Famous architect Mies van Der Rohe was not only a architect - but also a designer. He designed among others the Barcelona and Brno series furniture. Today we are looking at some of his designs from the wonderful Barcelona series. Designed in 1929 for the German pavilion at the Barcelona exposition in Barcelona, Spain. I was fortunate to visit it when I was in Barcelona in December 2007 and I must say that it is quite the thing - a timepiece that always will remain modern.
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Spring is officially here in Scandinavia, a good time to enjoy something new (or old). Warm colors, international design and clean lines are all trademarks of Danish designer and architect Arne Jacobsen. If you are in the process or remodeling or thinking about it here are some personal favorites of mine available to buy from Hivemodern.com. Enjoy!
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I am not only interested in vintage design, architecture, lounge music and umm... stewardesses but also graphic design and typography seeing it has been my major subject in college and what what I work with for a living in a way. One thing that caught my attention lately are those old handwritten posters and placates that were found in major stores and outlets. Handwritten of course, they were in their own way a work of art. Done correctly they would both look elegant and selling. Of course, the effect would be the opposite if they were done the wrong way. Here are a couple of nice examples taken from a book about how to learn the quick lettering technique used for signs and billboards. Now grab your pens and start practicing.
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It is summer and hot again. Why not return to the nice temperature controlled environment inside the malls one more time? Browse all the exotic goods from all over the world, walking up and down the isles in a dreamy waltz while the soft music echoes through the muzak system and then grab a bite to eat at one of the convenient placed coffee shops. This compilation is the continuation of my Retro Shopping series. The first one was released in July last year and became very popular among the Ultra Swank visitors. The second one features the same kind of happy, cheerful, instrumental easy going music that was played in malls during the 50s and 60s. As a bonus I have included a special montage with shopping related jingles and commercials, just to help you get in the mood. Grab it while supplies last! Feedback is as always appreciated.
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Here are two postcards showing the old NK department store in Malmö, Sweden. NK (Nordiska Kompaniet / The Nordic Company) is one of the oldest merchandise companies in Sweden. The first, and biggest store opened in Stockholm in 1915 and featured Sweden's first escalators. Soon NK also had stores in Gothenburg and Malmö. The department store in Malmö was opened in 1963, but it was short lived due to very high maintenance costs. I remember visiting NK in Malmö when I was younger in the mid 1980s, I believe that the store was closed just a couple of years later. The building still stands there today, but it has been converted to a indoor shopping arcade called Hansa Compagniet - a very boring and typical looking shopping place.
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Malmö's first skyscraper (and one of Sweden's earliest) was built in 1964 and namned Kronprinsen (The Crown Prince). It stands 27 floors tall and features 700 apartments which can house as many as 3 000 people. The cost of building it was a staggering 90 million SEK (approx. $12 000 000). Standing at the top of the building, on the visitors terrace, one could see all the way over to Copenhagen on clear days. Using the binoculars placed there for viewing pleasure, you could probably also see right into the famous SAS-hotel designed by Arne Jacobsen.
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Since it is summer and very hot outside (at least here in Sweden), many people prefer to stay indoors in a temperature-controlled environment. So why not spend some time at your local mall? This is a exclusive custom made compiltion for this website, to celebrate the mood and feel of the American malls from the 1950s and 1960s. This compilation has everything a mall need to make their vistors feel relaxed. From "happy-go-lucky" fast-paced rythms to swank fashion show mood music. It even features a Christmas themed song for the holiday season! There are 24 tracks in total and the length of the compliation clocks in at about 70 minutes. Enjoy!
A special thank you to Keith from Malls of America for the postcards.
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