Art Deco graphics

Recently picked up this dazzlingly Art Deco jewellery box from Kempton Antique Market

I love the dynamic hand painted graphics - design depicting movement and vitality was typical of that era, in part because people were trying to forget the war and an exotic, decadent aesthetic style that embraced progression and speed was a natural outlet for this.

It's probably no coincidence that Surrealism was also at it's height during this period, suggesting a ruling characteristic of that period was of seeking a departure from the real and conscious world.  This is probably from the late 20's / early 1930's.

This design reminded me of some of the work in the Vorticism movement 10/15 years before.  Their angular shapes were an obvious pre-cursor for Art Deco's distinctive graphic style.

This piece is by Wyndham Lewis from around 1915

Klaus Pichler

Had some fun discovering the work of photographer Klaus Pichler from Vienna recently.  If you're also a sucker for East Bloc chic check out his beguilingly kitsch collection of images from Odessa in the Ukraine.

                       

 www.kpic.at

London Fashion Week

I've recently been working photographing Street Style at London Fashion Week for The Guardian Fashion Blog.  We don't often feature clothes on here and maybe some people find fashion tedious, but I thought some of these offbeat individuals offered some pretty super colour and pattern inspiration, as well as incorporating vintage textiles in imaginative ways. 

Superstition Book

We have a new publication out!

 

The title is a compilation of personal superstitions collected from friends and strangers. Some are personalised derivatives of common superstitions, others are entirely new inventions. Some date back to childhood experiences, others are from more recent times. Some of them are simple, others highly complex. But they are all based on the common ground of supremely personal attempts of the construction of meaning. 

Design and concept by Jaana Davidjants, introduction by Franziska Wegener.  More info of how to buy / stock on our TOKKO publications page

1950's interiors article

Some colourful mid-century inspiration here using a classic 50's palette of reds, yellows and greens. Nice 'indoor gardening' tips for transforming your window into a den of foliage.

Found by my Dad, a useful creature who spends a lot of his time burrowing into piles of ancient magazines and ephemera at auction houses.

Happy New Year...

Hungarian Book Covers

Just got back from adventuring in Transylvania and Hungary.  Found all of these titles by chance in a backstreet bookshop in Budapest - my favourites are the first few surreal and sci fi beauties.

Some fairly unhinged imagery similar to the covers I featured last year from Lviv in the Ukraine.

The whole hoard has some interesting graphic and illustrative styles however, with the titles seemed to date from around the 1950's to 1970's.

 

Some striking 1950's covers too

 

And some great very minimal reduced shapes and graphics

Bold greens and reds made these simple covers stand out too

I found a few bizarre Romanian vintage postcards I'll post soon too. Transylvania was a real winner - icy tundras, hearty stodge, alcoholic blueberry tea and rambling taxi rides to rural villages where they still use horses and carts and farming has remained pretty much the same as 100 years ago. 

We were also lucky enough to be invited into a local woman Susanna's home, and got to marvel at her extensive collection of enamelware, vintage units, tea sets and alarming amounts of kitsch.

We stayed in a welcoming town called Cluj Napoca - home of the Cheeky Girls, who we incidentally SAW which was beyond perfect.  Romanians are super affable types and the language is actually, thankfully, more like Spanish or Italian as opposed to some of the Eastern countries who think nothing of putting five consonants in a row like this is normal sane practice. 

Well worth a visit and apparently neighbouring Moldova is also excellent in summer.  Just don't order this beast if you can help it