Arts and Achitecture Archives

I love the online archives of Arts and Architecture magazine, which sponsored the case House Study Program under editor and publisher John Entenza. You can view the table of contents from all the issues from 1945 to 1967 and a selected article from each issue. You can also view the entire articles of each of the Case Study Houses. If the web collection is not enough, you can buy the Case Study House book by Taschen featuring the entire collection of homes for $200. Taschen is expecred to publish all the issues of A&A in book form this spring. I wonder how much that one is going to cost.

Modern Stuff for Modern Kids

My wife and I are expecting our second child this week. We were looking for some modern things for the new baby--a rug for his room, a new high chair--and found Modern Tots. When in Brooklyn, you can check out the showroom here.

Alvar Aalto Stocking Stuffer

Here's a good stocking stuffer for the modern fans in your life. Although I doubt this will actually fit in a stocking, this ice cube mold by Alvar Aalto will help your loved ones stay cool when the temperature heats up. You can also check out this site for more Aalto designs . Happy Holidays.

Nakashima Chair Returns

Design Within Reach is the only store carrying Knoll's reintroduction after 53 years of George Nakashima's Straight-Backed Chair, which was designed in 1948. The chairs are $650 a pop. Check out the short video on Nakashima by Todd Oldham.

Midwest to Manhattan: Blu Dot Opens Store in NYC

Blu Dot, the funky modern furniture company based in Minneapolis, has opened a the Dot Spot on the fourth floor of ABC Carpet & Home in NYC. It's Blu Dot's first store in the city. One of the company's founders, architect Charles Lazor, designed the Flatpack, which is part of the Dwell modern prefab home collection.

Celebrating Saarinen

I just bought a Eero Saarinen Tulip coffee table for our den and I was reading more about the history of the design. I found the fascinating 1956 cover story Time did on Saarinen (just five years before he died) in which he gave his famous quote that the goal of the yet unfinished pedestal was to "clear up the slum of legs in the U.S. home." The Tulip Collection, which is now celebrating its 50th anniversary, was released to public in 1958 and took 6 to 8 weeks for delivery. So why does it take 16 weeks today? Anyway, check out this Yale University database of nearly 1,300 Saarinen-related photos and drawings.

La Crazy

Isn't a little ironic that the Eames La Chaise originally designed in 1948 for MoMA's International Competition for Low-Cost Furniture Design now cost's more than $8,000? At the time of its design, it did not even go into production because it was too expenisve to make. It was first produced in 1990.

Celebrating Pierre Paulin

To celebrate the French modernist designer's 80th birthday, the French Cultural Services and MoMA's Department of Architecture and Design is holding a free exhibit of Paulin's mid-century furniture designs through Jan. 25. You can find the exhibit in the Stanford White building at 972 Fifth Avenue (at 79th Street).

The Images of Julius Shuman

Here's a good collection of iconic Julius Shulman images of mid-century modern architecture and a nice multi-media package on the photographer from PBS station KCET in Hollywood. I recently inquired about the price of this famous image of Case Study House #22 and was told it was $14,000 for a print. Snob, or no snob, that is a lot of cash.

Warm Up at Jetsetter Lounge

With the cold and wind today, I was thinking about Florida--and the Jetsetter Lounge. If you plan on heading down to Palm Beach County this winter, check out Jetsetter in Lake Worth for some good food, cool MCM vibe and classic designs by Saarinen, Eames, Nelson and Noguchi. My wife and I had an especially good time hanging out after dinner in the lounge's Ball Chair by Eero Aarnio.

Dwell Does Modern Kitchens

I've received a lot of questions about what to do for kitchens, especially in mid-century modern homes where the last updating might have been done in the 1980s. Here's a new resource for ideas: Dwell recently launched a Kitchen Blog. Eat your heart out, especially over that Poggenpohl-Porsche kitchen for guys. Now if I only had $80,000 for kitchen cabinets. Come to think of it, I would buy an actual Porsche for that kind of cash.

Posters Pay Homage to Classics of MCM Design

Blue Art Studio has created colorful and cool (not to mention cheap) posters paying homage to the classics of mid-century modern furniture design from Alvar Aalto to Eva Zeisel.

Modern Twist on the Gingerbread House

Tired of the traditional gingerbread house for the holidays? Not to worry. Red Envelope has created a mid-century modern version of the classic holiday treat. Palm trees and rock garden included.