Why Vintporium Is Appointment-Only in San José

People sometimes expect a place like this to be a big showroom you can wander into on a Saturday. It isn't. Vintporium is appointment-only salvage: one person, a workshop in San José, and a lot of carefully kept inventory. I want to explain that, because how a shop is set up tells you something about what it is.

Small on purpose

Appointment-only isn't me being precious. It's that most of what I do is at the bench, restoring, rewiring, finishing, packing, and a fixture I'm halfway through isn't served by me dropping it to unlock a door. When someone local wants to see a piece in person, I'm glad to arrange it. I just want to be available when you come, not half-there between tasks.

Local, and still here

San José is where I've been since 2008, and staying put has turned out to matter more than I expected. When you read the reviews, on eBay, on Etsy, going back years, you're reading a decade and a half of the same person answering the same way. And still here is the part I'm proudest of. Plenty of small salvage operations came and went; the big-box world was supposed to make this kind of shop impossible. It didn't, because what I sell isn't something a warehouse can stock. It's specific, restored, one at a time, and backed by someone whose name is on it. That someone is me. Joseph Golda. Same shop, same city, same bench.

Find Your Part

Search the catalog by part, fitter size, or fixture type — try “2 1/4 shade”, “mogul socket”, or “sash lock”.

The Heritage Standard

Restored by hand, one at a time. Old wire out. New wire rated for present use, sound sockets, and grounding where the fixture allows. The body, glass, finish, and the marks it earned stay. Every fixture is tested on the bench before it leaves the shop.

Can't Find the Part?

Looking for a matching sconce, a replacement shade, or an odd-sized fitter? Send us a photo and measurements. A large portion of our inventory is uncataloged. Many of the doors, windows, fireplace surrounds, bath fixtures, and architectural pieces in the yard never make it to the website. If you don't see it online, that doesn't mean we don't have it.

About the Salvager

Joe Golda has run Vintporium from his workshop in San José since 2008. He sources the pieces, pulls the old wiring, rewires them, finishes them by hand, and packs them himself. One person, one bench, one standard. Every fixture is tested — each socket, each switch — before it ships. What's original is called original. What's new is called new. We call this commitment to candor and craft our Heritage Standard.