Max Clendinning's House, London, 1970

Brilliant.

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Yes please

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H is for High-Tech

Pirelli rubber-tiled surfaces and yellow Vola faucets in architect Eva Jiricna's London bathroom (and fantastically everywhere else in her apartment), 1983. Also used as bathroom number 8 in Peter Greenaway and Alexander Kira's 26 Bathrooms,1985:

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Winter Palette

Courtesy of Terence Conran's The House Book, 1974.

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Dwell Loves our Instagram ♥

Thanks very much Dwell magazine for naming us one of "8 Design Instagrammers We Love" (and just as I was about to post another cat photo =^.^=... )
Read the article *here* and follow us on Instagram *here*

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Roald Dahl, Kingsley Amis, and Coco Nuit

Two books that should be made into movies, and two of our Coco Nuit candles

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Jane Birkin, Swan Song, and the Golden God

Jane Birkin reflected in our "Sunshine" candle, and, related, happy birthday to the golden god Robert Plant, whose Swan Song Records logo coincidentally is the inspiration behind our golden butterfly's pose. 

And, on heavy rotation at our house since high school, The Song Remains The Same:

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J.G. Ballard pretty much nails social media, 1977

Woah!

From an essay in British Vogue, 1977

via Alexandra Lange, Gideon Defoe, and Anab Jain

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The Beatles, 007, and Christie's Pop Culture Sale

From Christie's 

SALE 9467 LOT 91

The Beatles 

A brass Apple paperweight, hollow and cast in two parts with removable stem, presented to attendees of the Apple Studios opening at 3 Savile Row, 30 September 1971
5½in. (14cm.) high

SALE 9467 LOT 49

Thunderball, 1965 James Bond's specially modified Breitling Top Time wristwatch used in Thunderball, 1965, the watch composed of a stainless steel chronograph timepiece, by Breitling, Ref. 2002, case no. 984343, manufactured in 1962 and then modified, the black dial with applied baton hour markers, luminous hands, sweep centre seconds, two subsidiary dials for constant seconds and 45 minute registers, and outer silvered tachymeter scale, in circular case with two chronograph buttons in the band, case 35mm wide, case and dial signed, mounted in glazed water resistant type case with screw down bezel and case reverse, by Valley Tool Company, 47mm wide, signed V.T.C., made for Sean Connery as James Bond in the 1965 United Artists/EON Productions film Thunderball

Lot Notes

The first ever specially modified watch issued by 'Q' branch to James Bond, the timepiece was equipped with a 'Geiger-counter' to detect radiation. Equipping Bond 'in the field' in Nassau for his mission to find two NATO atomic bombs stolen by SPECTRE, Q explains here we have a Geiger counter, useful and unobstructive, the sweep hand takes the radioactive count, it's waterproof of course, to which Bond sarcastically responds, but of course. Besides the Rolex Submariner, the Breitling Top Time is the only other model of watch that Sean Connery wears as James Bond.

My paddle is up for these two British crown jewels.

 See this Wednesday's Pop Culture auction catalog here.

h/t Paul Gorman

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Monty Python: worst signatures ever

John Cleese, Terry Gilliam, Michael Palin, Terry Jones, Eric Idle, and Graham Chapman.

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R.I.P. Storm Thorgerson

Gone to Pasture.

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The Ritva Man x Ian McShane x The Last of Sheila, 1973

Among the myriad of cool things in the 1973 Hollywood Jet-Jet Whodunnit "The Last of Sheila", Ian McShane's Ritva Man David Hockney sweater is the star.

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Michael English's "Bottle" Airbrush Poster, 1970

Down from the attic en route to the kitchen. 

We had his crushed V8 can hanging for a while but I'd forgotten we had this one.

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Knoll London's Black Peter Playing Cards

"Knoll International GmbH originally published this collectors set of playing cards in the 1960's. To celebrate Knoll's sixtieth birthday, Knoll International, London have reproduced them in their original format for your enjoyment."

Luckily we have the perfect place to play. (cards Orange 2 and Blue 6)

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Tea Time in Erin O'Connor's London Kitchen

Fantastic Minton watercolour teacup wallpaper in Erin O'Connor's beautiful South London home, 

via Refinery 29 (definitely click for the full tour)

related: a favorite issue of World of Interiors, 1989, featuring Minton's watercolour books:

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Jan Kaplický's High-Tech Dinghy

Future Systems architect Jan Kaplický's self-contained living room with attached tv, telephone, lamps, and probably stereo, circa 1980. Kaplický was the architect behind Deyan Sudjic's Space Station pad and a slew of unbelievably incredible futuristic buildings, but I like this early effort, complete with all the coolest bits of the High-Tech movement (Pirelli rubber flooring, retractile cords, Plia folding chairs, and of course the billboard as wallpaper.


More evidence that High-Tech was probably Kaplický's favorite book:





Images from Decoration and Design for the 80's by Pamela Ferguson (London, 1983)

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"LOO", or "007"

Either way a large wooden typographic homage to a British Institution.

~ In the shop ~

Related, Peter Greenaway and Alexander Kira's 26 Bathrooms:



And James Bond's Skyfall:



Both worth a look.

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Juergen Teller Go-Sees

Juergen Teller's documentation of the girls who came to his London studio's door, 1998-9.

In the shop

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"Can Anybody Play The Drums?"

 Thanks to how bored my in-laws are with none of their friends down to Florida yet, my father-in-law had some extra time to kill at an estate sale in Islamorada and found this old Who poster rolled up in a Garfield tube (that's killin' time). The poster's from the Cow Palace show in San Francisco, November 20, 1973. Notable for it being the night The Who launched the Quadrophenia Tour, but more notorious for drummer Keith Moon passing out on his drum kit from too much booze and tranquilizers. Pete Townshend then had to ask the audience "Can anybody play the drums?" (5:15) and 19 year-old Iowan Scot Halpin bangs out the rest of the show."

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Talulah Gosh is a Top Celebrity

The Independent has a nice article on the brilliant post-pop life Talulah Gosh, a favorite band from the late 80's. 

Above: A sticker I picked up in 1989 when I stopped by 53rd & 3rd, their label in Edinburgh on my up to the Orkney Islands and The Old Man of Hoy.

h/t Mary at Unchanging Window

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