Tag: retro

New Found Original

I was recently in touch with the guys behind new online shop New Found Original and love what they do. The online shop, set up by Jo Murray and Dominic Bell, sells a carefully selected and ever-changing collection of graphic products – tempting to both graphics junkies and normal people alike.

The two graphic designers founded the project with the idea of selling new, found and original items chosen for their graphic aesthetic. The shop always displays a concise range of products chosen by Jo and Dominic’s beady eyes for the quality of their design, whether it’s a beautiful vintage item with bold, colourful typography, or an exciting collaboration with an up and coming designer or artist.

They told me what their favourite products are and why:

Jo:
I love the hand screen printed Ping Pong tote bags (above). I love the play on words, with Ping on one side, Pong on the other! It imitates the game! And they come in perfect red and blue ping pong colours…
I’m also really pleased with the Ryvita paper bags I found (below). I love the 2 colour print, the type and illustration. They have a shopping list on the back which I would definitely use and nice type detail on the sides.
Dom:
It has to be the letterpress coasters (below) – I like the use of colour, the tactility of the letterpress print and the character of the birds.

I agree with Dom.

Check it all out at newfoundoriginal.com.

 

No Comments by on May 27, 2011
filed in design scrapbook, retail therapy
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Folksy love-in: Hopper and Space


Chairs, £595

Until this morning I always browsed on Folksy for sweet, crafty, handmade things like finger puppets, placemats or soap – never  believing it to be the place for big, proper, impressive furniture. (Incidentally I did just order this, which looks lovely. I have high hopes).

But today I was proven wrong as a sleek trio of contemporary upcycled pieces by sellers Hopper and Space caught my eye and I thought it was definitely worth posting on – even if they’re not everyone’s style, they are proof that the UK’s online handmade community can thrive on a big scale as well as small, and testament to how far Folksy has come since it offered cutesy pin cushions and greetings cards.

Sofa, £1,295

Joe and Ben of Hopper & Space take vintage furniture, cover it with a neutral cream or fawn brushed linen and a contemporary flash of colour – usually neon – and the designs work really well on the angular, retro lines which can often seem too tough. Shunning sweatshops, unethical factories and mass production, they reupholster whatever comes their way, usually spanning the 40s to the 80s. Two of the three pieces they’re currently selling are reupholstered 1953 chairs and a sofa by British company E Gomme, who introduced their ‘G Range’ in the fifties to provide affordable and individual pieces to design-aware homemakers.


Chairs, £695

Their thoughtfully designed 2011 incarnations do exactly the same thing and should be snapped up immediately by anyone in need of a chair. Sadly, I am not.

 

1 Comment by on May 10, 2011
filed in design scrapbook, retail therapy
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New season at Graham & Green

I just got through some images of the new season collection at Graham & Green, available next month, and think it has some lovely pieces. I am especially excited to see the back of bone-enamelled chests and the small beginnings of Baz Luhrmann retro kitsch.

The animal nightlights melt my heart.

1 Comment by on April 13, 2011
filed in design scrapbook, peep show: funky interiors
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People we’re loving: Not Another Bill

The people behind Not Another Bill have come up with an ingenious service: susbscribe to them for however long you like (one, three or six months) and they will send you – or a lucky friend (pick me, pick me, pick me) – a surprise present in the post once a month. You have no idea or control over what the treat will be, and nor do the anonymous team, who say they often don’t have a clue themselves until they spot it at an antiques market or tucked away in a little hidden store, or design it themselves with one of their cool jeweller / sculptor / artsy friends.

Because nothing is displayed online, it really is a proper, old-fashioned red-letter-day surprise. And you know it will be fun, quirky and exciting because their website is just that.

1 Comment by on March 3, 2011
filed in retail therapy
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Peep show: Fiona Apple goes retro

Holed up in bed with a broken leg, Zoe has found great joy in passing the days watching retro music videos on youtube.

As a special Peep Show post, and for want of anything better to do, she has selected the perfect products to recreate Fiona Apple’s dark, suggestive apartment from her video for the single Criminal.



A 70s throw back style apartment is the backdrop to Apple’s laid-back early nineties music video, with its unapologetic dark wood finishings creating a distinctly masculine edge. The iconic Cassina Le Corbusier LC2 Armchair, first designed in 1928 and originally produced in 1965, stands out amongst the heavy weight pieces of furniture – and is as stylish now as it was in the late sixties:

The few props featured in the video work together perfectly and there are some really original pieces – including the bed sheets, which I particularly like. Orla Kiely has designed a range of bedlinen with a similar colour scheme (prices start at £80 for a single duvet cover), although the design is a little more feminine:

I also like Tom Dixon’ s Fat Spot (£290) as an alternative to the table spot light:

Finally, the green shag carpet and the mosaic bath, fit for two, complete the perfect setting for Apple’s salacious hit.

2 Comments by on February 4, 2011
filed in peep show: funky interiors
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People we’re loving: Rose & Grey

rose and grey

rose and grey

Among other lovely things, Rose & Grey excel at funky retro accessories and I think it’s worth shouting about. Lyndsey and Guy, the faces behind the brand, hand pick each item for sale on their website, which came about for no other reason than that they were worn out by overpriced, run of the mill high street products.  So they jumped straight to the source. And they have achieved their goal – everything is nicely priced and just that little bit different.

And as all good businesses should, they also strive to be as environmentally friendly as possible so your little parcels of joy arrive in fully biodegradable packaging. Most excitingly, they are hell bent on hooking you up with your nearest furniture recycling team, so you can help those a little less sorted than you feather their nests as well.

No Comments by on July 13, 2010
filed in design scrapbook, retail therapy
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People we’re loving: Lee Broom

lee broom chair

Birmingham-born designer Lee Broom proved a talented creative from a young age – starting off as a member of the Royal Shakespeare Company at the age of just 16. By 17, he had won a design contest run by the Clothes Show, off the back of which he spent 6 months interning with Vivienne Westwood in Paris. But during a fashion degree at Central St Martins he dabbled in venue styling and today his unique electric furnishings have become design icons.

And they make my heart sing, with that same modern irreverence that keeps me coming back to anything by Jimmie Martin.

Making ultra-contemporary silhouettes out of dusty vintage artefacts, Broom’s pieces nestle somewhere between seedy neon garishness and decadent nostalgia.  “Making an impact is second nature to me”, he professes, describing his work as a “desire to be more creative with furniture than is normally possible in the bar industry… ”  And it seems he is doing a pretty good job. Roman Abramovich was so blown away by his designs for Clapham’s lost Club and Chelsea’s Valmont Club (pictured below), he commissioned him to do up his box at Chelsea.

If you like what you see, check out his website here.

1 Comment by on June 9, 2010
filed in design scrapbook
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