Amazingly, the Vintage Village at Stockport had completely skipped my notice (I know… how??), until Lisa had blogged about her family’s visit to one of their Sunday markets here. How, how had this passed me by until now? Well, now I know about it, I’m going to be making a beeline for it! And what…
Author: Emma
Sixties Design: Taschen Postcards
When I was younger, about 14, I used to have this pack of postcards by Taschen featuring iconic images of 1960s design. It was called – originally enough – Sixties Design. I loved them. They were firstly used to adorn my (orange!) bedroom walls and then later to send letters to Aidan during our holidays…
Megan’s Vintage Party
On Friday, my sister Megan hosted a vintage party at our parents’ house in Stafford. She’s held one before that I couldn’t get to, but this time I went on a trip down after school finished on Friday to have a look. Meg and my dad had been to Germany the week before on a…
A Creature Feature
I don’t know what it is about animals and retro items – for some unknown reason, I just like anything that combines creatures and age. Usually, the more kitsch the better, but some of these would probably pass muster in more stylish homes. The penguin on the left was made by Mick Kirkby-Geddes (a.k.a. Metal…
World’s Fair 1964: House of Good Taste
We always seem to be househunting. And our taste, needs and wants vary wildly from day to day. Some days, we want to buy giant Victorian villas in run down areas; other days we want Mid Century bungalows… If only there were more houses like this about in our little town: If you visit here,…
Jan Lenica: Illustration and Art
A few trips ago, we bought this print: We loved it, but didn’t really know anything about it. Yesterday, we bought a stack of DIY magazines from a charity shop. ‘The Knack’ features many things such as how to replumb your toilet in, build a modern extension and fix your staircase… how is this relevant? Well, on…
The Fabulous Fifties in Pottery
The Mid Century Era, particularly the 1950s, is quickly becoming my favourite era: along with the rest of Mad Men obsessed public! I’ve always loved this decade, the atomic prints, fantastic design and colour palette of grey, turquoise, mustard… What’s strange then is that West German Pottery from this era has only recently started to…
Fairy Tale Illustrations
One of my favourite finds from yesterday was this: This book was published by Hamlyn in 1971. The cover illustrations are by Ron Stenberg. All of the old classic fairy tales are here: Rapunzel, Little Red Riding Hood, Cinderella, The Fisherman’s Wife… I remember all of them from my childhood. What drew me to the…
Charity Shop Challenge
This morning we went to view a house in Ashton-upon-Lyne. Not only did this mean the chance to look round a house, but also to visit the charity shops of Ashton and get some lunch at Lily’s Vegetarian Indian Cafe. Feeling lucky, I sent a message to Twitter and my mum to take on the Charity Shop…
Retro Delights on Ebay
There are so many things I want at the moment, but with a house full of West German pottery and various other vintage treasures, we’ve really got nowhere to squeeze anything else. Doesn’t stop me looking though… Tretchikoff Style Heads Mid Century Print 1950s Silk Print Bag Maio Vintage Print Louis Shabner ‘Glamour Girl’ Print Tretchikoff…
Illustrations: Joe De Mers
Joe De Mers (1910-1988) was an American production artist who spent most of the 1930s working at Warner Brothers, creating production art, before moving onto illustration. In New York, he found massive success with the Charles E. Cooper studio, where he became one of their star artists. His work has appeared in Woman’s Own and Woman…
Mass Market Art: Female Prints
One of the trends of the 1960s and ’70s appears to be that of the gypsy lady. Gold hoop earrings, dark hair and eyes, busty and a bit saucy of eye… these ladies are exotic and enticing. If ‘Carmen’ by Turino looks familiar, it’s probably because you’ve seen ‘Ilonka’ by H. Walter: Similar to the…
Little Owl Ski 