Mystery (Dining) Chairs. Can You Identify Them?

Hello All!  I need help identifying these vintage chairs.  Someone contacted me hoping that I might know.  Sadly, I do not.  Any ideas, mid century enthusiasts? I have seen chairs similar to this, only once before, but I have no idea of their origin or designer.   

Any info would be appreciated!  

Dressing the Vintage Part. Vintage Clothing and Accessories.

Thanks to shows like Mad Men, and the re-make of The Great Gatsby, the vintage clothing craze has gone wild.  It's not enough to groom our homes vintage style, we too must look the part.  You must admit, they had some great style!  The cuts, the curves, the colors - just gorgeous.  Women were feminine, sexy, sophisticated.  Men were handsome, polished, dapper.  Picture Don Draper or Robert Redford as Gatsby....need I say more?

It used to be a pain to find quality vintage clothing.  Today, it's at our fingertips - just do a quick internet search and you'll find store after store dedicated to the 50's, 60's and other eras.  Many even offer new reproductions if you want the look but not the dust.

One of my favorites for new vintage clothing is Shabby Apple.  

Vintage clothing can be worn on it's own or mixed with modern.   It's so versatile and fun!  

Check out some of my favorite looks below...

Channeling Betty Draper.....

For the hipster wedding, like Keira Knightly just had!

So precious. I could live in this sweet little dress. 

Simple, minimal, subtleties that make a huge impact.  How sweet are these dresses?

Get your vintage swim on!

POLL: Do you like vintage clothing?

Industrial Modern Style Bun Warmers....As Art?

Industrial Modern Style Bun Warmers -  Yes, you read that right. On a trip to Vegas a couple of months back I managed to find a hoarder / collector....aren't we all on that fine line?... who had some pretty cool stuff...... all. over. his. property. I just love digging in places like that.  It makes me feel so Mike from America Pickers.  Anyway, back to the point.

I always look for the unusual and here, I found it.  I saw stacks of these industrial modern looking metal sheets.  Immediately I pictured them on a wall in a loft space.  Turns out they are old bun warmers from a 50's bakery in Las Vegas.  He also had copper colored pastry warmers, which I bought for my home, and hot dog bun warmers.  It took me a while to get around to posting these in my shop, but immediately after they were up, 2 sold.   Hmmm, I knew I should have purchased more than 5!  I will be visiting this man again on our next trip.

George Nelson Swag Leg Chair for Herman Miller.

That is one sexy chair. Yes, I crush on chairs often, but this one is something special.  You've got to admit, it's pretty spectacular.

courtesy

The chair's history, taken from HomeOfficeSolutions.com:

When George Nelson began designing his Nelson™ Swag Leg chair for Herman Miller™ in 1958, he envisioned a sculptural look for the chair's base that would be made of metal and machine-formed. Nelson found his technical solution in “swagging,” a method of using pressure to taper and curve a metal tube, and engineered an elegant method of joining the four legs into one, tree trunk-like organic shape with a splayed base.

For the chair shell, Nelson got permission from Charles and Ray Eames to use their patented process for molding plastic, and created a chair with separate seat and back shells to let the chair back flex as the sitter moves, and allow air to circulate to prevent heat build-up. The resulting chair was a triumph of design that was comfortable, functional and aesthetically pleasing, equally at home in living rooms, dining rooms and home offices. 

 above 3 images courtesy

courtesy

Charles Pollock helped design the chair!  After graduating from Pratt in the early 1950's, Pollock joined George Nelson's design studio. During his time with Nelson, he worked on the ground-breaking Swag Leg Chair, based on an idea he began developing while at Pratt. 

courtesy

Sunday Finds. Hoop Chair and More.

I hit a fun estate sale this morning. Unfortunately it started Saturday, so who knows what I missed, but I still found some cool, unique things.

Hoop Chair. 

It's very dirty but in great shape otherwise. I'll keep this one for my backyard. 

Not sure what this is. It has a spout so I think it's a coffee pot?  I just love the atomic design.

