TOM House Tours: Front Porch with Durk

8th October 2020, 3:10 pm

TOM House at around the time when Durk Dehner purchased the house with a lover and friends.

“I discovered erotic art through Tom of Finland, and what a beautiful thing it is.” – Durk Dehner, President of Tom of Finland Foundation

Today in the World of TOM: our first TOM House Tour with Durk on the Front Porch!

If you’ve ever had the pleasure of visiting TOM House, then you know that Durk’s House Tours are an iconic part of the experience. He guides visitors from room to room, sharing the many stories that each room holds.

In this first of our house tours for the World of TOM, Durk details how he purchased 1421 Laveta Terrace with lovers and friends, Durk’s first encounter with Tom’s art, and Tom’s first trip to the Echo Park house that would later be his home.

First TOM artwork that Durk found in a bar in NYC.

In 1978, Tom of Finland made his first trip to Los Angeles, where he would end up establishing Tom of Finland Company with Durk, in order to fight rampant copyright infringement. That company would expand into the nonprofit Tom of Finland Foundation (ToFF), which to this day retains headquarters in an Echo Park Craftsman house.

Tom of Finland lived at TOM house during the last decade of his life. This era marked a particularly productive period in his career with his contributions to erotic art and Gay culture.

TOM House in LA is recognized not only for its historic architecture, but also as a cultural resource of the City of Los Angeles. Even in the midst of a global pandemic and with shelter in place, TOM House continues to be an important community hub, archive, and home to Durk and Sharp, along with some staff.

For October, we are making the House Tour teaser video FREE for any visitors to the World of TOM, along with select images from TOM House. Full House Tour is available at the Hook-Up Date and TOM’s Daddy tiers.

: HOMORIOT Mural: First Tom image that Durk found in a bar in NYC. After speaking with his friend Etienne, Durk got TOM’s mail correspondence and started writing, developing a relationship through mail.

: 2. Tom and friends in the driveway.

: 3. Dinner in TOM’s Hall.

: 4. Drawing workshop in the Drawing Room.

: 6. Photo by Henning von Berg of Tom’s Room.

: 7. Photo by Henning von Berg of the Drawing Room.

: Durk in front of TOM House with Portrait of Tom by Robert Mapplethorpe.

: 9. Floor plan of the first two floors of TOM House.

We are excited to share this experience with you all in the World of TOM on Patreon.

WATCH HERE

Tom of Finland lived here

Durk Dehner, cofounder of Tom of Finland Foundation, was a close friend, beloved, co-worker, manager and sparring member of Tom (born Touko Laaksonen). He has made his life’s work to maintain and protect the art of Tom of Finland. In this upstairs bedroom, Tom slept and drew. Tom’s life in Los Angeles in the… View Article

TOM House Tours: A Teaser for Tom’s Hall with Durk

Each room in TOM House is special, and designated with its own name plaque: first stop, Tom’s Hall. This video is a teaser for the next video in the House Tour series with Durk Dehner, president of Tom of Finland Foundation. In this tour, Durk shows just some of the hundreds of binders of erotic… View Article

Published: 8th October 2020

Tags: Patreon, TOM House tours

Categorised in: Durk on Tom, History, ONLINE, Patreon