The first time I had diner coffee was at the local Perkins in 2002. I was with my friends, Moe and Luke, all high school juniors, we’d ridden our bikes to Blockbuster to rent tapes before they closed and opted for late breakfast and coffee. I don’t remember the meal, but I do remember doing Coffee-Mate creamer shots until we were asked to stop.
Was Perkins haunted? I believe so. I don’t believe I’ve ever been in a diner that isn’t haunted. There was the crowded feeling in the Dupar’s bathroom, though I was the only person upstairs, phantom floating napkin at Cafe 101, and tragic vibe at the Tennessee truck stop.
And then, there’s the diners haunted by the living.
House of Pies on Vermont and Franklin comes to mind. Your last stop on your Silverlake barhopping adventure if you’re not up for the wait at Fred 62’s and just want something cheap and greasy, maybe a slice of to-go pie you may forget in the Uber. I spent many solo evenings sitting in this fluorescent lit dwelling with subpar food and black coffee because the music is lower and the vibe trashier like a bland canvas with great pie.
When I set out to start this bag, I knew a ghost was first, then coffee. Initially, I imagined the diner from After Hours where Griffin Dunne takes refuge from the mob (led by Teri Garr) chasing him. As I carried on, deciding I wanted red stools, suddenly NoHo Diner was in my head. The last diner of my LA life; the diner I had three “going away” meals at; the diner where I never had a life changing moment at. Sometimes diners are like bananas - they are just diners.
Every diner I’d spent time in - cried, laughed, watched in movies - went into this bag as I pieced together scraps of denim for the scene. There was no planning, each piece sort of fit together enough to be serged, cut to size, and embroidered another piece of the scene. The wall clock reads 11:45, but what is time in a 24 hours diner? Time exists purely for the staff. To the customers sitting at the front counter sipping coffee, time ceased to exist as soon as they stepped in the front door.
Has it been an hour or four? When you ask this question, you know this was an important trip to the diner. Those nights you show up at 10 and you and your diner comrade leave somewhere around 230 when the bars are letting out and you realize you’ve been discussing life, the conflicts, the craziness, the pretenses falling all around (okay, I’ve just had “All I Really Want” stuck in my head for weeks) and the first rowdy group busting through the door is your cue to pay up, leave a tip, drink the last of your coffee and sip your water before heading out into the night.
The strap is a purple made from slate gray, black, and purple Rit dye and the hardware is gunmetal aluminum (Ohio Travel Bag), both chosen to represent how the night sky feels after spending hours in a diner. At least that’s how it feels to me. The night sky has never looked purple, but the vibe is there. Next time you’re in a diner late at night, when you leave, take a moment to feel the vibe of the night sky.
This bag isn’t for sale, but I’m always open to ideas / commissions / custom orders. Email me at endlessmeghan@gmail.com or DM my Instagram - @endlessmeghan
Machines used:
Janome MyLock 2040
Singer 22u33
Consew 277rb-1
