More Treasures

I have been searching and searching for the ultimate find and here is what I have come up with in the last couple of weeks.  I was talking to a friend this weekend about Drexel Heritage.  I found out that Frank Lloyd Wright released a design with Drexel but you have to know what it looks like in order to find it.

I was in Phoenix about a month ago and I did not get a chance to tour the FLW compound.  My friend Dave took the time to visit it and it was Amazing.   I wish I would of had the time, next time.

The Frank Lloyd Wright Foundation maintains its international headquarters at Taliesin West, in Scottsdale, Arizona. As the organization founded by Wright to be the repository of his life’s work and ideas and the first to bear his name, the Foundation is engaged in a broad range of activities to preserve Wright’s legacy;

provide opportunities for the public to learn about the principle ideas embodied in his work; increase public awareness of the importance of architecture to society and the individual; and stimulate a demand for excellence in architecture and design.  (see more at http://www.franklloydwright.org/fllwf_web_091104/Home.html)

I found this cool poster for a Tokyo exhibit of Eames Designs.  This poster measures 45 x 11.  It needs some touch up but would look really cool in a frame once repaired.

Koch made a cool line of fiberglass suitcases and other travel cases.

The story of the beginning of the H. Koch & Sons Company is a prime example of a truly American success story very common from the first decade of the last century. The company was established in San Francisco in 1909 by German immigrant leatherworker Herman Koch. The original business was rooted in the design and manufacturing of luggage.

From 1909 until 1945 Koch manufactured quality leather goods, wooden and fiber suitcases, steamer trunks and carrying cases. In the late 1940’s Koch was again recognized as a pioneer company in the fiberglass technology area and acclaimed to have produced “the strongest suitcase in the world” by the American Luggage Manufacturers Association. That acknowledgement gained the company marketable credibility with the US government and lead to entry into being a supplier for the military in instrumentation cases used in nuclear tests at Eniwetok and Johnston Islands in the Pacific. In 1951, after outgrowing the San Francisco facility Koch moved to Corte Madera in Marin County and was recognized at that time for having the largest manufacturing operation in California north of San Francisco. ( you can read more at http://www.hkoch.com/company.cfm)

Joe colombo is someone worth checking out.  I found this art - cart that was designed by him and produced in italy.  He was very prolific in his short span as a designer because he ended his life early.  

In 1955 Colombo joined the Art Concret Group, but gave up his painting to promote his Design Career. Before he cooperated at an exhibition for the X. Triennale di Milano of 1954 and documented the Ceramic Designs of an international meeting in Albisola. For his presentation Colombo created for example three exterior seatings which were combined with a "shrinelike" presentation of TVs.

In 1959, Colombo had to take over the family company, which produced electric appliances, and started to experiment with new construction and production technologies. In 1962 Colombo opened his own interior design and architecture projects, mostly for lodges and skiing.

If  you need to hold some Wine please let me hold it for you.  I found this really cool wine rack that would fit well into a Mid Century collection.  With its bold lines and minimalist stature it really does make a statement.  This piece is un-named so I don't know the year or the designer.  Don't discount the department store lines or other lines like Drexel or even Lane.  At key times in all of their histories they have had named designers working for them unbeknownst to you at all.  That is all I have for you this time.  Please come back in the future as the search never ends for that which is modern and not.  I also have a Bakelite Radio from the 30's but I thought it was too early for this blog. I can't keep everything so if you see something you like please let me know and If I still have It maybe we can work something out.

See you soon.

Martin

School's In Session....

What's cool about these fiberglass bucket chairs is that they are interchangable.  You can switch out the base from other bucket side chairs.
Have fun!!

Have you ever seen this chair? Totally Dope! The table swings out of the way and it's super cool.  Unfortunately I did not buy this one.  I only have so much room in my house.  This was another great find at the Lily Street Block sale.  Herman Miller / Eames.

