Custom Upholstery Pins and Buttons

Long before online colleges and distance learning were a thing, correspondence courses were the way people could get a degree or certification without having to ever set foot on a college campus. One such institution was Auto Upholstery Institute of Orange, California. In an attempt to ride the car and van customizing wave of the early '70s, A.U.I. set up several correspondence courses to teach auto upholstery and customization. Advertisements in automotive magazines and comic books advised readers to send in the included form for a free course catalog. Once registered, schools sent training materials, lesson worksheets, and the tools and supplies for the selected course. A.U.I. was even accredited by the California Department of Education.

Busy Wahine Custom Auto Upholstery

During the custom van craze of the ’70s, there were plenty of local shops as well as larger builders that for some reason were almost all based in Elkhart, Indiana. Van Vinyl wasn't a full custom builder or conversion shop, but rather a manufacturer of custom interior components, many of which were used by the larger conversion shops, but also sold directly to consumers. So whether you want royal blue captains chairs and a matching sofa that folded out into a bad or just want new door panels and a customer matched dashboard cover, Van Vinyl was the go-to place!