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Mid-century design

Ceramics

Created using one of the world’s oldest, and most widely used manufacturing technologies, ceramics continue to be at the cutting edge of design, particularly at the interface between art and domestic functionality. We love the ceramics of the 20th century, from the bold lines of art deco to the reconnection with the aesthetics of the ‘handmade’ in the pottery of the 1960s and 70s.

The art of the book

Classic Pulps

After WWII, the glory days of mass market publishing saw a unique period of book design that was affordable, accessible and always enticing. Sold face-out at news stands, these publications had to grab readers’ attentions, employing bold, and often lurid painted cover images.

Domestic Standards

Timeless Fabrics

It’s in the nature of good design to often go unnoticed. That’s certainly the case with fabric design. Responding to new print technologies fabric designers through the 20th-Century created materials that reflected the times and underpinned some of the classic fashion, furniture and domestic designs of the era. Though these fabrics may be anchored in the aesthetics of their times they continue to be prized, copied and emulated, a source. They remain a source of inspiration for new generations of designers.

Collecting Stories

A Stolen Design

We recently picked up this very unusual platter from a Sunday market. It’s from the Johnson Brothers ‘Silhouette’ range, but you won’t find it on the Johnson Bros site…in fact there’s very little about it. That’s not surprising as it has a chequered history. The design was ‘adapted’ (let’s be realistic… stolen) from a fabric pattern by Australian artist Nance McKenzie, a blatant misuse of her intellectual property.

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