DOUGLASCAIN: 1970's

Showing posts with label 1970's. Show all posts

Interior Inpiration, Verner Panton.

Above is a collection of interior spaces by Verner Panton, collected from many locations and periods in his great career. Verner Panton (13 February 1926 – 5 September 1998) is an incredible industrial and interior designer, considered one of Denmark's most influential. A noted point of Panton's early career and formative influence was a 2 year employment from 1950-1952 with Arne Jacobsen. Panton was the first to conceptualize the single injection mold chair in plastic, and imagined such things as a Collapsible House (1955), and a Plastic house (1960) (I die!).

Midnight Snack... Heller, Rosti and Kartell dinnerware.

This is the first meal that I have eaten since finishing my 8 piece dinnerware set of Heller Melamine designed by the great Massimo Vignelli (in 1964). The tray is vintage 1970s Anna Castelli Ferrieri for Kartell. Orange melamine mixing bowl by Rosti of Denmark. Various assorted vintage fiberglass serving trays.

About the dinnerware set, "I like to design to be semantically correct, syntactically consistent, and pragmatically understandable," said Massimo Vignelli. Originally manufactured in Italy, this stackable dinnerware won the prestigious Compasso d'Oro Award for Good Design in 1964. In 1971, manufacturing moved to the United States, and Heller Dinnerware became the first product made by Heller a company that went on to produce many beautiful designed objects. I love this set and am glad to have amassed my full serving. Photos of a dinner to come!

Peter Max!

This week I stumbled across a treasure by a favorite of mine, the amazing Peter Max. This is the original printing of the treasured out of print vintage "Peter Max Poster Book". The overall size of the Book measures 16 x 11.5 inches. Amazing! 1970. Crown Publishers, Inc., NY.

Vintage

(Trench- Aquascutum / Pants- Dries Van Noten / Tie- Escada / Shirt - Calvin Klein Collection / Lighting- Ferruccio Laviani for Kartell)

Thrift Shopping Finds.

This vintage teak lamp, with ceramic inlay, was found in El Cerrito, at a charity thrift store for $5.00. I think I upset Eric by finding this first... The Finnish screen printed textiles are also new and have received their own post here. The Danish teak chair was found in Berkeley, on the side of the street, and was reupholstered by me in vintage Marimekko fabric. It looks to me to be manufactured by Farstrup, although the only mark is "Denmark" which I've often found with respects to the labeling of mid-century Danish furnishings.

I have been working for some time now on amassing a whole collection of this set, designed in 1964 by Massimo Vignelli for Heller. This set won the Compasso D'oro upon being released and has retained its cache as a wonderful icon of mid-century plastic design. This set has been acquired and is in permanent collection at the MOMA. I found these 4 white dinner plates this weekend, in a shelf of junky plastics. I felt like I had discovered a diamond! Eric also has had good luck with the Vignelli plates recently, bringing home a lovely purple one last night.

Brock California - Dinner plate, 11", "California Farmhouse" motif. Southern California Pottery Company, Inc. aka B. J. Brock Company was situated in Lawndale, California. Founded in 1947 by Bert Brock, the company closed in the mid 1950s.

This is my favorite design that I have seen on a Thermos. I find these ALL THE TIME, but I almost never find them in such nice condition, and with the plastic interior, as I have definably broken my fair share of the glass lined thermoses. Its just to hard not to accidentally jostle them. Anyways, isn't it sweet? I couldn't resist the clever pattern.

I found this set of six unmarked,1950's, barbecue themed - dinner plates... If anyone knows or has a hunch relating to the manufacturer of these, please drop me a line.

My Commute, Part 3. Embarcadero Center.

(Notice all the Orbs in the previous photos above, taken in the Embarcadero BART Station. I hadn't planned on this.)

Vintage Finnish Screenprint Textiles

Above design by Anneli Airikka-Lammi. Printed by Erkki Helenius Oy, a company that formed when Erkki , once a Marrimekko textile designer, split from Marimekko to launch an independant manufacturing venture. Helenius Oy specialized in beutifully rendered images of natural phenomina. I think that this is my favorite vintage Scandinavian textile that I have ever come across!

Printed by Tampella, 1977, another wonderful midcentury Finnish textile manufacturer. Designer's name illegible.

I was so lucky when I spotted them, as they hadn't been priced, and I was eying them in the back room, through an open door. I know that this is a big thrift shopping no-no, but I have been having good luck getting great stuff by just noticing that it was about to be put out for sale. Anyways, I mustered up my kindest and most convincing demeanor and asked the sales girl if she would please allow me to have a price on them as I was to be leaving town that afternoon and very much wanted to leave with these textiles. Luckily for me, there was an old "Goodwill" price tag on the back of the Tampella "Gulls" print, indicating $4.00. which I indicated to the Manager- who was called over to price the wall hangings. The Manager quickly agreed that this would be a fine price for each, but it gets better..... It was 50% off day! I got them both for $4.00 total!!!!!! Amazing!!! Goes to show that if you want it bad enough and are willing to wait, the things that we channel will come to us... Sometimes you just have to ask. More to come on my great finds here at the 1/2 off thrift store.

Munich 1972 Summer Games Graphic Design / Otl Aicher

What started as a stamp on the back of a found post card this weekend (as seen here) has led me today to the wonderful work of German Graphic designer Otl Aicher. Otl was the mastermind behind the graphic design for the 1972 Munich Olympics, as seen above. Otl's work paved the way for the universal symbols we all are use to seeing everywhere, like on restrooms indicating gender. Otl is credited with creating the first Olympic Mascot, Waldi the dog, pictured above. Otl also did the beautiful graphic design for Lufthansa Airlines, in 1969. Otl died in 1991 but his legacy will live on around the world, in the influence he has had on the design of DOT Pictograms, as they drew heavily upon his influence, and these wonderful designs from the 1972 Munich Olympics, amongst many many others.

Designs by Otl Aicher. Images from Flickr Otl Aicher Group Image Pool.

DOUGLASCAIN