neighbor of many artists and artisans who also rented studios in the building. There was a group organized “Tile Art Show” where different artists were all asked to make a “tile” of some kind. Jack designed three tiles for the show, one of which was this “Gym Floor Tile.”

The concept was a play on the myth of how gym floors are constructed (with giant metal springs underneath to absorb the shock of jumping athletes), and pretend that the gym floor was constructed in a more peculiar manner…using small tiles, each with their own spring and the corresponding playfield stripes already painted on them…to be assembled jigsaw puzzle style during construction. The tile went unsold at the art show and is currently owned by Ben Blackwell of Third Man Records.

These three Gibsons came out of a happenstance situation for Jack. The Gibson guitar company was sponsoring a Grammy Recording Academy Event and offered Jack a free Gibson guitar of his choice. Jack asked if he could have a Fort Knox model Les Paul which was a special run using all golden hardware on a gold top Les Paul with the special addition of an all maple neck and a cut off interruptor switch in the pick guard. Gibson was happy to oblige but as a surprise also brought a matching Flying V model guitar as an extra surprise.

Feeling unsteady to have only two of these golden guitars, Jack then paid for a third, a combo customization to Jack’s specifications of a Skunk Baxter model Firebird given the “Fort Knox” treatment completing the three golden Gibsons collection. These guitars have been used mostly in the band The Raconteurs as well as some small solo moments. The Les Paul Golden Gibson, with its heavy custom maple neck, is said to be in the running for Heaviest Les Paul to ever leave the factory.

Assembled by Jack White utilizing Letraset rub-on (and stick-on) letters overtop copies of photographic prints, depicted here is the original mock-up (constructed on the reverse of a Rocket 455 foldover picture sleeve), which has served as the starting point for all pressings of this single over the past two decades. At one point Coca-Cola was spilled on the sleeve leading to some loss of type and discoloring.

This guitar was originally a present given to Jack and started its life as a B Bender Nashville Telecaster.

Jack began designing and customizing the guitar for use in The Raconteurs. The work was commissioned to Chip Ellis and the amazing craftsmen at the Fender Custom Shop.

The current form of the guitar is painted in lowrider metallic orange, outfitted with a lot of additional contraptions, including a  cut off switch, a single-coil lay sensor pickup, three position pickup selector, a G bender, a drop D switch, caberneedas style pickguard and the B bender accessory.

While Jack White started working as an upholstery apprentice in 1991, he wouldn’t hang his own shingle until 1996. With a dedicated ground floor studio at the Pioneer Building (2679 E Grand Blvd, Detroit), White would support himself almost exclusively from the profession for years before closing up shop to focus more intently on music and touring.

While White may have stopped doing upholstery as a “job” he’s never stopped his actual practice of the trade. In the intervening 20+ years Jack has always kept an operational upholstery shop in his house or on his property. Third Man Upholstery is now located in Nashville, TN.

With its name taken from the 1949 Carol Reed film “The Third Man,” the immediate inspiration behind the moniker was the fact that Jack White was the third upholsterer from the 1200 block of Ferdinand Street in Southwest Detroit…the street where he grew up. Brian Muldoon and W.E. Klomp are the two other upholsterers along with several other metaphors and inspirations that have now led to several creative enterprises and companies sharing the “Third Man” moniker from the Third Man Pressing plant to Third Man Photo Studio and many others.

For further investigation into Third Man Upholstery and Jack White’s furniture related design, check @thirdmanupholstery on Instagram.

A professional bowling alley and bar/lounge designed by Jack White that took over a year and a half to complete. The alley contains two lanes of standard bowling and one lane of Candle Pin (a variation common in the Maritime states and provinces of North America). The Candle Pin lane was designed with black flooring instead of natural to set it apart.

One of the more interesting facets of the design is that the lanes are also constructed upside-down on the ceiling directly above the actual lanes.

