HAPPY CHRISTMAS

SANTA'S LIST

What every retro boy wants...

...a wind up walking Robby robot, a book and a tin of toffees. Woohooo!

MASQUERADE?

Just arrived, this fabulous framed movie poster from 1965 for Masquerade. Great graphics, great colour and fab typography. Masquerade - "Who is doing what to who? - The suspense is killing!".

ON THE CASE

Just in case the snow gets any worse.....my bags are packed!

FIRST PERSSON

Anyone who has followed the blog knows my first love is Swedish ceramics from the 1950s and next to Stig Lindberg and Gustavsberg, my favourite factory is Rorstrand and my favourite designer Inger Persson. I am delighted (ahem) with this new arrival just in time for the Dublin Flea this Sunday, 19th December. A little cracker of a table lamp with a azure deep blue glaze and a biscuit fired base this one comes fully signed by the artist and the factory. DeLIGHTful!

SERVING SUGGESTION

This elegant 1950s Danish Teak serving trolley is a Christmas cracker. Beautifully crafted with stylish turned legs and a woven cane shelf, the top lifts off completely and turns into a useful tray. Available now... but not for long. Details and price from info@kirkmodern.com

BOOMERANG TABLES ARE COMING BACK!

Boomerang coffee tables are just the most useful thing you can have in your retro home. Beautiful organic shape with tactile curves, they wrap perfectly around any chair or sofa and really have that 1950s atomic look. The shape was really hot in the fifties and they were made in everything from exotic woods to formica. We have a fantastic range at the moment, a beautiful pair of dark teak laminated tables with wooden legs, a stunning mahogany table with exotic wood inlays, a cool curvy 50s oak table with lovely warm patina, and a formica laminated wood effect table with sputnik legs. Please email info@kirkmodern for more info and prices before they fly away

COOL YULE STOOL

This cute little 50s footstool in flame red leather is perfect for sitting by the fire and watching the snow fall outside.

WINTER WARMER

Baby it's cold outside! Not to worry we have just the thing to put a warm glow into your retro Christmas. This stunning 60s German ceramic lava table light has just arrived and it's got enough orange glow to warm the Dublin Flea/Block T Christmas fair in Smithfield this Saturday & Sunday. http://dublinflea.blogspot.com/ ...drop in and warm yourself up!

RETROCCINO

 A great new retro themed cafe has just opened on 1st floor of Tower Records on Wicklow Street, Dublin and we are delighted to have supplied all the original retro furniture. The brainchild of Siobhan (ex Gruel) the new Sound Bites cafe does great coffee and fantastic food all day in a relaxing groovy setting. Call in for breakfast, lunch, or just to soak up the great atmosphere over a coffee.

GREAT DANES

One of the nicest nests of coffee tables I have seen in a while... this beautifully elegant teak set come fully stamped with the Heltborg Mobler, Domus Danica logos. Made in the early 60s the set has rich patina with no significant signs of wear and clean graceful lines to the legs and strapping.

GOURDNESS GRACIOUS

It's getting nearly impossible to find nice new pieces of Stig Lindberg, it was exciting to spot this beautiful gourd bowl recently. Painted in graphic dark blue stripes, which really accentuate the curve of this beautiful tactile shape, this piece was painted by Goivanni Pugno in c.1949.

TWINKLE TWINKLE!

I am always getting asked to source starburst clocks, the most common being Metamec, but this is one of the best. It is an Anstey & Wilson and has beautifully elegant, long teak rays that really burst from the clock and radiate energy and warmth. A mid century must have!

SEAT OF POWER

Just arrived, this original 1950s American office chair. Made by COSCO Columbus Indiana, it has a beautiful swivel action and spring tilt seat with a host of custom adjustments. Complete with its original green leather and pindot finish it has a fantastic 50s industrial feel with the chrome footrests adding to the American Mid Century look. Very MadMen

Available immediately, email for price.

BOOKISH

I recently bought these beautiful Danish bookends complete with original box. The design is so simple, so streamlined and sophisticated yet practical. The two teak ends dismantle completely flat and the metal supports just slot neatly into the stand. They come with unlikely name of Bog Stotter, which I am assuming is simply translated as book stand! Class.

SMOKIN' STYLE

During a recent research forage through old magazines I found this fantastic stylized illustration which
could have come straight off a MadMen storyboard. It manages to pull together all the essential references for the perfect 1950s setting. A Loewy inspired hourglass shade on a tripod lamp, Jacqueline Groag style fabric wallhanging, Lucienne Day cushion and a Finn Juhl sofa. All combined with some groovy sounds and great clothes, this captures the aspirational style of 1957 - just a pity about the cigarettes!

