Though it's a contemporary number, Tobias Grau’s Project X light has a design that looks so space age
it could almost be a UFO! I imagine it will also look pretty interesting when switched on: the bottom of this height adjustable light is made from opal glass while the top is made from transparent glass that can be left clear or coloured red or blue. To top off the sleek look, the main body is made from polished aluminium.
The light costs 593 euros from the Tobias Grau website.
Buy it online
If you’re prepared to risk the British weather
and have a yearning to eat al fresco, there are plenty of retro picnic options
available. Life's a Picnic do beautiful hampers though for a more budget (but still charming)
option, it’s worth looking at the Canadian site Vintage Picnic. As the name
might suggest, the site’s specialization is vintage picnic related goods and homewares and it has a particularly useful option where you search through
their stock by brand.
One of the most enduring historical styles in British fashion history is that of the upper classes and gentry, and its influences can often make their way into mainstream style. Appropriating a very British sensibility is this Fitzgerald Jacket by Nanette Lepore.
The jacket takes an old fashioned upper class menswear look and transforms it into a slinky womens version via a nipped in waist and single button fastening. Embellishment via ribbon pockets adds some femininity to this tweedy wool blend fabric.
Get it online from Nordstrom for $488.
Recession or no recession, the mission to go greener with our supermarket habits rages on, and the search for the ideal shopper adds a bit of much needed fun and glamour to proceedings. This Dracula Jersey Shopper Bag from Topshop is one of the more unique options.
Made from a sturdy cotton mix with some stretch, it's roomy and practical. The fantastic retro movie poster-style print makes it though, with a Dracula horror image. In an early fifties pulp style, it's a stylish unisex option that's a real conversation starter.
Get yours from Topshop for just £10.
There are still bargains to be found on eBay if you put the time in searching – like this iGuzzini 1970s space age table lamp.
A quirky piece of Italian design from 30 or so years back, the iGuzzini (or Guzzini) lamp offers up a shade consisting of four plastic layers and a black rim, which is sat on a lacquered white rod stem and what's described as a 'cast iron' base with white grooved plastic cover. And for some added authenticity, the original 'Harveiluce, iGuzzini, made in Italy' sticker is still present.
Not high-end design, but very much of the era and right now, selling for just 99 pence. That's right – an absolute steal.
If you've got a soft spot for 80s kids TV, you just might be the kind of person who will love Supergran, which heads to DVD for the first time next month.
For the uninitiated, Supergran first hit our screens back in 1985, the tale of Granny Smith (Gudrun Ure), a sweet old lady living a sedate life in the Scottish coastal town of Chisleton. That's until she is accidentally struck by a stray beam from Inventor Black’s magic ray machine and transformed into 'Supergran', using her powers against Chisleton’s local villain, The Scunner Campbell, and his unpleasant cohorts, Dustin and Muscles.
Alongside regular cast members Iain Cuthbertson and Bill Shine, Supergran also features guest appearances from the likes of George Best, Lulu, Spike Milligan, Patrick Troughton, Charles Hawtrey and Geoff Capes, with a theme tune by Billy Connolly thrown in for good measure. Series one hits the stores on 10th August 2009, covering two discs and selling officially for £19.99 (although Amazon has already marked it down to £12.98 for pre-orders).
