This item is not a new version of the Rubik’s Cube, but you can’t help but feel that is where the idea for its came from. It is in fact The Magic Chair, part of Habitat’s Very Important Products for Kids range.
It is credited to Daniel Radcliffe, although I’m not sure how much actual design input the young actor/wizard had, but his royalties for the Magic Chair go to charity which is another good reason to buy it.
It costs £120 from Habitat.
Islington-based After Noah stocks a huge range of vintage and retro-influenced items, including gifts, toys and furniture, but is their range of Industrial Factory Vintage Lamps that has particularly caught my eye.
Mainly dating back to the 1930s, these lights come from a time when the UK had a manufacturing industry and made its own lighting. Their website shows a wide range of examples of styles that may be available although you will need to contact After Noah to find out their exact stock. The lights are made from spun steel and then coated in an oven with a vitreous enamel finish and they have been rewired or the electrical fittings have been replaced to bring them up so they are safe to use.
Visit After Noah to browse their selection.
We covered the original Tretorn T-56 trainers some months back – timeless casual footwear dating back to the 1950s. If you liked those, you’ll love the new leather finish.
As we mentioned previously, the name is down to the year – these were introduced in 1956, but still look sharp over 50 years on. Traditionally made with a canvas upper, there’s now a leather option in the white pictured here or black, both with a matching midsole.
Available online, they retail for £65.
The Kay & Stemmer Flow sideboard is one of our favourite all-time finds at Retro To Go, but it’s not the only item designed by the team – another is this Kay & Stemmer mid-century nest of tables.
It’s designed exclusively by Kay & Stemmer for Heals, keeping the curves of the sideboard as well as the walnut and oak finish. And with a look that’s unlikely to go out of fashion.
Available online and instore, the set retails for £895.
Find out more at the Heals website
London’s V&A has what is describes as a ‘unique’ archive of 19th and 20th century design and artwork. And rather than leave it hidden away, the museum is releasing interesting and prominent examples as t-shirts in strictly limited numbers.
The one pictured here is Pencils by Joseph Scorsone, dating back to the ‘mid 20th century’ (so we can guess 1950s or 60s), printed onto a slim-fitting 100 per cent cotton t-shirt and limited to just 150 units.
You can pick it up for £25.
I think we mentioned London Books some time back, but now the first cult crime novels have been issued by the publisher under its London Classics banner, it’s a good time to re-visit.
Three lost gems are now available to order – A Start In Life by Alan Sillitoe, The Gilt Kid by James Curtis and Night And The City by Gerald Kersh. A Start In Life is the story of Michael Cullen, a chancer who leaves late 60s Nottingham to make a name and some money in the Soho underworld. Apparently an inspiration for the Budgie TV series, it is reissued with a new introduction by the author.
Both The Gilt Kid and Night And The City are gritty crime tales from 1930s London, the former focusing on an ex-con struggling to stay on the straight and narrow, the latter focusing on the tough Soho streets of the era.
The Gilt Kid and Night And The City are available now for £11.99 each (slightly cheaper if you buy both), with A Start In Life to follow soon.