The alley and bar contain numerous secret designs. For instance, when a particularly loud strike is achieved it triggers microphones on the lanes attached to noise gates which make the strike echo throughout the sound system of the space, interrupting whatever music is playing! There are various and unique coin operated contraptions abound.

The bar (nicknamed “One Step From the Gutter”) has an art deco train car design on the ceiling made of used gutters from an abandoned bowling alley. Three stripes of inlaid wood traverse the perimeter jumping through walls and turning into window tint and paint at times.

Released July 3, 2001.
Design and layout by Jack White

From Filter magazine, “Jack White Instant Manipulation”
Polaroids + Text Jack White

In my teenage years up through my late twenties I used to shoot photographs on one of those standard army-issue, grade A, 100-percent no-filler Pentax 35 mm cameras. Until the fateful day when I got my prints back from the photo shop (that’s what the ancients referred to as a physical location that would chemically develop what were called “photographs” and not the popular computer program of the same name you stole from your roommate’s workplace) and inside the envelope of my developed photos of a recent family trip was a note saying, “Hey Jack, I just wanted to let you know that I’m a big fan…” That was the last time I took photos in to be developed.

I decided to switch to Polaroid film from then on. It was instant, private and, I would later learn, could be manipulated in incredibly creative and gorgeous ways if you put your mind to it. I have a fondness for putting my mind to things like grindstones, so I started searching for and collecting all types of models of Polaroids—land cameras, “goose” models (the “600 SE”), passport cameras (I’ve got a lot of those), pinhole cameras, even an endoscopic Polaroid. I found exotic adaptors and lenses from Japan and from antique stores. Then, I started to experiment with “in-camera” multiple exposures; they’re done by using a sly trick that manipulates the camera into not ejecting the film, which most Polaroids are built to do in the post-land-camera years. At any rate, I’ve never gotten a digital camera, though it is pretty slick how portable they are and what nice pictures you can get from them. One drag about them, though, is that you hardly ever see anyone make actual prints from their digital cameras; they just end up being seen on computer screens and Facebook, it seems, or people have the photos on their phone until they break or lose the phone and then they usually have to start all over again. I like giving photos to people. You hardly ever hear of people making a photo album anymore, either. I used to love looking through photo albums as a child and trying to guess what the people in the pictures were saying when the photo was taken. Like silent home movies, old photos—especially black-and-white shots—seem to take on an air of romance for some reason. Probably because it’s nice for our brains to not have all the information, to have to use our imagination. I once won a Kodak disc camera in the ’80s as a prize in a fall festival contest. Those were a hoot for a hot minute, but such tiny negatives

Well, here are a few pictures I took recently and a couple I found in my hermetically-sealed titanium shoebox under the bed. Any wild effects you see were done inside the Polaroid camera and not added later in post. Only contrast was put on the scans as I wasn’t sure if they knew how dark to print the blacks in the photos for a print magazine. I’d like to put out a book of all of the multiple exposure Polaroids I’ve taken over the years some day; maybe this will help me start putting it together in my spare time…or, at the very least, to take digital images of all of these real photos and start up a Facebook page. I’ll decide later.

Text by Jack White · 2013

Years ago someone told me that 1,200 high school kids were given a survey. A question was posed to them: Have you ever been to a stand-alone record shop? The number of kids that answered “yes” was… zero.

Zero? How could that be possible? Then I got realistic and thought to myself, “Can you blame them?” How can record shops (or any shop for that matter) compete with Netflix, TiVo, video games that take months to complete, cable, texting, the Internet, etc. etc? Getting out of your chair at home to experience something in the real world has started to become a rare occurrence, and to a lot of people, an unnecessary one. Why go to a bookstore and get a real book? You can just download it. Why talk to other human beings, discuss different authors, writing styles and influences? Just click your mouse. Well here’s what they’ll someday learn if they have a soul; there’s no romance in a mouse click. There’s no beauty in sitting for hours playing video games (anyone proud of that stop reading now and post your opinion in the nearest forum). The screen of an iPhone is convenient, but it’s no comparison to a 70mm showing of a film in a gorgeous theater. The Internet is two-dimensional…helpful and entertaining, but no replacement for face-to-face interaction with a human being. But we all know all of that, right? Well, do we? Maybe we know all that, but so what?

