We actually featured the DVD last year, but I've just noticed a clip from the BFI's Design For Today package on YouTube, so here it is.
A quirky little film without words that highlights industrial design of the day – that day being a day in 1965, as you might have guessed from the title. Oh yes, it was also the work of future Chariots of Fire director Hugh Hudson.
Check it out below and check out the other BFI clips, some fascinating material online in their channel.
Apologies for featuring another portable record player, but some great designs keep cropping up – which this Hornyphon 2623 portable record player is.
Let's look at the design first, which offers the three-speed record deck, contras for balance, tone and volume and a choice of battery and mains power. Oh yes – and those cool dimpled speakers, which provide stereo sound, then pack back into the deck when not in use, so you can carry it all round like a small briefcase. Very stylish. See an image of that over the page.
Condition? According to the seller, it's 'hardly used' and 'very well-tended', with 'a very few fine and slight scratches on the outside, caused by storage'. Still some time to go, £1 is the current bid price.
Find out more at the eBay website
Suppose winter will be coming to an end soon and we might start pondering holidays. If you want to get away from it all, you might want to spend some time at Ty Hedfan in Pontfaen, Brecon, Wales.
Ty Hedfan means 'the hovering house' in Welsh and that's pretty much what it is. Fairly-recently designed by architects Featherstone Young, the house is inspired by the likes of Frank Lloyd Wright's Fallingwater and Pierre Koenig's Case Study House. Only this one isn't in the US, it perches over the River Ysgir in the Brecon Beacons, with views over the river and also of the surrounding countryside.
John Lewis is currently selling a selection of leather chairs, including this Vintage Leather Gramophone Chair.
The chair is a variation on the popular club chair, with a gently concave back, giving it a distinctive shape from which it takes its name. But perhaps its most attractive feature is that it has been upholstered in vintage leather, so that it comes with that desirable lived-in look of a vintage find.
The gramophone chair costs £999 from John Lewis.
Regular readers will recall us featuring the Rosita Stereo Commander Luxus hi-fi system recently, which was a stunning space age audio system, albeit for £1,699. This Rosita space age hi-fi system is similar and from the same era – but bidding starts at just £1.
There are differences though, despite the initial similarity of looks, not least the stunning chromed, tulip-style base and that similarity of age. This one is made of painted wood for the casing, with integrated speakers and a see-through plastic lid. Vinyl playback, a cassette player and a Grundig radio, plus lots of stylish controls finish things off.
Downside? This is in 'unrestored' condition and although there's no major damage, there are some (cosmetic) things missing from the cassette player. Still, with no bids and that £1 price tag still possible, this Rosita system is well worth looking at more closely. Another image over the page or see the listing for many more.
Whether the name Wim Crouwel means anything to you, will depend on how much you know about graphic design and specifically typography. Dutch designer Crouwel is best known for designing radical fonts such as the The New Alphabet which he created in 1967. The Design Museum will be celebrating his long career with an exhibition later this year. Whilst the exhibition itself will undoubtedly be interesting, what has particularly sparked our interest is the limited edition Wim Crouwel Wallpaper that will accompany it.
The Design Museum has partnered with Cole & Son to release a wallpaper inspired by his work. The design incorporates a letter C for Crouwel in a geometric and abstract form to pay tribute to his style. Available in a choice of grey or aqua, the wallpaper costs £175 per roll.
The wallpaper will be on sale to coincide with the exhibition (30 March to 3 July) and will only be available to buy from the Design Museum Shop.
