Plenty of quirky cards available for this year’s festive season, but our favourites so far are these Shag-designed Christmas cards.
All are distinctively Shag in look, but with a traditional Christmas scene on each design – from the snowman through to the gathering round the Christmas tree…and monkeys.
All are sold in packs of five (of the same design) with envelopes, with each pack selling for £5.50.
Find out more at the Notorious Kitsch website
Ok, it’s not real gold, but if you want to bling up your iPhone on the cheap, the Yubz Talk offers all of that and the authenticity of a ‘real’ telephone.
Much like the Hulger handsets, the Yubz Talk offers your ears a break with a proper handset for calling in comfort, ideally for an iPhone, but thanks to a range of adapters, for just about all leading phones on the market. You can even use it for your PC for VoIP calling.
Other colours are available if gold is a bit bold, all available from November 28th for 40 Euros.
Find out more at the Yubz website (in French)
A chandelier doesn’t have to be a stuffy/fussy old thing, it can be as cool as the Gino Sarfatti 2097 mid-century chandelier from Flos – although you will need a decent-sized room to carry it off.
Designed by Sarfatti back in 1958, the 2097 is available in two sizes and two finishes – chrome or brass. A central steel structure offers up brass or chrome-plated arms, home to either 30 or 50 different bulbs. Those aren’t included, so you might want to budget for that too.
But if you can afford them (and the accompanying electric bill), the 2097 can be yours from £944.
Back in 1958, Arne Jacobsen drew admiring glances with his newly-introduced Swan Chair. And 50 years on, it’s still impressing – especially with the introduction of the 50th anniversary Arne Jacobsen Swan Chair.
There isn’t any difference in shape, it’s still the same old Swan from a distance, but the devil is in the detail. The new version is upholstered in swan-white semi-aniline leather with a pearl white base and sterling silver pendant, engraved with a unique number. And ias that suggests, this is a limited edition – 1,958, to coincide with the year of production.
Fritz Hansen claims the chair went on sale on November 1st, but we’ve checked the listed dealers (including Skandium, Utility Design and Aram) and so far we haven’t found one for sale – or indeed, found a selling price. If you want one, it might be worth ringing round, but make you check that bank balance first.
Find out more at the Fritz Hansen website
We all had things like chemistry sets as kids, but Swedish toy firm Alga has gone one step further, offering up some cool retro gadgets to create as part of its Alga Science range.
Just like that chemistry set, the Alga Science range is designed to stimulate young minds about science, but also throws in a few lessons about the environment and a finished product, which is where the fun really starts.
You see, it offers things like the retro-styled solar radio above and a gramophone-style music player, along with more mundane things like a wind turbine and weather lab. Before you rush to the shops, we have some bad news – this looks to be Sweden-only so far. And we can’t even find a price for mail order for the UK. If you really want one, maybe drop the company an email for details of buying.
Find out more at the Alga Science website
Via Below The Clouds
OK, the use of a child in the picture might make it look that much bigger, but the Verner Panton Illumesa table lamp is still a hefty piece of kit.
Well, in size anyway, This 1970s design is actually made of white acrylic, so should be fairly light. And that acrylic means you can use it outside too. But it’s the size that gives it real impact – 37cm high and with 78cm diameter – which means a very large table is required to host it.
If you have one, you can pick up the Illumesa for £399.
Find out more at the Panik Design website