Let’s wake each other up.

The world hasn’t stopped moving. Out there, people are still talking to each other face-to-face, exchanging ideas and turning each other on. Art houses are showing films, people are drinking coffee and telling tall tales, women and men are confusing each other and record stores are selling discs full of soul that you haven’t felt yet. So why do we choose to hide in our caves and settle for replication? We know better. We should at least. We need to re-educate ourselves about human interaction and the difference between downloading a track on a computer and talking to other people in person and getting turned onto music that you can hold in your hands and share with others. The size, shape, smell, texture and sound of a vinyl record; how do you explain to that teenager who doesn’t know that it’s a more beautiful musical experience than a mouse click? You get up off your ass, you grab them by the arm and you take them there. You put the record in their hands. You make them drop the needle on the platter. Then they’ll know.

Let’s wake each other up.

As Record Store Day Ambassador of 2013 I’m proud to help in any way I can to invigorate whoever will listen with the idea that there is beauty and romance in the act of visiting a record shop and getting turned on to something new that could change the way they look at the world, other people, art, and ultimately, themselves.

Let’s wake each other up.
recordstoreday.com

Another collaboration with Blackwood and Archie, this set won the 2015 Grammy for Best Boxed or Limited Edition Package.

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In its final 5 year push, Paramount embarked on a furious run for the ages, birthing the entire genre of Mississippi Delta blues and issuing some of the most coveted records in the history of wax – a staggering playlist including Skip James, Charley Patton, Son House, Tommy Johnson, Willie Brown, King Solomon Hill, Tampa Red, Lottie Kimbrough, Rube Lacy, Meade Lux Lewis, Buddy Boy Hawkins, Jaydee Short, George “Bullet” Williams, Cow Cow Davenport, Clifford Gibson, Ishman Bracey, Louise Johnson, Geeshie Wiley & Elvie Thomas, The Mississippi Sheiks, and hundreds of other artists.

An idea sprung from a pile of prototypes from United Record Pressing, White proposed that every Third Man 7-inch release have a limited-edition component presented in the label’s signature three colors…yellow, black, and white. While not a “new” invention per se, the resultant collectible frenzy unleashed with every latest release has made the tri-color synonymous with both Third Man and obsessive vinyl collectors.

Conceptualized and designed by Jack White to have everything that Third Man’s Nashville location had to offer, but on wheels, the Third Man Rolling Record Store was constructed by an automobile custom shop out of Cincinnati from the carcass of an auctioned DHL delivery truck. Vintage classic car parts were used as well as custom made original components.

The truck has all the records available at the TMR shops, but is also equipped to broadcast music from a D.J. setup and broadcast sound through the truck’s P.A. system for live band performances.

Custom wheeled carts can be taken off the truck on ramps and reloaded with merchandise. The truck features a tin ceiling, replica George Nelson Marshmallow Sofa, custom air ride suspension system and many more design elements to facilitate its many visits across the country to record shop collabs, music festivals and Third Man events.

Released October 1998.

“Lafayette Blues” is the second 7″ single from The White Stripes.

Design and layout with Ballistic.

Lazaretto is the second studio album by Jack White. It was released on June 10, 2014, through White’s own label Third Man Records in association with XL Recordings and Columbia Records. The limited-edition “Ultra” LP features hidden songs, secret grooves and holograms that materialize when the record is being played.

Design and layout with Nathanio Strimpopulos.

