The Sneaky Magpie

Lately I have been reading a lot about Utility design and rationing, a very fascinating topic.

Utility Furniture and Fashion 1941-1951 is a great little book explaining all the stages of the rationing era: how the utility furniture was designed, what pieces of clothing were allowed, there are examples of fabric design and the best posters ever. Simplicity is a must, but simplicity makes those things aesthetically appealing to me.

The Dig for Victory campaign is probably one of the best pieces of advertising ever made, clear message and striking imagery.

Fabric patterns:

Posters:

When I visited Imperial War Museum back in January I almost screamed for joy when I saw the poster for the upcoming Ministry of Food exhibition. So yesterday I paid a visit.

To start with I wanted to buy everything from the exhibition shop, there were recipe books, candles, aprons to name a few, all very attractive looking.

The exhibition shows all aspects of food making process.

We start in a gardening section with a shed and accessories that wouldn’t feel out of place at Labour and Wait.

We had rationing books and examples of food rations – it was not a lot! There was also a shop with the most amazing packaging display, a lot of the brands are still available now.

There was a kitchen with very little on the table.

I will take this as a house inspiration.

I saw few examples of the most popular dishes and I can only imagine how dull it must have been with a Woolton pie being the most exciting thing on a plate. But I admire people for creativity, I remember potato stamps which used to amuse me as a child and got chucked afterward, back in the 40s after having a creative afternoon the stamps were cleaned and cooked for dinner.

The exhibition ended on a high note in a sweet shop.

The fashion was pretty amazing too, corduroy jodhpurs, shirt and a preppy v-neck worn with socks and lace up boots. Chic Land Girls are my new style inspiration.

This is one of the most informative, interesting and inspiring exhibitions I have ever seen.

I am a great admirer of design, mid century modern in particular. So I decided to start posting bits about my favorite designers, architects and artists.

The first installment will be about the British answer to Charles and Ray Eames – Lucienne and Robin Day. Unlike the Eames, Robin and Lucienne Day did not design together, she did textiles and he did furniture. They trained before the WWII but only got to design properly after the war was over when rationing was in place and the furniture making was very challenging.

They both rose to fame during the Festival of Britain in 1951 and became design icons instantly.

Lucienne, who passed away earlier this year, excelled in textile design with abstract ebullient patterns inspired by modern artists like Joan Miro. Her fabrics are very vibrant, playful and still very much in fashion.

One of Lucienne’s most famous patterns: Calyx

Perpetua

Herb Antony fabric designed for Heals

More Heals fabrics

Her style still feels very fresh and cheerful, I wouldn’t mind a couple of cushions or curtains made with her fabrics in my apartment.

Robin Day created furniture for the South Bank’s Royal Festival Hall and for manufacturer Hille. His designs are light and elegant, his use of material is very clever making for functional affordable furniture (well, not anymore) and easy storage.

Armchair designed for the Royal Festival Hall

Stacking chairs for Hille

Room setting by Robin Day with textiles by Lucienne

I think a visit to V&A’s Study Rooms is in order to have a closer look at Lucienne’s creations.