Before Starbucks, Espresso House, Nero and other major coffeehouse chains invaded every city on the western hemisphere there were thousands of smaller coffee houses or coffee bars as they were referred to back then. London, England saw a major expansion of these quaint places in the early 1950s, right about the same time as the first Espresso machine was introduced there. The clip below is taken from the DVD Look At Life - Swinging London, which features sixteen kitschy and fascinating short films about London life in the 1950s and 1960s. Groovy!

A joyous celebration of 1960s London from the colourful 'Look At Life' series, produced by the Rank Organisation every week for screening in Odeon cinemas. Explore London's street markets with Sid James, browse the boutiques of Carnaby Street and dine at the top of the Post Office Tower. Welcome to Swingin' London, home of 'scooter boys' and 'it' girls! Features sixteen short films: Report on the River, Shopping by the Ton, Rising to High Office, Coffee Bars, In Gear, Change at the Tower, Fire Over London, Goodbye, Piccadilly, Market Place, Members Only, Top People, On the Meter, Eating High, Down London River,

Digital painter Melvin Hale uses modern technology to make old black and white photos come alive again. Melvin's studio is located in Palm Springs, California where he has been working on refining his technology of digitally colorizing and restoring vintage black and white images of mid-century America - including roadside attractions, portraits, buildings and a handful of other subjects. Melvin has also been awarded several prizes for his work, one being the prestigious Crystal Award of Excellence from the California State Fair which has been a exhibitor of fine art since it opened in 1884. For those who are interested in swanking up their living room, copies of his colorized vintage paintings can be bought through Melvin's website. (Via)

Stumbled upon these fabulous end titles from various classic mid-century movies. Above "My Fair Lady" directed by George Cukor from 1964 and at the bottom the end title from a MGM cartoon produced in the 1940s. It seems that these kind of end titles are a long lost art form and all we can do now is admire the style and grace of times gone by. If you want to see the rest of the stills, be sure to stop by the The End photo group on Flickr.

Like out of a modern love story, musicians Charlotte from France and Magon from Israel first made contact online. Two years later, they met face to face at the airport in Tel-Aviv after Magon invited Charlotte to fly over to produce a vintage influenced pop album with him. Two weeks later they had written nine complete songs and fallen deeply in love. Charlotte & Magon's music can best be described as magical and dreamy, like you are running in slow motion next to a seashore in 1969 with a luke warm breeze in your hair, the sun reflecting in your eyes and your loved one next to you. Their debut album is entitled Love Happening - a reference to that love really can happen anytime and anywhere, especially when you least expect it. I suggest that you pour your self a glass of red wine and visit their MySpace page for soundclips and find out where you can experience their love live.

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Love these vintage soda crates courtesy of Pottery Barn. Once used to transport sodas to vending machines and restaurants in the US, they are as stylish and useful today as they were 50 years ago. Sadly though it seems that they are currently not available to buy through Pottery Barn, but fingers crossed that they will find more of these gems from the past. What would you guys use them for?