Jack found this unusual chair that contained no fabric, no padding, joints that were weak and unglued, remnants of jute webbing barely hanging in place and wood finish that was long ago wasted away. What was also unique about this chair is that it came from a masonic temple. The piece is three chairs joined together as a sort of throne for ceremonies. Jack took on this task and decided to make a tribute to the three large doors at Third Man Records in Nashville which are yellow, red, and blue. He searched through oceans of fabric to find a pattern that was offered in all of those major colors as well as black. The Knoll Furniture and Design company had just what he needed. It was a thin fabric, so it wouldn’t be so forgiving to work with. Jack’s idea was to ignore the way the piece was originally upholstered (which was surface mounted with finish nails and scroll gimp, probably) and update the design to a more modern approach: no surface mounting, no welt cord, no finish nails. This would require him to build his own oak frames to upholster and then scarily mount them from behind with screws without ripping the fabric.

Any upholsterer will tell you that it is always easier to follow the format that was on the chair at the start of the project—whether by the original designer or by the last person to upholster the piece—figuring that they had encountered problems and already dealt with them previously in their choice of technique. But Jack was dealing with different concurrent concepts: make a tribute to the doors and colors of the original Third Man building in Nashville, make a piece that people could see and sit on in the new Detroit Third Man location, and lastly, refinish the wood with a technique that he had once heard about—melt down antique 78 rpm records and use them to refinish the wood in black.

He tried two experiments with the antique records. One was to have a bucket of denatured alcohol and the other was to use a bucket with lacquer thinner. He took two old broken 78 records from his collection and placed one in each bucket. The record in the alcohol turned into sort of a stretchy, rubber version of the original stiff record, but the one in the lacquer thinner simply turned to black liquid. That outcome was perfect. Jack tested it out on the inside back legs of the chair and it worked great, but applied too thin and it was chocolate brown looking. Surprisingly, applying the record liquid too thick had it look just like black paint, so he tried to stay somewhere in the middle and leave the grain of the wood to show through as well as leave some occasional brown tones.

Jack re-glued all of the joints of the chair and clamped them overnight. He sanded as much of the old finish off as he could and then began the task of applying the old records in liquid form to the piece with occasional help from local street urchins when needed. He was tempted to just leave the black finish on its own, but was afraid it would eventually wear out over the years. So the best thing he thought he could do to protect the black was to cover it with coats of shellac. Shellac comes from the remnants of beetles in India and was used in the making of old 78 records at that time period. Anywhere up to 40% of an old record would be shellac, so it seemed extremely appropriate to use. He did six coats of shellac, lightly sanding between coats, it took about six old 78rpm records to make enough finish for the entire piece using record titles like “Waiting on the Robert E. Lee” by Al Jolson, “Ill Wind” by Lena Horne, and “Blue Orchid Fox Trot” by Sammy Kaye. Jack also applied three of the record labels that survived underneath the chair for posterity.

Using red oak, traditional dowel joints and wood glus, Jack built six frames to be upholstered for the chair…all very strong and matching the original wood of the chair. He painted each one in the colors of the fabric that was to come later. An unnecessary step for sure, but these are the moments he cherishes; the times when he gets to be creative in ways that probably no one will ever see, except the next person to upholster the chair. Another novel idea that he thought to try was to use memory foam instead of traditional upholstery foam for padding. The memory foam tries to slowly retake its original shape, so it’s very interesting to use as seat padding. It’s very soft and comfortable, but not ideal for all projects, especially because it’s very expensive. But Jack thought it would help with the frequent use that the chair would see being located at the Third Man Detroit location.

Jack is very proud of how this piece came together, especially as it was his tribute to the idea of the structure of Third Man Records itself, a machine that was built over the foundations of his original Third Man Upholstery business in Detroit. He felt it appropriate to have a full circle piece that incorporated all of that story. Jack hopes that everyone enjoys the components and techniques used in this chair project as it was a very cathartic project for him.

2015 · Text by Third Man Records
From The Dead Weather Technique and Instrument Series

In this episode, guitarist Dean Fertita divulges the source of his pummeling dive bomber crunch on new song “Let Me Through,” and takes a phone call from an irate neighbor. The video, directed by Jack White, concludes with a propulsive live performance of the track from the new album Dodge And Burn.

