Esoteric Survey

Alvar Aalto chair that I was able to buy back from a friend. Kurt Versen lamp and a Grainware bowl produced by Plastic Productions Co., Redwood City, CA and designed by  Charles H. McCrea.  The Grainware bowl has remnants of a Good Design sticker.  Here it is in the first MoMA Good Design exhibition in 1950. Source: MoMA Richard Allen Morris

 Doug Ayers, John Novy Dansk Rare Woods tray by Jens Quistgaard Bruce Hill for Peter Pepper Products

I went to a picnic at the Eames House this past weekend. It was a preview of a collaboration between Herman Miller and  Hay .  They call it a "thoughtfully reimagined" line "of eight classic Eames designs for a new generation." Just like Charles and Ray Eames, Rolf and Mette Hay are a married couple.  In addition to the new colors, drawn from Alexander Girard Jacob's Coat textile, the Hay designs also use new materials. Like this glass top LTR. I'm a vintage guy so I'm generally not all that interested in new furniture. Especially if it's a reproduction of an older piece, authorized or not. I have nothing against new furniture, especially when it's done well and responsibly, like Herman Miller does. That all being said, this LTR in a heavy cast-glass is pretty interesting to me. I like the idea of being able to use an LTR outside.  It was a picnic and there was even an Eames-inspired menu. Unfortunately I was geeking out too much and didn't ...

San Diego Arts & Architecture: A Unique Culture of Post-WWII Modernism Hear from Mid-century modern experts, Dave Hampton and Keith York as they discuss San Diego’s unique culture of mid-20th century Modernism. You’ll learn about San Diego’s historic ecosystem of visual arts, architecture, design, and craft, during a period when the city’s small town character and out-of-the-way location, together with booming scientific and aerospace industries, formed an intertwining community of participants and practitioners. This community included artists, designers, architects, and their clients and supporters, along with retailers and decorators who specialized in mid-century modern furnishings, fittings, hardware, and accessories. WHEN:   Saturday, September 24 10:30am - Coffee  11am-12:15pm - Presentation  WHERE:   La Atalaya Foundation Theater,  Mingei International Museum , Balboa Park   1439 El Prado San Diego CA 92101 Registration and more information...

 Iglesia de la Medalla de la Virgen Milagrosa by Félix Candela (1955) in Mexico City The modernist gothic structure is a showcase of Candela's use of thin-shelled concrete construction.   The thickness of  the hyperbolic paraboloid shells in the main building is 1.5 inches or less. Candela worked with fellow architects, Arturo Sanz de la Calzada and Pedro Fernandez Miret. Source: Candela, the shell builder, 1963 I believe this is the patron saint of the hyperbolic paraboloid Source: Candela, the shell builder, 1963 For the souls Cue up Led Zeppelin

 Doug Ayers, Van Keppel-Green candleholders and a Euro lamp

 Evelyn Ackerman mosaic, Bob Stocksdale bowl, Fey Marshall enamel and a great Joel Edwards bowl. Jack Boyd pendants  Ben Goo and another Boyd Here's a closer look at that Joel Edwards. Atomic Espresso maker designed by Giordano Robbiatti in 1947 A new set of fake Tackett canisters I'm not sure if this qualifies as a problem yet.