Pop art prints aren’t exactly hard to come by but Nest is currently selling original artwork by Conrad Leach. Taking icons from the 60s and 70s, Leach gives them a pop art makeover.
Elvis, Steve McQueen and Michael Caine are available with either a red or turquoise background. As these are original pieces (acrylic on canvas), the price is pretty high at just under £2,500.
If you fancy splashing out for one, visit Nest to view the complete range.
Mills and Boon romances would not be my first choice of reading material but nonetheless I’m rather taken with these Recycled Romance Coasters from Lark.
They depict scenes described as “forbidden love, glamorous liaisons and unfettered longing”, but as they are taken from recycled book covers, no two are the same.
They cost £10 for a set of four and can be bought from the Lark website. They might make a good Valentine’s gift which, now that Christmas is over, isn’t far away.
The cat to the right is not made from Lego, but is an example of the Pantonaef Modular Toys from the 1970s.
Verner Panton created the Pantonaef series for the Swiss company Nael in 1975. Comprising of just three types of pieces, they can be clamped together in various ways to create a limitless range of shapes. Instructions were available for creating abstract forms and animal shapes.
Not to doubt their entertainment value, but you wouldn’t want to give a child the Pantaef Modular Toys to play with as they are rather rare these days. 20th Century Marks currently has four sets available to buy that have already been put together in the shapes of a rabbit, cat, camel or cow. They do not give a price (which is always a warning sign) but they are likely to be expensive for what is now a very much a collectors item.
Visit 20th Century Marks for further information.
There are plenty of budget white shades available at the moment have been obviously influenced by this classic, the Turbo Lamp Shade.
Designed by Louis Weisdorf in 1965, it was re-issued in 2005 in its two original sizes, Turbo36 and Turbo62 (the number referring to the shade’s diameter in centimetres). The Turbo consists of twelve identical segments of aluminium, sprayed white, that follow the curve of a globe.
Designer Lights have both sizes available to buy, starting at just under £500 for the smaller one. This probably puts it out of most people’s budget but at least if you do settle for a high street copy, you’ll know where the inspiration came from!
Sales are on everywhere now, including it seems museum shops! The V&A shop, always a favourite for classic and quirky designs, has reduced a lot of its stock but the biggest reduction must surely be on the Frederick Kiesler Instrument Chair, reduced from £1,200 to £600.
Kiesler was an architect, stage designer and writer, who became involved with the Surrealists. He defined 18 different ways of using the Instrument Chair – the picture above shows it in a few different positions, although to discover the other variations, you’ll probably have to buy one.
Further details are on the V&A Shop website but it does look as if you’ll have to go into the shop in person to buy your Instrument Chair.
You may already be familiar with the work of Melbourne artist Gemma Jones as her pop art prints featuring Sixties girls have been on sale at Habitat for some time now. Now one of her distinctive prints is available in t-shirt form in the shape of the Cherry Starlet T-shirt, a collaboration with retro clothing designer Peta Pledger.
Similar in style to her Habitat prints, the t-shirt features the face of a girl taken from a club flyer or record cover from the 1960s. The design is enhanced with a smattering of stars. The t-shirt has been limited to a run of twenty and the XL size has already sold out.
It costs $45 (approximately £23) and can be bought from Peta Pledger on Etsy.
