Posts Tagged ‘London’

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L is for… London

Wednesday, April 27th, 2011

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top of vintage biscuit tin with illustration of Marble Arch, London

There’ll be many eyes focusing on London this week with the Royal Wedding happening on Friday…

front cover of vintage Miroslav Sasek book, This is London depicting a marching guard in a bearskin
page from vintage Miroslav Sasek book, This is London depicting the Houses of Parliament
page from vintage Miroslav Sasek book, This is London depicting a ship going under Tower Bridge
page from vintage Miroslav Sasek book, This is London depicting a W H Smith booksellers shop
page from vintage Miroslav Sasek book, This is London depicting a packed tube train carriage on the Underground
page from vintage Miroslav Sasek book, This is London depicting a barrow boy pulling a cart in the Covent Garden fruit and veg market
page from vintage Miroslav Sasek book, This is London depicting an elephant at London Zoo carrying children on its back

…so “L”  has to be for London!
detail of the top of vintage biscuit tin with London illustrations of such as a Pearly king and queen, beefeaters, street hawker etc
We’ve gathered images of H is for Home shop stock items – past & present, that celebrate the capital…
detail of the sides of vintage biscuit tin with cartoon-like illustrations of tourists at London sites such as Buckingham Palace and Trafalgar Square
…famous landmarks, archetypal characters and classic scenes.
vintage tea towel featuring a London scene with a crowd of double decker buses at night around Christmastime, probably Oxford Street
They’ve appeared on all kinds of products…
vintage Chance Glass pin dish featuring a London double-decker bus designed by Kenneth Townsend
…lots of tins, pottery and book illustrations…
vintage Kenneth Townsend tile featuring a London beefeater
…and tea towels, posters and postcards.
vintage Kenneth Townsend tile featuring a pair of Chelsea Pensioners

We’d be tempted to have quite a collection if we were London dwellers!

vintage Kenneth Townsend tile featuring a London gentleman with bowler hat, briefcase and umbrella

We can’t resist a few pieces, even though we live out int’ sticks up t’North.

vintage 1959 London Transport postcard. "Roundabout" designed by Victor Galbraith

We often see London-tastic  products in the glossy interior magazines and websites – and we usually forget to bookmark them!

vintage 1960s Trans World Service menu cover depicting two horse guards in helmet and bearskin

However, you’ll always find some good stuff at places like the London Transport Museum or V & A Museum web shops…
vintage Carltonware moneybox in the shape of a London bobby
…and take a look at the “We ♥ London” Etsy Treasury that we’ve put together.

pen and ink sketch of a London bobby writing out a ticket
pen and ink sketch of an old gent sitting on a park bench reading the news having a sneaky glance at a bikini-clad young woman walking past
pen and ink sketch of a shady character in sunglasses sitting on a bar stool holding an espresso cup
pen and ink sketch of an ancient bus conductress wearing a scarf lighting a fag
pen and ink sketch of an old man carrying a box on his head at Covent Garden fruit market
pen and ink sketch of a greengrocer hawking his wares
pen and ink sketch of a row of old women under hairdryers at the hairdresser's
pen and ink sketch of a newspaper seller at his stand on a rainy day
pen and ink sketch of a young boy with arms outstretched with pigeons all around and on him
pen and ink sketch of a black railwayman calling out on a train platform
pen and ink sketch of two men in front of a row of whiskey barrels enjoying a wee dram

P.S. – Another special London event started last week – commemorating the original 1951 Festival of Britain.
triptych of images of an original 1951 Festival of Britain exhibition brochure
We loaned a few items to Kiera Buckley-Jones from BBC Homes & Antiques Magazine. She has recreated rooms from the period. Read her blog series charting its development here. We’re hoping to take a little trip down south to see it before it finishes in September.

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Festival of Britain

Wednesday, February 23rd, 2011

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'Original Festival of Britain' catalogue

We mentioned buying this Festival of Britain brochure in our last blog – Five Flea Finds.

Costain advert in original 'Festival of Britain' catalogue

We’ve really enjoyed flicking through it.

Electronics information in original 'Festival of Britain' catalogue

Quite a few people have expressed an interest, so we thought we’d share some of its contents with you.

Festival map in original 'Festival of Britain' catalogue

The Festival was held in 1951 – it celebrated the centenary of The Great Exhibition held in 1851 – but was also intended to showcase Britain in the mid twentieth century.

Royal Festival Hall information in original 'Festival of Britain' catalogue

What an exciting event in must have been – with the new wave of optimism after the Second World War.