2015 · Text by Third Man Records

It’s a tale as old as time: a special child with a remarkable vision has his dream repeatedly squashed and stepped on only to become victorious in the end. David James Swanson (acclaimed photographer, director, singer of Whirlwind Heat, cheeseburger lover and clothing designer) was one such child and is now one such victor. His vision? Pocket T-Shirts. His detractors? His mother, his peers, his tour mates, his band, cheeseburger flippers, and a man named Jack White III.

David has been wearing Pocket T’s for as long as he can remember… ever since he invented them as a very young boy. Why? Because they are practical! They are chic! And, goddamnit, he likes them! Oh! The items you can put in that trusty breast pocket! Memory cards, boarding passes, guitar picks, phone numbers handed over from women of great taste, and, of course, the occasional tiki concoction when the location is Pacific and the mood is right.

One such occasion presented itself recently… David was in the Aloha State with Jack White’s gang, and after many, many weeks of traveling, found his suitcase to be void of clean pocket t’s. Where would he collect shells and sea glass? Where would he put his macadamia nuts for easy snacking? Where would he rest his Mai Tai?! Why, out of the hundreds and hundreds of t-shirts the crew lugged around on tour, was there not a pocket to be found among them? It was time to preach the gospel of the convenient, cotton pouch to the masses. It was time to bring the idea of the Pocket T to Third Man Records.

Jack and his team initially balked… Never would a record label of such esteem with such a taste for whimsy stoop to printing such a utilitarian item! Once David showed them proper placement and insisted on his vision, and after much, much deliberation and hundreds of hours of conversation and strategy, Third Man Records came around, and dare we say, it’s the best decision we have ever made.

To celebrate seeing the light, we are releasing not one, not two, but THREE colors of the David James Swanson Third Man Record Pocket T: White, Grey, and Black. We are also releasing a limited edition Pocket T in black with metallic GOLD ink and David James Swanson’s signature gold chain printed on the INSIDE of the shirt (no self-respecting international man of mystery wears his gold on the exterior of his pocket t). The limited edition Pocket T comes with a very special flexi disc (!!!) featuring a brand new Third Man sanctioned, one-time-only Whirlwind Heat cover band… HAWAIIAN HEAT!

Produced by the surf rock songstress Olivia Jean and recorded by the least Hawaiian guy we know Joshua Smith, this limited-edition flexi disc features 2 Hawaiian versions of Whirlwind Heat classics (“Pink” and “Orange” from the 2003 release (and 2013 re-release) Do Rabbits Wonder?). These hula-rific hits are performed by Fats Kaplin on lap steel, Dominic Davis on bass, and Rachael Davis on Ukelele and vocals, and Olivia Jean on acoustic guitar, and never has a piece of clothing inspired such a transcendent tribute. The flexi disc (TMR323 for you completists out there) is ONLY AVAILABLE to those who are ready to embrace the limited edition Pocket T and spread the gospel of its many virtues. All versions of the Pocket T-shirt are available at Third Man Records in Nashville, TN. The three regular edition Pocket T-Shirts are also available online.

Take a moment to view the short film above, directed by former naysayer and current “I-guess-it’s-okayer” Jack White III, which brings to life the struggles of the aforementioned boy with a dream…

2015 · Text by Third Man Records

The Dead Weather have released another powerful live performance video, this time of the primordial stomp of “Be Still” from the new record, Dodge and Burn, out worldwide tomorrow, September 25th, on Third Man Records.

Directed by Jack White
Edited by Brad Holland and Jack White

This sculpture existed as a totally different form with three constructed vehicles screwed to a garbage found wooden plant mold form.  A customer at Jacks’ upholstery shop refused to pay a bill at a crucial time for White, so he hung up the phone and took an axe and a worm gear saw to the original piece and formed a new sculpture.

materials:  wooden plant mold form, wood glue, drywall screws, matte orange safety paint, black gloss oil based lacquer, 2×4 lumber

A tree was rotting away and dying and was suggested to be taken down. Jack used this as inspiration for “The Red Tree” sculpture as opposed to a living sculpture.

