Late in 2008, we featured the Love Wall Hanging, created by Paul Smith for the Rug Company. Now we bring you the sequel, the “Love Too” Wall Hanging.
As with the original it features the word Love, but this time the Swinging Sixties styles lettering using polka dots and the union jack are mixed with Victorian scrolls. Again, the wall hanging is handmade using hand spun wool so each one is unique.
It measures 140 x 85cm and costs £1,550. It can be bought online from the Paul Smith website.
As much as I love the look of vintage cars, I know next to nothing about them, and unless it is a VW Beetle, I’m no good with makes and models. So all I can say about this Retro Cars Lampshade is that the pattern is made up of old-fashioned looking cars, which somebody more car-savvy than me will have to identify.
The lampshade itself is drum measuring 30cm diameter by 20cm tall, which can be fitted to pendant ceiling fixtures. Pictured here is the red cars on a beige background, but it is also available with white cars on a turquoise background.
Both cost £40 from Hunky Dory Home. There are also matching cushions available for £25.
The Bernard Chair looks like a typical piece of Scandinavian design. You might think it has been influenced by mid-century design and the solid walnut certainly gives it that look, but in fact it is designer Jonas Lindvall’s tribute to an even earlier period.
It is named after the 12th century ecclesiastic, St Bernard of Clairvaux, and is Lindvall’s homage to a golden age of traditional skills. Each chair is handmade by a small group of craftsmen, requiring 42 hours of work.
The Bernard Chair costs £1,260 from Funktion Alley.
Phillippe Starck’s Louis Ghost Chair for Kartell pretty much became an instant classic, but it was only launched in 2003. So that can hardly claim to be retro, but here it is in a limited edition version to celebrate the birthday of another icon. This is the 50th anniversary Barbie Ghost Chair.
As you would expect from anything Barbie related, the chair’s transparent finish is in pink, and it has a hand-illustrated Barbie image and logo. The chair’s appeal will undoubtedly be limited to collectors, but it does also come in the smaller child’s version, the Lou Lou Ghost Chair, which is a great option for design-conscious parents. T
he Lou Lou chair costs €75.60 (around £67 but VAT and shipping need to be added). The adult version costs just over €197 (around £180). They can be bought online at Questo Design.
A recent addition to Isak’s growing collection is their porcelain cup.
It is available in a choice of two designs, the leaf pattern (pictured) and a cute lovebird design. The cups are handleless so can also be used as bowls, and they are topped off with oak lids, which presumably helps keep your tea warm.
They cost £8 each and can be ordered directly from the Isak website.
