Categories / Gadgets and Tech

Philips 1970s portable record players

Philips_portable

Online vintage stores are always worth a browse and none more so than Sit On It, which has a huge selection of weird and wonderful period objects and design – including a range of Philips 1970s record players.

Take your pick from red, white or yellow, all with speed and volume control, mains operation and a lid that doubles up as our speaker – just pull it off and place it anywhere (or as far as the cable will stretch).

I have something very similar to this and while the sound quality isn’t up to your regular home deck, it is a lot of fun to use as well as being very eye-catching. Yours for £75.

Find out more at the Sit On It website

Categories / Design and Interiors

BHS 70s-style Celina 8 light fitting

Celina


BHS
used to be useful for cheap and cheerful homeware and fashion – but these days it’s going for the interior design market in a big way. And big is certainly appropriate when it comes to the Celina 8 light fitting.

If you didn’t know the reality, you would swear this was a design excess from the early 70s. That’s obviously where the inspiration came from for this tiered light with smoked glass slats and steel frame. You’ll need a big room too – this stands at a whopping 70cm in height.

Expensive for BHS at £175, but in the world of designer light fittings, something of a snip.

Find out more at the BHS website

Categories / Design and Interiors

Vintage Milk Bottle vases

Milk_bottles

My Inspiral Carpets milk bottle still stands proud in my home, finding a second use as a novelty vase. And you could use one of these Vintage Milk Bottles to do exactly the same.

Sadly, the Inspirals bottle isn’t included in the collection, but you can take your pick from a number of quirky retro designs, all dating from the 1950s through to the 1970s and all good for hosting a flower or two on your sideboard.

No two are the same, so it’s pot luck what you get. But the price is always the same – £7.95 each.

Find out more at the Pedlars website

Categories / Art and Photography, Gadgets and Tech

Blackbird Fly – modern-day Rolleiflex lookalike for retro photography

Blackbird

Apparently, film-based photography is big news in Japan, particularly the Lomography range of cameras. So it’s no surprise to see the country producing its own variations – like the Blackbird Fly from Superheadz.

Every bit as stylish as the Lomo cameras, if not more so, this is a twin-lens camera based on the classic Rolleiflex, complete with trademark top-down viewer. The photos are distinctly old school too – square snaps shot on 35mm film.

Available soon in limited quantities and a range of colours, they should sell for $100. which is around £50. Sounds a bargain to me.

Find out more at the Superheadz website

Via Trends in Japan

Categories / Design and Interiors

Ikea’s retro 365+ Brasa light fitting

Brasa

There’s a definite touch of Verner Panton about the Ikea 365+ Brasa light fitting.

New in at Ikea, the light consists of a steel shade with plastic inner casing to prevent glare, along with an aluminium reflector. All of which offers directed light, making it ideal for focusing on a dining table or coffee table.

You can get it in black or white, but we love the red and white contrast version, pushing up the retro meter up a couple more notches. It’s Ikea, so not too expensive – pick one up for £35.

Find out more at the Ikea website

Categories / Art and Photography, Design and Interiors

Undesignable – mid-century design trade show in Berlin

Undesignable

Berlin is always worth a weekend of your time, but especially so on 29th and 30th November, which sees the Undesignable mid-century trade show.

Part exhibition, part gallery and part retail, the show offers up 25 leading dealers in original design from the 40s to the 80s, covering everything from furniture and lighting through to decorative items, art and jewellery. That means the likes of Mies Van der Rohe, Friso Kramer, Jean Prouvé, Arne Jacobsen, Bruno Mathsson, Charles and Ray Eames and Joe Colombo over an 863 square metre space.

It runs on each day from 11am to 5pm – no price mentioned, so we’ll presume it’s free to get in.

Find out more at the Undesignable website