Project: Mid-Century Diorama Inspiration

My inspiration for the diorama that I an currently working on, came from early furniture by Italian, and in particular Finnish designers. I have included some furniture pieces you may find familiar, though you may not be fully aware of their history.

The Italian company Kartell, founded in 1949 by Giulio Castelli, is famous around the world for having invented the culture of plastic furniture and interior fittings. Giulio, a chemical engineer with a vision to create something good from plastics, (a material whose applications at this time, were still relatively unexplored) collaborated with designer Gino Colombini and won the firm its first Compasso d’Oro award in 1955.

Since the 1960s and 70s, Kartell has become an enduring household name due to famous designs by Anna Castelli Ferrieri (above) and Cesare "Joe" Colombo in the 1960s to more recent hits such as Philippe Starck’s Ghost Chairs (left) and Ron Arad’s fun Bookworm shelves (right).

You will see more furniture these days made from Lucite® a high quality plastic acrylic nearly half the weight of glass, yet with added durability. It is available in a variety of  colours and lasts longer than other plastics with its resistance to yellowing and fading.

The Tulip Chair (left) by Eero Saarinen, a Finnish American architect and industrial designer. Saarinen first received critical recognition, while still working for his father, for a chair designed together with Charles Eames for the "Organic Design in Home Furnishings" competition in 1940, for which they received first prize. The "Tulip Chair", like all other Saarinen chairs, was taken into production by the Pennsylvania based Knoll furniture company, which was founded in New York City in 1938 by Hans Knoll.

The Ball Chair (right) by Eero Aarnio a Finnish interior designer, noted for his innovative furniture designs in the 1960s, was created in 1963.

We see these designs now being reproduced and for sale in furniture stores worldwide. Not only are they made for those of us interested in using these "almost timeless designs" in their homes today, these pieces are also being reproduced in China for our dolls.

Some may refer to these items as retro, but according to Wikipedia "Retro style is a style that is imitative or consciously derivative of lifestyles, trends, or art forms from the historical past, including in music, modes, fashions, or attitudes. It may also be known as vintage inspired." 

It generally implies a vintage of at least fifteen or twenty years, which means now even the late 1990's could be retro, so, retro is not a word I like to use to describe historical furniture design of any sort, as it really doesn't relate to any particular period in time. Whereas mid-century modern is the design movement in interior, product, graphic design, architecture and urban development after the second world war, from roughly 1945 to 1975.

During this time, colour played a very important roll in the interior of the homes and I love the way the bright colour accents made interior design ideas feel warm and energetic. Adding a splash of cheerful and optimistic colour to rooms, like those below, makes me feel warm and cosy.

Strangely the colour blue and violet never seemed very popular with the Finns during this period and I have often wondered if they preferred the warmer colours because of their snow and ice climate. :)

Now, even though my room may be inspired by these designs, I shall certainly be looking to decorate my room from a different perspective. After all Australia is not Finland and we have a much warmer climate, so the you may well see purple, blue, aqua and green, instead of red, orange, yellow and lime, or it may even be a little of both, you'll just have to wait and see.

Hope you all are having as much fun as I am.
Big hugs,
X

Project: Furniture 1:6 Scale (Part 4)

After spending two whole days trying to perfect a diamond button back for my new sofa and making my hands sore, almost to the point of making them bleed, from pulling the thread through the buttons as tight as I could manage, I finally gave up on the idea.

Normally, I would try and try again until I succeeded in what I set out to do, but this time no matter what I tried, I just couldn't get the back to look the way I wanted. It was only my determination to finish this sofa so I could move on to the coffee table, which actually stopped me from throwing the darn thing across the room in sheer frustration.

So once again the plain back appears on my new sofa, but I must admit, now I have calmed down, I think it looks quite nifty.

The coffee table, although a little smaller than I would have liked, turned out really well. I managed to give the top a pale pink marble finish this time, but I could have been a little out of my depth if I hadn't watched this tutorial which I found on You Tube. Surprisingly the technique is a lot easier than I thought it would be.

The ornate "carving" on the front of the sofa was achieved by gluing on stamped brass jewelry findings.

I also made a couple of square cushions from an inexpensive cotton lawn stuffed with poly-fill, then some pretty pink loose covers from quilting fabric. I prefer to have loose covers when possible, as it makes it easier to change the look of a room simply by changing the covers. The third oblong pillow has a permanent cover though and will eventually have a tassel at each end to finish it off (I just need to find some small enough).

The diorama features:
Superfresco foam wallpaper for the dado wall - Bunnings
Stik-a-Tex cotton adhesive fabric available on the floor and the right wall - Spotlight
Metallic scrapbook paper on the left wall - Spotlight
Picture frame and potplant - Spotlight
Faux suede from my stash used as the carpet
Furniture painted and upholstered by me - Fairy Meadow Miniatures

Now you all know what I have been working on. :) I hope you are having a wonderful weekend, I'll be back again soon, but I am working on another project now.
Big hugs,
X

New Arrivals

Two dolls in two days, the one I ordered second arrived first on Monday.

Still in her box, the beautiful Katy Keen Blue Serenade.

I am so pleased with her and all her accessories. She came with what she is wearing plus a fur stole, earrings, bracelet, silver shoes, blue clutch bag, a second set of hands and a stand.

The only thing I was not impressed with were her shoes, I had a devil of a time trying to put them on over her stockings. Needless to say, they will be replaced with shoes that fit!

The first order arrived yesterday (Tuesday).

Still in her box, the gorgeous Tulabelle that I wasn't sure I would ever find.

She came with what she is wearing, along with phone, phone bag, coffee cup, necklace, earrings, bracelet, black boots which fitted perfectly, stand and COA.

I hope you are all having a wonderful dolly week, I shall be back later to catch up on your blogs, but that's all from me today, I've got to get back to what I was doing. :)

Big hugs,

X