Battersea Park Fair in original 'Festival of Britain' catalogue

Exhibitions were held around the country, the main site occupying a position on the South Bank in London which was completely redeveloped.

Coalite advert in original 'Festival of Britain' catalogue

The Festival had a great influence on architecture, interior and product design in the years that followed.

Siemens advert in original 'Festival of Britain' catalogue

The brochure contains about 100 pages in total.

Sky page in original 'Festival of Britain' catalogue

It highlights the main attractions – exhibition spaces & their contents, new structures (including the Royal Festival Hall and the famous Skylon), the designers involved etc.

Skylon information in original 'Festival of Britain' catalogue

As is often the case with publications from this era, there are some fantastic advertisements too…

Crompton advert in original 'Festival of Britain' catalogue

…bold, colourful and forward-looking.

Simplex advert in original 'Festival of Britain' catalogue

The brochure is a must have item for Festival of Britain collectors – but also of broader interest to fans of modernism & mid twentieth century design.

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Friday Folks – Lucy Ryder Richardson

Friday, January 28th, 2011

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shelves with midcentury modern items including vintage Catherineholm enamel bowls and folk art tile

This week’s Friday Folks contributor is Lucy Ryder Richardson of Midcentury Modern show fame.

As regular readers know, we are huge fans of Midcentury modern, and much of our business is based around this period – so it’s great to feature one of the leading lights in events showcasing the era.

The next Midcentury.Modern show at Dulwich College, London takes place on 20 March 2011. The last show received an unprecedented number of visitors, with over 3,000 through the door in just 6 hours!

In testament to the popularity and success of Mid.Mod, Lucy & Petra will host their first ever show at Lord’s Cricket Ground which will be held on 15 May.

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Who are you & what do you do?
Hi, I am Lucy Ryder Richardson, one half of the female powerhouse behind Midcentury Modern. I say that tongue in cheek but Petra Curtis, my business partner should get a mention.

Lucy Ryder Richardson

vintage green anglepoise lamp

How did you get into the business?
Love of the era and lack of shops in Dulwich doing the kind of furniture and design we love.

vintage table and chairs

Who or what inspires you?
Our children, our 60s homes, Scandinavian and American modernism.

vintage grey anglepoise lamp

What has been your greatest success?
The latest show last Sunday at Midcentury.Modern was so packed we had to stop people at the door to let others out. We had one lady screaming to a friend, “My God, this show has become THE destination!” and all sorts of great feedback afterwards. But our most exciting moment was when Time Out made us one of their top ten attractions for the whole of 2009 with no other design show mentioned. They now regularly make us a top pick and we are very very grateful to them and Elle Decoration (our main media backer) for all their support.

collection of stacked vintage wooden chairs

Have you got any advice for someone wanting to break into the business?
Never listen when people say it can’t be done and always follow your heart rather than trends. Upcycling is currently the way to go. Look at Styling and Salvage, Higher Market Studio and Zoe Murphy but essentially, do your own thing.

Chris Eckersley 'Arden' chairs
Chris Eckersley sideboard

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We Make London summer spectacular!

Monday, June 21st, 2010

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Our friends over at We Make London have kindly awarded H is for Home blog readers a special visitor offer.

The first 20 of our readers who email Mary at wemakelondonpr@googlemail.com get FREE entry to this Saturday’s summer fair.

All you need to do is put H is for Home as the subject of your message then just click “send”… easy peasy!

Check out the We Make London website for a sneak peak of the 80+ hand picked exhibitors!

We Make Summer Spectacular is open 11am-5pm, Saturday 26 June 2010 at Chelsea Town Hall, Kings Road, London. (nearest tube: Sloane Square)

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London Boys

Thursday, June 17th, 2010

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vintage "Chelsea Pensioners" ceramic tile designed by Kenneth Townsend

After Justin’s recent spate of bringing young ladies home, I thought it should be my turn!

I’ve just picked up these two lovely old boys.

detail of vintage "Chelsea Pensioners" ceramic tile designed by Kenneth Townsend showing original packaging

They’re Chelsea Pensioners, and are the newest addition to my collection of Kenneth Townsend tiles.

vintage "City Gent" ceramic tile designed by Kenneth Townsend

All these examples are from a ‘London‘ series produced in the 1960s.

vintage "Beefeater" ceramic tile designed by Kenneth Townsend

It’s not been long since we mentioned Kenneth Townsend tiles – having recently blogged about his ‘Menagerie‘ series. But we don’t need much of an excuse to show off his work!

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