Category: Homeware

Like a growing number of designers, Frédérique Morrel incorporates vintage materials in new products.  The idea is not only environmentally-sound, but it produces some great designs, such as  Frédérique Morrel's Trays.

The trays have been created by hot-pressing vintage materials into resin.  Vintage tapestry and lace doilies, which are both enjoying a comeback right now, feature heavily in the designs, along with pieces of vintage newspaper and magazine print.

Prices are not listed on the designer's website, but one online stockist, Kirk Gallery has a selection priced between $40 and $96 (around £30 to £75).  To view more examples, find stockists in your country or to order directly from the designer, visit the  Frédérique Morrel website.

There is always something charming about old-fashioned bicycles and this Velo Cushion is no exception.

It features a black print of a penny farthing against a white background. The cushion measures 50cm squared, is made from 100% silk and is stuffed with down. It costs £62. There is also birdcage design in the same range, for the same price.

 Both can be bought online from Rose and Grey.

The Vespa brand has been added to so many products, it is hard to keep track and many you wouldn’t want to give space to, but the graphic design on this Vespa Perpetual Calendar has at least been tastefully done.

Using images from the classic Vespa range, with the one pictured here probably being the best for its use of 1960s style graphics. Some of the others owe more to 1940s and 1950s styles and feature pin-up girls alongside the scooters.

The date and month are controlled by an adjustable wheel. Sadly, the calendars are just made from cardboard, which possibly won’t give it the durability you’d want from a perpetual calendar, which afterall should last forever!

The Vespa calendars are available from Peppermint Retro, priced just under £20.

Baroque is a style somewhat older than our normal obsessions here, but these Baroque Bookshelves caught my attention as a quirky storage solution.

In the photograph, they look rather like picture frames, but with a depth of 9cm, they are actually deep enough to store your books. The shelves are available in two sizes, with the single unit measuring 32cm long (with 21cm of shelf space) and the double shelf actually slightly more than double in size at 67cm (54cm internally).

They cost £42 and £75 respectively and can be ordered online from Graham and Green.

Bored with the now ubiquitous “Keep Calm and Carry On” products? Or just finding their advice a bit hard to take in these troubled times? Then the “Now Panic and Freak Out” mug could provide the antidote.

The design is a parody of the Keep Calm series, and features an inverted crown above the more realistic text. The mug is made of china and costs £9.50 from Pedlars. Will a huge array of other products soon follow?

Visit the Pedlars website to buy.