Love this design. I've seen these online but I'm not sure what it is exactly.  Pitcher? Ikebana style vase?

Space Age Mod Japanese Bread Box.  

Stack of 60's - 70's design mags. I scooped them all up!

Mod Mushroom, Gumdrop, Kinetic Sculpture. Keeping it. I love these.

Swiss Made Secticon Space Age Clock.

I found this cool clock in a storage shed (that had been sitting untouched for decades), early last year.  The deceased owner's daughter invited me to pick the house and storage ALONE!  I remember it clearly because it was one of my first picks since having my son and I had him in tow, in a sling on my chest.  I was also very sick with a cold but how could I pass up a dream pick like this?  

Unfortunately I couldn't venture into the storage space too far for fear of spiders, unhealthy dust/dirt and rats.  I was wearing flip-flops too. How amateur of me, I know.  Without dear son, I would have jumped in head first, regardless of exposed feet.  I did however find some cool things just in the first few steps so it wasn't a total loss in the shed.

Turns out these clocks are pretty valuable.  There is currently one on Ebay for $495!  Now, that is probably pie in the sky, but some have sold (not working) for well over $100. Not bad considering I paid a couple bucks for it.

I was going to put it in my shop, but I think I'll let this guy live on a bookshelf in my house for awhile.

I was immediately drawn to the cool space age mod shape of it.

Other colors and styles:

courtesy

courtesy

courtesy

I die!  Check out this awesome collection of clocks.  I would love to own this many beauties!

courtesy

Mid Century Dinnerware.

I'm on the hunt for a new set of dinnerware.  I still love my Salem North Star set and my retro Mikasa Duplex Dahlia by Ben Seibel...but I like to switch things up and I need a larger set for entertaining.

I'm leaning toward Temporama, but I'd love to hear what your favorite patterns are. 

Temporama by Canonsburg

courtesy A Living Space

I absolutely love this pattern and its easy to find, so this just might be my pick.

Contempo by Nola Ware

courtesy Wool Trousers

This is a fun design and I love the color combination, but it seems to be hard-to-find.  Pass! 

Pasadena by Mikasa

courtesy Bright Wall Vintage

Great retro modern pattern and again, I love the color combination here but it seems harder to find. Pass! 

Franciscan Starburst

courtesy Modatomic

Of course you can't mention mid century dinnerware and not bring up Franciscan's starburst. It's readily available so it's always an option, and I do love a good starburst. Maybe.....

Nordic by Syracuse

courtesy Violet Q Vintage

Very cute and modern.  A quick search didn't yield a lot of results though.  Maybe.....

Mobile by Knowles

courtesy Ebay

Fun atomic design but hard to find it seems.  Pass!

Del Mar by Franciscan

courtesy Ebay 

Very cute but I need another color mixed in there. Pass!

Carousel by Salem

courtesy Mid Century Finds

Cool but not my thing.  Pass!

Blue Heaven by Royal China

courtesy Two Little Owls

I like it but it's too much blue.  Pass!

So I've got Temporama, Starburst or Nordic. I'd like another option, that doesn't look like everything else. Looking forward to your suggestions!

Mid Century Modern Lighters. Electo Match.

I've said it before, and here I am saying it again, the design of the mid century will never cease to amaze me.  Most particularly, how even small things were designed with punch and still stand the design test of time.

Case in point, Electro Match Table Lighters.  I found one at a junker's home in Las Vegas on our latest trip.  I was instantly drawn to the space age-y, sputnik-y look that I so love from the mid century.

The design is simple, an apple shaped body on a star base.  But how advanced and modern does it look?  It takes 3 C batteries to create a spark when the "stem" is pulled out. That, coupled with the lighter fluid inside, creates a flame tip, which would light your cigarette.    Super cool, right?

So far I've found green (like mine), dark green, white, black, red, yellow and clear.

This is mine.....

and more I found online.....

courtesy

courtesy

courtesy

courtesy

courtesy

courtesy