Once it was anti-establishment, but these days punk can entertain your kids, courtesy of the Punky Monkeys.
Called Sid and Nancy (for obvious reasons), these punky sock monkeys have the dyed hair and shredded clothes and the "punk’s not dead" t-shirt. Of course, when you’re look becomes a sock monkey, I’m guessing it very much is.
Not recommended for small children because of the button eyes and safety pins, but ideal for us big kids at $25 (around £14) each.
Good news for all you old rockers – Pure has introduced the Marshall Amp DAB radio – and yes, the volume really does go up to 11!
The full name is the Pure EVOKE-1XT Marshall Edition DAB digital radio. The casing is wrapped in a black vinyl with solid wood construction, brass-effect control panel and a black metallic speaker grille – just like a traditional Marshall amp. The radio promises "direct-from-the-studio" sound, along with a countdown timer, radio/tone alarm and a USB slot, so you can plug in your portable player (but not your Gibson Les Paul).
Available now for a limited time from John Lewis, Richer Sounds and selected independent retailers for just under £100. Oh yes – and the bloke in the picture is Alice Cooper. Thankfully, he’s not included.
Ideal for pairing with your Warhol watch, this Andy Warhol banana bag is certain to be a real head turner.
Made by Loop NYC, the bag is around 20 inches long, with a 24-inch vinyl handle. It features a silk-screened canvas exterior with black sequins, a metallic silver lining and inner zip pocket, along with a gun & lip zip pull.
Available online, you can pick it up for $80 (which is around £45).
Fat Lava – the hot collecting area in retro/vintage ceramics and the subject of a recent exhibition and book – is the name used to describe the thick, crusty and downright crazy lava glazed pots, more usually from West Germany during the 1960s and 1970s.
If, like me, you’re old enough to remember back that far you’ll recall having seen these vases sitting on shelves and fireplaces in almost every living room looking very… well… brown, but the reality is that they came in a huge range of colours and styles from the sludgy browns that many of us remember to the fabulously bright oranges, reds and blues and in styles that range wildly from honest and earthy to loud and psychedelic. Many are one-offs with no single style, colour, finish or shape – the sky’s the limit and there’s something to suit every taste and interior (they look amazing in contemporary interiors which positively encourage them to scream their individuality out loud).
Brook Brothers certainly aren’t vintage, though many of their items still have a leaning to a past era – like this Brooks Brothers Fitzgerald Solid Two-Button 1818 suit, or for a shorter name, the JFK suit.
It’s got the JFK name because it’s based on suits that were made for John F. Kennedy in the early 60s. This two-button suit has a slimmer fit than the rest of the Brooks range, along with narrow lapels. There’s also a centre vent, full Bemberg lining, corozo buttons, double besom flap pockets and the trousers are both narrow and flat fronted.
Expect to find it in the newly opened Brooks Brothers store in London for around £599 or in the US for $898.
Bombus do two great things – firstly, they recycle discarded furniture and secondly, they give it character with some very smart retro designs, in this case, using vintage comic books to bring them back to life.
Amelia at Bombus collects vintage coffee tables and chairs form various sources, in particular, anything in need of customisation – for example, the formica could be peeling or the wood scratched. The furniture is then coupled with a comic or magazine from a similar era, with the two combining to create a unique retro-styled item for your home. Or if there’s something in your home that needs an added spark, they can customise that too.
Obviously, this means every item is unique/bespoke, so an example of price is quite difficult. However, as a guide, this Spiderman table is around £255. Check after the fold for some more examples of items created by Bombus.
