As well as being a fan of all things 1950s, I also have quite a fascination of 19th Century/Victorian design - architecture in particular. We are lucky to have plenty of elegant Victorian buildings here in Hove, and following a tour of one of them - Palmeira Mansions, I took up the invitation to help with some much needed restoration of this opulent building.
Here is a brief history of the building as found on the site of the English Language Centre who have owned this place since 1962.
“Number 33 Palmeira Mansions was purchased in 1889 by Arthur William Mason at the age of twenty-nine. A widower after the tragic death of his first wife, he moved into the house with a young daughter Christina.
In the early years of living at the house Mr Mason used the family fortune to refurbish the interior in a lavish eclectic mix of fixtures (the best that money could buy)”
It is one of these lavish rooms that I am currently restoring; carefully cleaning the ceiling of it’s tobacco stains and general dirt. Here are a few shots of the process. It’s a long but very satisfying task but we need a load more help to get it completely back to its former glory. You are welcome to get in touch with me if you fancy lending us a hand - no experience necessary, just a fairly good head for heights that would be useful to clamber up the scaffolding to the ceiling!
Being a fan of art from the 1950 sand 60s, I had seen some of these incredible images before but I hadn’t made a note of the name until now. The vivid designs David Klein produced for TWA posters really represents the visual language of this era and perfectly captures the thrill and novelty of jet air travel at this time. You can read a full biography and many more examples to drool over here. For now I’d like to share just a few of my favourites with you.
I have decided that all proceeds from my etsy sales will now have to go towards purchasing one of these! I think they are all simply beautiful.
Yesterday I popped into the Fishing Quarter Gallery on Brighton seafront, which is hosting a delightful ‘pop up shop’ by FiFi and Cardigan. It’s only open for another week so I’d get down there sharpish if I were you.
I purchased a lovely beach cushion and bag in my favourite Fiona Howard (FiFi) patterns. As it was such a gorgeous day, I christened my cushion immediately: very comfy and stylish it was too!
Geeez, I’m going a bit crazy with the blogging today (procrastinating you could say) but I just found these guys and their work has got me excited like I haven’t been for ages!
Lab Partners are a creative duo based in San Francisco who work wonders with the gocco printer. They sell their hand printed wares on etsy though as I type, their shop is being updated. I’m very fussy when it comes to buying contemporary art but I simply must have these 2 prints below…..they have captured the 50s modernist aesthetic perfectly and by keeping the images just about understated enough - they could be mistaken for mid century originals. I love it!
At last I can now share with you a job I completed a few months ago. Elmwood commissioned me on behalf of ASDA (huge supermarket chain, for all you non UK visitors)
They needed new artwork for their own brand facial tissues. The first pics show the cube box design followed by the flat box style. Unfortunately I don’t have any shots of the actual item but here are the patterns which wrapped around the whole box.
I was quite pleased with the final designs, actually it was surprisingly quick to get approved. I really enjoyed working on these and hope to do more packaging design in the future.
If ever you should take a fancy to one of my patterns you now have the option to download a file to brighten up your pc/mobile or any other type of screen or digital display. Digital Bloom provides a quick and affordable way to personlise your gadgets with digital artwork.
I shall be updating my images this week so do check in again if you can’t find what you want just yet.
One of the tasks I’m dealing with at the moment is getting my prints into new galleries. I put out a few feelers a couple of weeks ago - so far just looking at the South East area - and am really chuffed to have received positive responses from them all. So far, you can now you can find my prints available to purchase from Bluemoon in Tunbridge Wells and Riverside Art in Lewes. Both galleries offer a really diverse selection of art and sculpture, in very unpretentious surroundings.
Oh dear - I’ve been slacking off again. it’s been a week since I posted last, sorry! I’ve had a bit of work on and have been getting myself into a couple of new galleries which I shall report on soon. For now let me share with you what has been my main vice and distraction whilst I’m supposed to be working on proper jobs: mid century property porn! The best site I’ve found for this has to be Retro Renovation. Just check out the stunning interiors - vast majority of best 50s/60s architecture is to be found in the states and if you click on the ‘time capsule’ links on this site you will see some real beauties.
I live in an early 1960’s block of flats and if I owned this place I’d be thoroughly absorbed in a renovation right now, taking it back to it’s roots: flecked linoleum, pastel shades, atomic decorations, Saarinen Tulip chairs - groovy! Stacks of cash necessary unfortunately - not only to buy this place but also because I would insist on original items. Ah well - I can dream.
As mentioned in the previous post, I was looking for a few references of vintage ceramics; the image below is one of the resulting illustrations. This is a theme I really love so there will be more to follow, also planning to do a few prints featuring vintage ceramics.
Whilst researching references for a recent illustration, I stumbled upon this perfect blog. It summerises all manner of mid century design in architecture, furniture, products and art inspired by this era. A load of goodies to feast your eyes on from Eames, Knoll and Saarinen among others. There are also a few very interesting films on there too - a perfect alternative to facebook for your tea break entertainment!