Over the years the tree has rotted from within as well and slowly falls apart and transforms its shape.  

It is currently home to both woodpeckers and bluebirds.

Built in 2008 and designed from a gutted painters studio, Third Man Recording studio has been home to almost all of Jack White’s recordings since its construction.

Jack incorporated countless experimental sound deadening and reflecting ideas in his design. No two surfaces are alike really. You will find staggered subway tile on one surface, Spanish roof tile on the next, then custom scatterboard in front of sound absorbing fabric.

Jack was the cutter and button maker for master upholsterer Brian Muldoon’s work on the button tufted angled back wall of the control room and a special padded random upholstered panel behind the drums. Numerous strange features make the studio sound quite unique; including a room completely covered in tin, glass windows (which are seldom found in studios) and small spacing to encourage “bleed” and teamwork. Sound innovations ranging from rare two-inch Studer 8-track recorders, to secret techniques in design that wont be publicized make this a truly unique space.

This is the first time photos of the interior of the studio have been published.

Done for a client in Italy, the Aluminum Chair Set is a series of four chairs that were hand stained and refinished by Jack White during the pandemic lockdown of 2020. Each chair is matching yet unique. The client gave Mr. White carte blanche to do with the chairs however he pleased. Jack sanded all of the wooden components down to the bare wood and thoroughly cleaned the aluminum components. Some of the seats had split and needed to be re-glued at the seams. Aniline dye was used for the two colors needed, black and red. The third color of the wood is natural. High gloss lacquer was applied over the dye in multiple coats by brushing and spraying. Jack applied a different design component to each chair such as what elements were dyed red or black etc. Photos include what the chairs looked like after pressure washing but before sanding and of course their original drab gray status before the project began.

“Claudette” is the brunette of the “Three Women” guitars designed by Jack White. Claudette began as an off-the-rack Gretsch Rancher and was the first of the set completed. Jack wanted an accomplished tattoo artist who would be up for the unique task of implementing deep shading tattoo style to wood burning on the body of the guitar. Raconteurs drummer Patrick Keeler recommended renowned tattoo artist Kore Flatmo who happily accepted the challenge. The concept was not only to burn the image of actress Claudette Colbert into the back of the guitar, but also to utilize additional cowboy imagery on the sides and top of the axe. The original Gretsch Rancher of the 1950’s came with steer and cactus-styled fret inlays. The modern version still retains those design flourishes and the wood burning reflects this cowboy style with Jack giving Flatmo free reign to draw and burn any Western motifs he could dream up.

The result is the brunette “Claudette” which has been used mostly in the band The Raconteurs as well as solo outings such as Jack’s appearance in the Rolling Stones film “Shine a LIght” directed by Martin Scorsese.

June 24, 1888 – June 25, 1964

Gerrit Thomas Rietveld  was a Dutch furniture designer and architect. One of the principal members of the Dutch artistic movement called De Stijl, Rietveld is famous for his Red and Blue Chair and for the Rietveld Schröder House.

Released April 1, 2003.
Design and layout with Bruce Brand & The Third Man.

Musical artists traveling through Nashville are invited to stop by to record a song or two with Jack White as producer at Third Man Studio. These 7″ recordings become what is known as the Blue Series, named for their cover photos captured in the Third Man Records Nashville Blue Room.

Design and layout with Nathanio Strimpopulos, Miles Johnson and various others.

2013

Directed by: Jack White
Director of Photography: Jo McCaughey
Edited by: Jo McCaughey, Jack White, Julian Baker

“Record For You” Written by Brendan Benson
(Chrysalis Music/Gladsad Music, ASCAP)

Released March 23rd, 2018
Design and layout with Caitlin Parker, Nathanio Strimpopulos and Tristan McNatt.

“A recent study shows that 97% of all high school aged kids have never been to a stand alone record store.

Perhaps they couldn’t find one?”

