Cordley and Hayes water cooler

Amid growing sanitation awareness, the early 20th-century the C & H Water Cooler emerged as a unique innovation. As weRead More →

The Hindenburg 1935

Explore the captivating history of the Hindenburg Zeppelin, from its elegant beginnings to its tragic end. Learn about the allure of air travel and its ultimate demise in this fascinating journey through timeRead More →

AGA, Cooker, Ireland - August 2014

Discover the enduring charm of the Aga stove in this brief history. From Sweden to sleek modernity, explore its timeless style, efficiency, and future innovations. A symbol of quality that’s more than just a cooking device.Read More →

Exploring Alternative Design

Discover how writers, thinkers, and countercultural movements in the late 1960s and early 1970s challenged consumer society through alternative design approaches. From hippie communities rejecting materialism to influential books like Victor Papanek’s “Design for the Real World” and E. F. Schumacher’s “Small is Beautiful,” explore the shift towards socially responsible, decentralized, and sustainable design. Underground magazines also played a crucial role in expressing alternative values and fostering dissent. Learn how these alternative voices continue to inspire present-day design practices.Read More →

Curious History of the Writing Desk

The writing desk or bureaux originated in the early seventeenth century from old fashioned Bible boxes. They were flat boxes just large enough to hold the family Bible, which was the most treasured possession. These boxes were almost always kept upon a shelf in the living room. The boxes flat surface and conveniently high form, the owner became accustomed to stand and write their letters on the Bible boxes.Read More →

ul Poiret Selection Met Museum

Fashion Design from 1900 to 1920 – Focus on Freedom. Newfound political independence came newfound fashion freedom. READ MORERead More →

Jacquard Loom

The Jacquard loom, invented by French weaver Joseph-Marie Jacquard in 1805, revolutionized the textile industry by simplifying the weaving process and creating intricate patterns with minimal human intervention. The loom combined advancements from previous inventors, including Bouchier’s needles and hooks, Falcon’s chain of cards, and Vancauson’s prism and lantern wheel mechanism. The loom’s impact on weaving technology and automation is significant, as it paved the way for further advancements in weaving technology and automation. Read More →

Bauhaus building

The Bauhaus School, founded by Walter Gropius in 1919, revolutionized art, architecture, and design by combining theoretical knowledge with practical training. Students completed the Vorkurs, followed by specific workshops, theoretical instruction, and interdisciplinary projects, fostering unity across arts and crafts.Read More →

Ornamo Book of Finnish Design

The 1962 Ornamo Book of Finnish Design showcases mid-century modernism in Finland, featuring sleek furniture and playful textiles, with light age browning on upper edges.Read More →

Pop Art Cover Art

Pop Art emerged in the 1960s as a revolt against mainstream art and culture, focusing on materialism, celebrity, and media issues. It used mass-market sources and mechanized techniques, challenging the establishment and reducing artist roles.Read More →

Aesthetic Wall Collage Kit Posters - Bauhaus Exhibition Posters, Set of 6 Rare German Art School Prints/Geometric Prints Mid Century Art Print

Abstract Geometric Bauhaus Prints and Wall Art

By WallbuddyRead More →

Neon Lighting Dictionary term

Neon Lighting. Semiflexible, hollow tubes of clear acrylic with small bulbs inside that can be connected to light up all at once or sequentially to produce a “chasing” effect. It’s also known as disco lighting, and it’s given homeowners new illumination alternatives. Lights designers consider neon lighting to be an art form.Read More →

Mona Lisa Clock

Mona Lisa Clock – Antique of the Future which features a close-up photo of the famous face.Read More →

May 1968 Posters featured image

In the turbulent days of May 1968 in Paris, a group of artists calling themselves the Atelier Populaire created posters that were vital in spreading the call to unite student and workers.  The propaganda of the French revolt was fed by immediate pressures.  The day by day events – the disruption of classes at Nanterre University led by Daniel Cohn-Bendit, the supporting student demonstrations in Paris, the police invasion of the Sorbonne and its occupation by students, the barricades, and the government’s reaction and referendum…Read More →

Quaich designed by William Clark 1709

The quaich or quaigh is a type of Scottish drinking vessel. It is shallow and uncovered, similar to a porringer.Read More →

Ludwig Mies van der Rohe: Esplanade Apartments and Lake Shore Drive Apartments

Alfred H. Barr Jr. coined the term in 1931 in conjunction with Philip Johnson and Henry-Russell Hitchcock’s 1932 “Modern Architecture: International Exhibition” (along with the accompanying book International Style: Architecture Since 1922) at the New York Museum of Modern Art, where Barr was director.Read More →

Jugendstil an artistic style

Jugendstil, an artistic style that originated around the mid-1890s in Germany and persisted throughout the first decade of the 20th century. READ MORRead More →

Armchair, 1907 - 1913 designed by Gustav Stickley

The term mission furniture was first popularized by Joseph P. McHugh of New York, a furniture manufacturer and retailer. The word mission references the Spanish missions throughout colonial California. The style became increasingly popular following the 1901 Pan-American Exposition in Buffalo.Read More →

Frederick Taylor - Taylorism

His 1911 book Principles of Scientific Management outlined these concepts, and they have influenced various aspects of design, including labour-saving kitchens and more ergonomic household equipment. These included the writings of fellow American Christine Frederick, who published Scientific Management in the Home in 1915, and Lillian Gilbreth’s assessments of domestic efficiency for the Brooklyn Gas Company in 1930, which looked at the kitchen as a location of industrial production. Read More →

Hannah Hoch's 1925 "Equillibre," or Balance," was originally titled "America Balancing Europe."

As a designer, I am passionate about the history of art and their influence on ‘visual design.’  In art history, Dada is the artistic movement that preceded Surrealism, it began in Zurich, Switzerland, in 1916 by a group of mostly painters and painters.  Dada artworks challenged the preconceived notions of what art meant.  Many Dadaists felt that the way to salvation was through political anarchy, the natural emotions, the intuitive and the irrational.Read More →