Summer is the best time to don some fantastic prints and there’s plenty around to take your pick from.
This great Ichi print dress at Oli is perfect for the sunshine. With a print fit for seventies curtains (in a good way) and a slightly 60s dolly shape, it’s a mixmatch of retro influences that works brilliantly. Top that off with a great colour palette and you can’t go too far wrong.
Made from 100% cotton, this light and airy dress costs a wholly reasonable £35 from Oli’s catalogue or online.
The Iittala Ultima Thule range was exclusively designed for Finnair in 1967 to celebrate its commencement of Atlantic flights. But you can pick up this stylish glassware just about anywhere these days.
The work of Tapio Wirkkala for Iittala, the range was initially limited to just a small lead-free crystal tumbler, but has steadily grown since, now including all sizes of drinking vessel, along with a large jug to keep your drinks.
But it’s still fairly cheap to buy, with a pair of small glasses starting at around £17.
Find out more at the Panik Design website
Retro accessories have been cropping up in increasing numbers of high street fashion shops of late, and they just keep coming.
With a welcome departure from over-selling the 60s, Topshop have spread their wings further into vintage inspiration with this distinctly 20s-style clip box bag. The art deco lines are modernised somewhat by the teal colour and an optional chain strap.
This one’s faux leather and suede which means an affordable price tag of just £25.
Ceramics company Portmeirion was founded in 1960 and that decade’s styles continue to influence their designs today. Although just released in 2007, the Crazy Daisy range has a clear retro style with its flower power motif.
The range is vast, including every conceivable type of tableware and serving pieces as well as textiles, but my favourite part of the series are the Crazy Daisy Storage Jars. Available in three sizes (20cm, 18cm and 14cm) they all feature the same print and a retro wooden lid.
They are available to buy online from Bennetts, with prices from £18.50 to £24.75. They also stock most of the other Crazy Daisy range too.
A combination of environmental, health and financial concerns has ensured that growing your own vegetables is enjoying quite a revival. If you fancy yourself as Tom or Barbara Good from “The Good Life”, you could take your first steps towards self-sufficiency with these Culinary Quirks Seeds from Labour and Wait.
These aren’t just any variety of vegetable seeds though, these are heritage varieties, each with a quirky name. The selection includes: Asparus Pea, Jersey Tree Cabbage, Yellow Pear Tomato, White Belgian Carrot, Lazy Housewife Bean, Drunken Woman Lettuce and Crystal Lemon Cucumber.
A box containing seven seed packs costs £15.50 from Labour and Wait.
Josmar Madureira (a.k.a Katkiller) is an artist and designer based in Brazil – as well as being the person responsible for these superb Katkiller pop culture dolls.
Take your pick from…well, just about everyone from Amy Winehouse, Joey Ramone and David Bowie through to the Star Wars characters, Twiggy and Andy Warhol. All are approximately 21 inches tall and weigh around 195 grams. They’re made of cloth (raw cotton and polyester), stuffed with synthetic anti-allergic fibre, then painted with silkscreen ink.
Check out the full range via the link below. We don’t know the details of price and ordering as yet – currently chasing up the designer and will update as soon as I know more.