FUNKY HOUSE CLASSICS

These two FAB funky chairs just scream 1970s. The seats have been recovered in vintage psychedelic fabric which really make this pair stand out. Fabulously comfortable padded seats in a textured oatmeal and petrol blue with steel frame legs made by Du-Al. Great design guaranteed to liven up any setting. €85 each/ €150 pair. info@kirkmodern.com

ON THE TABLE

We now have for sale this beautiful Danish 1950s extending dining table by H.P. Hansen. A rare chance to own a stunning solid teak table with elegant turning to the legs and a really useful two panel extension to turn it into a 6 (or 8) seating set. I have matched the table with an original 50s set of teak and black vinyl chairs which match the height and wood perfectly. A beautifully proportioned set with craftsmanship and finish second to none. POA info@kirkmodern.com. ***This set will be on view in Urban Outfitters in Dundrum until Thursday this week.

MORE URBAN IMAGES

URBAN SETTING

The kirkmodern/retrorumage displays are now up and running in Urban Outfitters, Dundrum. Four great room displays over three floors featuring the best selection of mid century modern items in Ireland. Open all weekend including bank holiday Monday from 10am to 9pm - don't miss it!

ALIENS HAVE LANDED

The Alien force of kirkmodern and retrorumage have landed in Dundrum. Urban Outfitters are now showing the best retro display to be seen in Ireland. Open all over the bank holiday weekend from early morning to late night - so no excuse! One of the great new items on display is this Belgian 'flying saucer' desk light in bright orange. Beam me up!

COFFEE & DANISH

This absolutely top notch Danish coffee table has just arrived and I am debating with myself if I should keep it - I have never seen another and it is such a stunner. Made from teak it has two draw leaf
extensions that slide from underneath, one that matches the table top and the second with a heat resistant Formica insert with a graphic black and white pattern very reminiscent of Jacqueline Groag. The piece is finished off with a cane magazine shelf. Zoweee! It will be making a debut at Urban Outfitters, Dundrum, this weekend.

FITTED OUT

Exciting news for all Retro lovers around Dublin this bank holiday weekend.... kirkmodern and retrorumage, http://retrorumage.tumblr.com/, will be showcasing some top class vintage retro furniture, lighting, art and collectables at Urban Outfitters, Dundrum. There will be four room displays over three floors designed by UO's creative display team - and all items will be for sale!

RETRO TO GLOW

This 1970s Italian table lamp would give any Verner Panton retro enthusiast a warm glow. It will form a key part of one of the retro room sets appearing from next week-end in Urban Outfitters Dundrum - more details to follow!!

FIRST CLASS

Our new kirkmodern postcards have just arrived from the printer and to celebrate we will send you a beautiful mid century icon card free. Just drop me your address at www.kirkmodern.com, let me know if you have a preference for Stig Lindberg, Jens Quistgaard or John Clappison and it will be in the mail - post haste!

WATCH THE BIRDY!

Mari Simmulson (1911-2000) was born in Estonia but became a Swedish citizen in 1952. She started working for Gustavsberg in 1945, moved to Upsala-Ekeby in 1949 and worked there until 1972. Her beautifully decorated ceramics are becoming increasingly collectable, especially with buyers from Japan, and the 'hot' pieces at the moment feature stylized illustrations, like this stunning wall plaque with deep blue glaze. Her work is represented in museums around the world, and is beautifully illustrated in the current Upsala-Ekeby Keramik book by Karin Soderlind.
Definitely one to watch.

LIGHT FANTASTIC

This German ceiling light is a fantastic original piece from the 1950s. A glass 'flying saucer' suspended on a single column with double light fitting, it sports a cosmic design which must have been so modern when it was produced evoking dreams of Sputnik floating around outer space. Available now.

OFF THE WALL

An area of mid century collecting that has really taken off in recent years is vintage fabric. Lesley Jackson, in her 20th Century pattern Design book comments that " Given the obvious appeal of textiles and wallpapers, it has always surprised me that surface pattern has been so often marginalized within the mainstream histories of 20th Century Design". Good design pieces are getting harder to find, and anything that still has the printed selvedge, or is attributable, has just rocketed in price. I have written before about the fantastic designs of Jacqueline Groag, but there are still some contemporary pieces out there by other artists. This beautiful heavy printed cotton produced in the 1950s by David Whitehead, who coincidentally produced a lot of designs for Groag, is a beautiful bright colourful and geometric design that is typical of the style and palette of the modernist era.

BYO

Can't find that perfect mid century modern sofa? Why not just build your own?

DESIGN CLASSIC

Own a piece of history with this beautiful Eames stacking chair. Designed in 1948 by Charles & Ray Eames, and featured in Museum of Modern Art in New York, this chair is a design classic. This padded version was made by Herman Miller and comes with all the original glides and fully stamped with the HM embossed logo. A really comfortable chair which oozes class.

BERMUDA

Two fantastic and rare Dansettes have just popped up. A funky red and cream Dansette Major DeLuxe complete with light up Dansette logo, and this rare beauty in cream and aqua. This is the Dansette Bermuda which was the only one that came with sputnik legs and was the top dawg when it came to 'portable' record players in the 50s and 60s. Get your vinyl out!