Bill Saveira, or ‘Jingletown Bill’ used to be a car salesman with a ‘maniacal obsession for old cars’. Today he is the founder of Automania, the film industry’s go-to treasure chest for just about anything, from a fleet of 1960s police cars to a life-sized Indian cigar store sculpture– yes, his collection is that random and it’s my kinda playground!
Photography by Troy Paiva
Since the early 1990s, Bill has been a leading figure in Oakland’s Jingletown arts scene. You can pretty much always find him making something out of the ordinary at Automania studios, whether its building a film set or welding discarded auto parts and scrap metal into an elaborate sculpture.
His vast and eclectic collection, captured here by nocturnal photographer Troy Paiva, has been supplying cars, props, sets and backdrops to the film industry and community for over thirty years. The prop department includes a 1917 dentist chair, funeral caskets and 1950s patio furniture, while the indoor and outdoor sets offer a campground complete with tiki bar as well as a vintage filling station facade.
Even if you don’t have a blockbuster movie to make, Automania’s warehouse treasures can be hired for photo shoots, weddings and various creative projects. And Jingletown Bill is always in the market for expanding his collection, so if you think you might have a piece of nostalgia you’d like to sell and want to go to a good home, Jingletown Bill and his warehouse of pop culture relics is probably a good bet. “If it’s old and it’s cool we will probably want it, especially if it’s automobile related.”
More images of Automania by Troy Paiva.
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