What have I found this month

Here are my latest finds.  I found this American of Martinsville end table set at the annual Lily Street block sale.  This sale is yearly and definitely not one to miss.  There is a big city wide sale this weekend and I have found many items over the years at this sale.  Back to the end tables.  I found these teak tables in almost perfect condition that only need a little refinishing.  I got them for under $100 and they are a great addition to my collection.  Once I finish the tables I might put them up for sale.  These tables have some great inlays above the front two legs and the construction is very stable.

I found this Burke Office chair at a garage sale as I was just driving down Grand ave. in Oakland for an unheard of price.  This is a great chair and with a some recovering this chair will be good as new.  These are Sarrinen nock-offs but are still very nice chairs.

Finding Treasures in your own backyard

Mid-Century modern is an architectural, interior and product design form that generally describes mid-20th century developments in modern design, architecture, and urban development from roughly 1933 to 1965. The term, employed as a style descriptor as early as the mid-1950s, was reaffirmed in 1983 by Cara Greenberg in the title of her book, Mid-Century Modern: Furniture of the 1950s (Random House), celebrating the style which is now recognized by scholars and museums worldwide as a significant design movement.

   Mid-century architecture was a further development of Frank Lloyd Wright's principles of organic architecture combined with many elements reflected in the International and Bauhausmovements - including the work of Gropius, Le Corbusier, and Mies van der Rohe. Mid-century modernism, however, was much more organic in form and less formal than the International Style. Scandinavian architects were very influential at this time, with a style characterized by clean simplicity and integration with nature. Like many of Wright's designs, Mid-Century architecture was frequently employed in residential structures with the goal of bringing modernism into America's post-war suburbs. This style emphasized creating structures with ample windows and open floor-plans with the intention of opening up interior spaces and bringing the outdoors in. Many Mid-century houses utilized then-groundbreaking post and beam architectural design that eliminated bulky support walls in favor of walls seemingly made of glass. Function was as important as form in Mid-Century designs, with an emphasis placed specifically on targeting the needs of the average American family. Examples of residential Mid-Century modern architecture are frequently referred to as the California Modern style.

In Europe the influence of Le Corbusier and the CIAM resulted in an architectural orthodoxy manifest across most parts of Post War Europe that was ultimately challenged by the radical agendas of the architectural wings of the avant-garde Situationist International, COBRA , as well as Archigram in London. A critical but sympathetic reappraisal of the internationalist oeuvre, inspired by Scandinavian Moderns such as Alvar Aalto, Sigurd Lewerentz andArne Jacobsen and the late work of Le Corbusier himself was reinterpreted by groups such as Team X including structuralism(architecture) architects such as Aldo van Eyck, Ralph Erskine, Denys Lasdun, Jorn Utzon and the movement known in the UK as New Brutalism.

Pioneering builder and real estate developer Joseph Eichler was instrumental in bringing Mid-Century Modern architecture ("Eichler Homes") to subdivisions in the Los Angeles area and the San Francisco Bay region of Californiaand select housing developments on the east coast. George Fred Keck, Henry P. Glass and Ludwig Mies van der Rohe created Mid-Century Modern residences in the Chicago area. Mies van der Rohe's Farnsworth House is extremely difficult to heat or cool, while Keck and Keck were pioneers in the incorporation of passive solar features in their houses to compensate for their large glass windows

(reposted from Wikipedia)

Now with all that said we all know what we will be finding on this page.  I will document and present all of my finds here on this blog. I will include furniture, housewares, artwork, fabric, gadgets and anything else I find in my travels and almost daily search for that which is modern and most specifically Mid-Century.  I may stray from the path at times with other finds just because they are too fab to pass on letting you know what is out there.  There is a lot out there for all of us to find if we just look. I don't buy retail.  All of the items you will see  in this blog have be attained through purchases at Flea Markets, Thrift Stores, CL, Trades, or any where else I might find a deal or a situation I can not pass up, like finding two wire chairs from Knoll for $20 bucks stretched out on a blanket on a curb in LA. You just never know where these items will pop up. There are a lot of Mid-Century Modern Furniture stores here in the Bay Area and all are rather pricey.  I don't really venture into these venues unless I really need a piece to finish off a collection I have started.