Is your obsession with retro computer games out of control? Well, you are probably the target market for these Space Invaders soft toys.
The official name for them is Bitz Pixelated Palz, designed by Jude & Amy Buffum. There’s a total of nine aliens to collect, each sized at seven inches x seven inches and in limited runs.
Available at the Art Star online store, they retail for $25 (around £13) each.
If you are on the look out for vintage designer jewellery, John Lewis isn’t the first place you would look. But as of Monday 30th April, it should be.
The company is selling 1,500 vintage pieces of Dior, Burberry and Grossé for a limited time. The archive collection belongs to Bert Grossé, owner of the former Grossé jewellery factory in Germany, which was purchased by Christian Dior in 2004. From 1955 until its takeover, Grossé was the only manufacturer in the world licensed to make Dior jewellery. It also produced its own line and had a 7-year contract with Burberry.
Mr Grossé kept hold of his favourite pieces, but has now decided to sell, fearing his descendents might fight for them after his death. Cash, it seems, is easier to split. The collection includes items from the 1960s to 1990s, with prices ranging from £19 to £499 – so something for everyone.
You can find it in the following shops:
John Lewis Oxford Street: 30th April – 13th May
John Lewis Brent Cross: 21st May – 3rd June
John Lewis Liverpool: 11th June – 24th June
John Lewis website
I’m a big fan of the classic 1970s sitcom Whatever Happened To The Likely Lads, but watching the DVD recently, something interesting caught my eye.
Look at the picture above and you’ll see a particularly eye-catching sports bag. It’s a Puma Roma bag in black with white lettering. This episode dates from 1973, so I’m guessing the bag was in production around that time – but I don’t know anything else.
Does anyone out there know if this bag has been reproduced since then? Or indeed, if it was widely available at the time? All advice gratefully received as I’m very keen to pick one up. It’s a shame Puma don’t bring out some genuinely classic items as opposed to the rather disappointing Puma French 77 range.
Jobs Handtryck is a family-run printing house, which has been producing bright designs by hand since 1944. And they’re still producing them today – a mix of new styles and classics from the back company’s rich design past.
You can buy a number of them at Skandium, including my favourite – this Thistle design. Both Thistle and Thistle Blue were designed by Dagmar Lodén in 1949 on union linen.
With a width of 135cm, this particular cloth retails for £95 per metre. Not cheap, but certainly eye-catching and almost certain to be exclusive to your street.
We’ve covered vintage Airstream trailers in the past, but this one is a little more cutting-edge than your average caravan.
It’s available from US retailer Design Within Reach and is the work of San Francisco architect Christopher Deam – matching the latest technology with retro fittings for the go-getter who needs to work on the move, but still wants a bit of style. As well as having Wi-Fi connectivity for getting online, it has kitchen cabinets lined with green plastic laminate, a Nelson Ball Clock, upholstery in striped fabric by Paul Smith, a separate bedroom, a flat-screen TV and much more.
It’s available from June for $49,066 (around £25,000). I don’t think they do mail order outside the US!
They might have had some relevance to the serious sportsman back on the 1980s, but these reissued New Balance 410 trainers are back from the company’s archives very much as a fashion shoe.
Originally designed as a lightweight running shoe, they feature a nylon upper and rubber gum sole, with a choice of colour schemes. If you didn’t feel a fondness for them "back in the day", you’re unlikely to have changed your mind since.
But if you did, you can pick up as pair again for £45.
