29 March 2012

DOPE

How much fun was last night's Simpsons (ep #501 !!?!?) ... not that we would ever condone illegal street-art, but we definitely enjoyed El Barto's handiwork ...



Art imitating life imitating art imitating life ....



oh, Bruno ...

After a year or so of enjoying the company of our Bruno Mathsson Pernilla chair (as anticipated on the blog a while back), we thought it was high time she had some company.  About a year ago we got a rare example of the Pernilla 3-seater sofa ... and it has only taken us 12 months to source the screws needed to assemble it.


Is it the craziest sofa you've ever seen?  Seats 3 in amazing comfort (but not so great to lie down across - think Bruno designed a day-bed for that purpose).  Just steamed birch and cotton canvas, good old Swedish sparrtan post-war design and manufacture.  Anyway - we love it, and won't be leaving it outside.

Just need to find some suitable fabric to make some new headrests now ... keep you posted.

16 March 2012

such sweet sorrow, again.

As usual we face the toughest aspect of dealing in vintage furniture - parting with things we love.  Our policy has always been to only stock things we want to keep, but it does make it tough.





This time it's a pair of sofas and matching tiered coffee table by Peter Hvidt and Orla Mølgaard Nielsen.  We have had this set stashed away for almost a year now, just totally unable to share it with the world.  The big danger, of course, has always been that somebody would want to buy them - then we wouldn't have them any more - what a bind!




Worst of all, the upholstery is the perfect colour for our place.  Seems like the more we spend on acquiring a piece, the less inclined we are to let it go ... perhaps we were born to be collectors rather than dealers ... if only we had unlimited funds and a similarly sized place.

We had another Hvidt sofa in-store about 2 years ago - we were happy to learn that it's buyer has since started collecting his designs to keep it company!


Anyway - fantastic and beautiful 'Minerva' lounge suite circa 1957 is listed on our website, and available for purchase - unless we change our minds!

12 March 2012

POV

While we're surfing ...

It might be mostly a promotion of their furniture products, but iconic American makers Herman Miller have a great little architecture showcase on their site - it's called 'Points of View', and has some inspirational images (furnished, as expected, by some of the Miller stable's stars - Eames, Nelson, Noguchi et al.).


We are pretty taken by the prefab homes of Marmol-Radziner achitects ...


Take a peek ... and start thinking about that block of land in the desert you were thinking about building on.

coast modern

Came across this site the other day, promoting a new film being made about modernist architectural practice up the West coast of Nth America.  Coast Modern looks like a fantastic and enthusiastic examination of a great time for design ... one which the world is re-embracing now.



Their blog is well worth a visit for some great stills and info, and from the film's trailer it looks like it will be a beaut too ...


Coast Modern Trailer from Coast Modern on Vimeo.


From their 'about' page:
Filmmakers Michael Bernard and Gavin Froome will take us on a journey from Los Angeles to Vancouver; from 1922 up to the present exploring modernist architecture on the West Coast.

Not sure when we'll see the production completed and released, but can't wait.

temptations ...

We are kind of half-heartedly looking around for a car, but it's nigh-impossible to find something that's lovable, practical, and affordable ... maybe it's time to start aiming for 1.5 out of 3?

Remember Patty and Selma's funky Kübelwagen?


Well, there's a mighty close approximation for sale on Trading Post at the moment (minus the MANH8TR number-plates, of course) ... what do you think?



Not great cargo-carrying capacity, and perhaps not ideal roofage for winter, but we'd wear overcoats and scarves, and maybe that would be enough.