Ever wondered what it would be like to work at Sterling Cooper & Partners along Don Draper and Peggy Olsen? Are you an admirer of the mid-century furniture, wallpaper and design? Well, look no further. Ultra Swank has jetted off to New York to take a tour of the latest incarnation of the home of Mad Men… and women. Both the agency’s name, look and...
Midcentury advertising art isn’t usually synonymous with Alaska. Manufacturing and production in the largest state of the Unites States of America has never been on the same level as the other states, partially due to a short growing season and partially due to the high costs of shipping. Nonetheless, Alaska has produced some goods for consumers that included: canned fish, ice cream, milk, and batteries....
As a seller of vintage goods, I am fortunate to come upon some wonderful relics of our Mid-Century Modern era, a short lived but incredibly artistic and innovative time period. Many of the companies that produced these goods are no longer in existence, but there is one furniture company that has stood the test of time. That company is Flexsteel out of Lancaster, Pennsylvania. Flexsteel,...
Matthew Lyons is a talented British born designer with a love for simplistic retro futuristic designs that pays tribute to the mid century illustrations of artists such as Charles Schridde. Along with the illustrations, Matthew have also worked on a handful of faux movie title screens from the past that looks intriguing. His work would no doubt work very well as prints for any retro styled...
The TV show Mad Men om AMC sets a high standard for designer aficionados and gives endless opportunities to pick up inspiration for designers, illustrators and animators. For the season six premiere, Cape Town-based agency Radio came up with a series of three vintage inspired Mad Men posters that feature Don, Roger and Joan in settings that resemble the works of Saul Bass. The three...
When it comes to the choice of reproduction or vintage I find that a mixture of reproduction furniture and clothing is often better way to go. Many years ago I was convinced that the only way of life was with vintage clothing and furniture, and lets face it, it’s truly marvellous because you are taking a piece of history and recycling and re using it...
“We choose to go to the moon, not because it is easy, but because it is hard!” John F. Kennedy, Sept. 12, 1962. Rice University, Texas. Huh! What did he say? President Kennedy’s speech, kicking off the Space Race, was inspired words. But everyone knows the real reason we went to the moon. We went because it was COOL! What showed us how cool it really was...