Promotional Clip Directed by Jack White

1908–1986

George Nelson was an American industrial designer of American Modernism. While Director of Design for the Herman Miller furniture company, Nelson and his design studio, George Nelson Associates, Inc., designed 20th century modernist furniture.

The Triple Green Machine was designed by Jack as a series of ultra modifications to a standard Gretsch Anniversary Jr. guitar, all implemented by master luthier Randy Parsons.

The most important design idea was to have a green bullet microphone that could be pulled out of the guitar and sung through, but utilizing a cord that would retract once released. Parsons researched and ultimately utilized a small vacuum cleaner cord retractor to put this idea into action.  

The guitar contains numerous additional features; a light-based theremin with control knob, a micro amp, wooden arm rest, mechanical dampening foam pad with rising and lowering switch,  master volume knob, master tone knob and master on/off switch.

Jack’s receipt of the completed Triple Green Machine (and his resultant reaction to it) is featured in the film documentary It Might Get Loud.

2015

A tree was rotting away and dying and was suggested to be taken down.  Jack used this as inspiration for a “dead” sculpture as opposed to a living sculpture.

Contract painter Christopher Clawson was hired to used a cherry picker to paint the entirety of the remaining tree and it’s limbs and branches with oil based fire engineered exterior paint.  

Conceptualized by White and executed by the vinyl wizards at United Record Pressing in Nashville, the 12-inch single of “Sixteen Saltines” is the first-ever commercially released liquid-filled vinyl record. Additionally, the b-side features a playable etching of the Third Man logo, utilizing a process masterminded by George Ingram at Nashville Record Productions.

Liquid-filled records have since become a cottage industry for the likes of underground labels like Waxwork Records and Romanus Records, taking the idea pioneered by Third Man and running with it to create a whole new subgenre of wild experimentation and limited edition furor.

The first wall hanging sculpture Jack ever constructed from 1995.  

It was done as an exercise to play with Jack’s uncomfortableness with triangles.

materials:  plywood, 2×4 lumber, oil based spray paints, colored hot melt glue, lacquer gloss

Finished: September 1995

2014 · Text from Third Man Records

Over the past 5 years, Third Man Records has brought to life many ideas that are new to the century-old vinyl format. So, when it came time for the creative hive to discuss the vision for the pressing of Jack White’s Lazaretto, we were keenly aware of what it would take to produce a piece of wax worthy of the music it would contain… No single innovation would suffice. We needed to go big. We needed to go bold. We needed to press an ULTRA LP.

• 180 gram vinyl
• 2 vinyl-only hidden tracks hidden beneath the center labels
• 1 hidden track plays at 78 RPM, one plays at 45 RPM, making this a 3-speed record
• Side A plays from the outside in
• Dual-groove technology: plays an electric or acoustic intro for “Just One Drink” depending on where needle is dropped. The grooves meet for the body of the song.
• Matte finish on Side B, giving the appearance of an un-played 78 RPM record
• Both sides end with locked grooves
• Vinyl pressed in seldom-used flat-edged format
• Dead wax area on Side A contains a hand-etched hologram by Tristan Duke of Infinity Light Science, the first of its kind on a vinyl record
• Zero compression used during mastering of this LP
• Different running order from the CD/digital version
• LP utilizes some mixes different from those used on CD and digital version

From Filter magazine, “Jack White Instant Manipulation”
Polaroids + Text Jack White

Jack designed this guitar as an extension of the famous Gretsch ‘Duo-Jet’ guitar. The double cutaway version is called a ‘Double-Jet’, Jack took this a step further and designed a ‘fake’ Gretsch, hand built by Randy Parsons, that had three Gretsch humbucking pickups, an on/off switch for each on the horn, and an MXR micro-amp preamp installed inside the middle pickup with a gain knob on the lower bout.  That way the guitar could instantly be a bit louder and fuller for a guitar solo at the flick of a switch.  

The headstock uses an old Gretch logo from 1910 that hadn’t been in use in a long time, the latest modification to this guitar is that all of the metal has been transferred to copper instead of just the body and headstock.