Ultra Swank - Retro Adventures

Stores

Mies van Der Rohe likes Barcelona

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...

Arne Jacobsen for your Office
Written by Christopher in Interior

Arne Jacobsen for your Office

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....

Attention all Customers – The Art of Lettering

I am not only interested in vintage design, architecture, lounge music and stewardesses but also graphic design and typography seeing I majored in it in college and nowadays what I make a living from. 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...

Retro Shopping Volume 2 – Shopping Spree

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....

NK in Malmö – The Nordic Company Department Store

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...

The Crown Prince of Malmö – Copenhagen Visible from the Top

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...

Retro Shopping Volume 1 – Music to Buy Toasters By

It is officially summer and very hot outside so many people prefer to stay indoors in a temperature-controlled environment. Why not spend that time at your local mall? This is a exclusive custom compilation for this website, to celebrate the mood and feel of the American shopping malls of the 1950s and 1960s. This compilation has everything a mall need to make their visitors feel...

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