BHS has a surprising number of appealing designs in their Lighting department, including this Adjustable Dome Pendant.
The pendant has a swivel head which allows the light source to be angled, as well as making it look more interesting. It is made of steel and is available in chrome or for a truly retro effect, in the orange finish pictured here. The pendant cost £100, but is currently on offer at £80.
Buy it online at BHS.
If you have a passion for midcentury and modernist architecture and design, you might want to subscribe to the forthcoming Modernist Magazine, although the content is very much focused on the north of England.
The magazine is the work of the Manchester Modernist Society, which organises events around the north of England, focusing on its 20th century art, design and architecture. The magazine follows a similar path, with general articles covering Oscar Niemeyer's Brazil, Esperanto, logos past and original mods, to more specific regional pieces on Liverpool, Manchester and Blackburn's heritage, to name just a few things.
With a foreword by Jonathan Meades, the magazine launches in late June with a launch party in Manchester. But you can pre-order or subscribe now at the website.
The Modernist Magazine website
Via Modculture
Forget 1950s cake style with this Koziol Babell three-tier cake stand.
Making cake and displaying it doesn't have to be about the post-war years and this cake stand shows how 1980s fluorescent bright lights can be combined with the art of cake making (and eating). If you're not much into cake, use the stand to display your ornaments or pretty trinkets.
This funky stand is available from Heal's for £21.00.
Yes, we know you can pick up reproductions and replicas. Indeed, we've featured one or two on the site in the past. But for authenticity, this original 1930s art deco three-piece suite fits the bill.
For your money, you get a two-seater sofa and two 'club' armchairs. They have been re-upholstered in the 1960s in a tan leatherette with stud detailing, but apparently, the material used was the same as was used on Concorde. Another talking point thrown in for free! Love those curves though, screaming the era.
Condition is described as 'very good', with the odd scuff and one small tear to the back or the sofa. The frame is 'very solid'. Of course, you have the option of getting it re-covered. The price right now is £250. Lots more detailed images on the seller's page.
They are the folk behind People Will Always Need Plates, a company we have featured regularly in the past. But soon, Robin Farquhar and Hannah Dipper will offer those distinctive designs in book form, courtesy of London Buildings: An Architectural Tour.
Published by Batsford, the book will offer 45 illustrations of London’s best buildings, from Sir Christopher Wren’s 1675 Greenwich Royal Observatory to Richard Rogers’ 2000 Montevetro development, taking in the 19th-century Victoria and Albert Museum, 20s modernist masterpieces such as the Isokon Building and concrete Brutalist icons like the National Theatre and Trellick Tower.
Throw in some all-new images produced just for the book and some words describing just why the authors love the buildings they depict and it should be a winner. Published in August, but available for pre-order now, the book is priced at £8.99.
Find out more at the Amazon website
Via WowHaus
Not one of the classic Cifra flip clocks by Gino Valle, but this Bodet BT659 flip clock out of France is from a similar era – and looks every bit as stylish.
Unlike a lot of these types of clock that appear on eBay, this 1970s design is an independent clock rather than a 'slave' clock. In other words, it just works without needing as master unit or additional parts. That's a big plus point. Just three batteries and you are away. According to the seller, this makes it 'very, very rare' and as such, a sought-after piece.
Aside from that, the clock is 'in used but very good above-average condition' with 'only marginal signs of wear'. Of course, it's in working condition too. A few bids already in, but right now, the bidding is still at £21.
