Ultra Swank - Retro Adventures

Architecture

Back To The Bricks with Flint Foto Factory

Every Mid-August for the past five years, Joe Dennis, creator of Flint Foto Factory, leaves his day job and his Chicago home to enjoy the week long Back To The Bricks Festival in Flint, Michigan, his hometown. Flint is best known as the prototype for the rise and fall of the American auto industry and is often cited as an example of the economic downward...

Elvis’ Palm Springs Honeymoon Home for Sale

Elvis Presley fans rejoice! The ultimate Elvis pad is now up for sale in sunny Palm Springs, California – complete with Rock ‘n’ Roll memorabilia. In 1962, Look Magazine featured the estate calling it the “House of Tomorrow” due to its forward-thinking decor. Oh, and Lisa Marie was most likely conceived here. In 1966 this historic mid-century house was leased to Elvis Presley and Priscilla...

Mid-Century Desert Hideaways – Two Palm Springs Hotels

Forget your worries for a while and travel back in time to a place where iconic Mid-Century design and architecture can still be enjoyed and gloriously relived. Located in the famous desert utopia of Palm Springs in California, the Orbit In and the Horizon Hotel boast a chic vintage presence combined with ultra-mod amenities worthy of the most à la mode contemporary hotel. Enjoy drinks by the...

A British 1930s Time Capsule in Full Swing

Like many of us, you’ve probably wished you lived in another decade and era. Perhaps you are in love with La Belle Èpoque, Art Deco, Modernism or anything in-between. In Woody Allen’s movie “Midnight in Paris”, the protagonist explores his love with nostalgia, thinking that the past is better than the current. Aaron Whiteside, feels exactly the same way. Located in a semi-detached house in...

A Perspective on Brutalism Architecture

It’s funny how viewing an object can trigger long forgotten memories. Such is the case of the brutalist style wall hanging purchased recently for my vintage shop. Created by Finesse Originals during the 70s, it features a fiberglass rendering of a fisherman pulling his net from the water. The strong jagged lines of the fisherman along with the rugged and dark backdrop of the hanging...

The American Dream of the 1940s & 1950s

After WWII, America stood back and gazed upon itself. There was a new revitalized American Dream after all the bloodshed, home front hard work, and thick-as-molasses patriotism. The American Dream of the 1930s had been focused on working hard, men provided for their families, and hope to rise above the Depression. By the 1940s, post-WWII, consumerism and first wave feminism started to play a role...

Modern Retro Futuristic Illustrations

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...

Get all the goods straight to your inbox