This might be the first DAB radio from Sony, but already they have learned the first lesson of design with the XDR-S10 – give it a retro look.
Aside from the 60s-style wood casing and large front speaker, the XDR-S10 has a very bright screen so it’s easy to see outside, a kitchen timer if you want to use it while you cook and all the programming/tuning features you would expect.
Mains or battery powered, you can pick it up now for £89.
Arne Jacobsen worked with Louis Poulsen from the 1930s through the 1970s, producing some very stylish pieces of lighting that still look incredibly contemporary today – including the AJ series which includes a floor, wall and table lamp (pictured).
The AJ series was designed for the Radisson SAS Royal Hotel in Copenhagen and is all about minimalism, straight lines and slanted angles – bringing the light closer to you or our seating. However, one feature doesn’t quite carry into 2007. If you look closely, you’ll see a hole in the base of the floor lamp, which was originally designed to hold a matching ashtray. In today’s PC world, that hasn’t been reissued.
But aside from that, everything is as the original, in a choice of white, graphite grey and black steel. No price as yet – contact Louis Poulsen for full details.
Find out more at the Louis Poulsen website
Never mind a camera on our mobile phone, how about one on your watch? It might sound like technology of the future, but this Kilfitt UKA 659 Bond-style camera watch is very much technology of the past.
It was a one-of-a-kind prototype developed during the 1960s in the Munich laboratory of Heinz Kilfitt. The watch has a small analogue camera attached to it with 1.3mm-10.5mm lens, a shutter speed from 1/15 sec to 1/1,000 sec and a custom film disc. Oh yes – and there’s a watch too.
A great Bond-style gadget and a unique item too, but with a price to match at a whopping $60,000 – which is just short of £30,000. Maybe that price will come down if no-one bids.
Find out more at the eBay website
Via Born Rich
As kids throughout the world wait expectantly for a Nintendo Wii, it seems a good time to look back at the toys we wanted as kids with TV Cream’s Toys: Presents You Pestered Your Parents For.
The book celebrates the toys and games that turned up under the tree in years gone by – from Big Trak to Buckaroo, Mastermind to Merlin, Sorry to Strawberry Shortcake and the likes of Subbuteo, Simon, Evel Knievel, Etch-A-Sketch, Rubiks Cube and many more too numerous to mention from the 1960s to the 1990s. Each is accompanied by details and anecdotes, as well as images and eBay values.
Part nostalgia, part reference book, it is available in hardback for £5.19.
We always bang on about certain designs being timeless, but few can match the longevity of the Joseph Hoffman Kubus sofa and armchair.
Dating back to 1918, it’s still an incredibly stylish design that could easily pass for a contemporary piece, with a wood frame and foam padding covered by the patchwork-style leather. And of course, there’s that groundbreaking cubist shape.
Available in a range of colours, you can pick up a chair from just over £2,000 and a sofa from around £2,800.
Find out more at the Espacio website
1960s-inspired fashion seems to be everywhere, but you don’t tend to get much of a 1940s vibe on the high street – with the exception of this 40s-style Tea Dress from Topshop.
Obviously there aren’t as many tea dances to attend these days (unless you count Mrs Boon’s Tea Party), but you could get away with this black floral frock just about anywhere. The dress has a ‘cut-out’ detail at the back, a waisted belt and is made of 100 per cent polyester (so it can go in the washing machine).
Available in most sizes, you can pick it up for £45.
Find out more at the Topshop website
