Shelves

Found on Pinterest

Justin Hallway

Fig. 1

We spotted this (fig. 1) in an antiques etc. shop in Sidcup priced at £125.

I happened to be replacing a warped back door at the time and so I have reinforced

Fig. 2

and (vaguely) resquared that (fig. 2).


Then, while working on the door, on bin day a neighbour cast off a wooden table top which I acquired (fig. 3).

Fig. 3

Bowie Auction

A preview of the Bowie Auction at Sotheby's brings two items related to previous posts:

Ettore Sottsass, 'Casablanca' Sideboard, 1981. Estimate £4,000–6,000. 
Breaking with the minimalist aesthetic that characterised furniture design in the 1970s, Ettore Sottsass and the Milan-based Memphis group revolutionised cutting-edge design, introducing fun, humour and strikingly bold colour combinations into functional pieces. The 'Casablanca' Sideboard, from the first Memphis collection in 1981, is considered a defining work of postmodern design, with examples held in numerous major museum collections around the world including the V&A in London, the Philadelphia Museum of Art and the Museo dei Mobile e delle Sculture Lignee, Milan.

I would prefer the bookcase here

Square Forms II (Tihagrtm #3)

Front Room with Green Ted

Hepworth Museum, St. Ives with Green Ted

Folding wooden Christmas tree

There was a spate of these last year which seemed to turn it from a novelty to a commonplace. As so often, I didn't get round to making one, but there is a fresh chance every year.
There seem to be three broad options:

• plywood
• solid wood (this was how it started)
• 'driftwood': the rustic look, though this would go against one major advantage of the scheme - the ability to store flat.

If you opt for rustic, the materials more-or-less dictate the construction method. 

Otherwise there are two main design decisions: 1. single or multiple branches; 2. separation.

Image sources:
plywood - inhabitat /  onetwotree
solid wood - monoqi
driftwood - pinterest

solid, single branched, dowelling separators

Plywood,
double branched,
plywood separators

driftwood / twigs (small)

Things I have actually got around to making #2

Rietveld's Red and Blue Chair

 Probably the finest three-dimensional manifestation of Mondrian there has been. I have seen real ones at Tate Modern and at the Mondrian show in Rome, 2012.

I made one with the help of a Greenwich Leisure woodworking course, completing it in April 2012. In detail, the joints have an elegance which are a joy to work with; as a whole, it is breathtaking. I cannot recommend diy construction highly enough: it will be one of the highlights of your life.

Left is an original, the three images below are of mine in various states of completion, including its occupation by Big Ted.

As with the light, the instructions came from the book How to Construct Rietveld Furniture. There are some errors in the book, as noted here, "there are a couple of holes missing in the back rail and it should be made clear that the holes joining up with those which are drilled through should be drilled only after initial assembly (this will probably only make sense if you have a try)."

It is more comfortable than one might expect.

Bath, Wieki Somers

Saturday Times Magazine, 26th March 2016
A piece on the Pais home of Didier and Clémence Krzentowski, who run the Galerie Kreo with a branch in London.
Amongst the many fine pieces shown in the article was a bath by Wieki Somers. I cannot make one, but this another entry of homage.

I think there was a similar work at a V&A show a few years ago and I thought I had a snap but is unfound at the time of writing.

Image source.

Square Forms

This will almost certainly be the next thing to be made and I started a separate blog for it just before this one.

It is a small Barbara Hepworth seen on a recent visit to St Ives. It is around 12" high and the originals (a set of 9) were made from bronze offcuts left over from larger pieces. I plan to make two, one dark and one in Mondrian primary colours.

I had hoped to track down all 9 and make them all, but the others are shown in the catalogue as 'in private collections' and I have only found images of this one (#9) and #3.

Ettore Sottsass bookcase, 1981

See here

One more from ARTECONTEMORANEA

This is the first of their pieces that I already know. Described on ebay as,

carlton memphis
design sottsass

Straordinaria libreria Carlton disegnata da Ettore Sottsass nel 1981 e prodotta da Memphis Milano. Oggetto nuovo, quindi in condizioni perfette

DISPONIBILE IN 3-4 SETTIMANE
Dimensioni libreria (bookcase) altezza (high) 196, larghezza (wide) 190, profondità (dept) 40 cm
Dimensioni cassa (wood case) altezza (high) 217, larghezza (wide) 202, profondità (dept) 46 cm

AVAILABLE IN 3-4 WEEKS
Wonderful bookcase designed by Ettore Sottsass in 1981 and produced by Memphis Milan. Item New so in good condition. Condizioni perfette.

This piece is priced at €11,950 (£9,464 at the time of writing) and there is also a scale model, shown in the distance on the third photograph below, and on its own in the fourth, selling for £712.

This document came with the scale model.

ROSITA Stereo Music System

And there's a better one here.

Clearly, you could never make one of these, but it is a thing of beauty and should be acknowledged.

Selling on ebay for $2,899 (£1,997 at the time) with a description unfortunately written by a person whose narrative skills are less worthy than the product:

Attention, all you DESIGN HIGH FIDELITY SYSTEM fanatics!

Up for auction there is this extremly stylish and cool looking WHITE ROSITA STEREO HIFI RECORD PLAYER RADIO RECEIVER STEREO SYSTEM on this very cool chrome tulip stand.

This is definitely the coolest stereo equipment set from the 1970s Panton Eames era we ever saw. A real hifi design classic, to be seen in important design museums worldwide and featured in all good books about 20th century design.

This unique hifi equipment looks really awesome with its stunning straight design, on this very cool tulip base. 100% vintage object from the 1970s, made in W.-Germany by the famous manufacturer ROSITA. 

You're bidding here on the extremly rare ROSITA STEREO hifi system. 

The body is made of old white painted wood with integrated speakers and a grey see through plastic lid. There is a original built-in PHILIPS GA 160 GC 060 L automatic record player. The needle is new. Plays 33, 45 and 78 rpm. There is also a PHILIPS N 2505 cassette player.

Integrated into the upper front there is the ROSITA UKW LW receiver incl. tuner with very cool controls.

Original unrestored condition. This desirable collectible is in good used condition, very well-tended. Very shiny surfaces.

Some yellowing all arround. Free of big damages.

This device is complete, nothing is missing. Technical fully serviced.

Comes on this very cool chromes tulip base.

It's realy well tended. Very clean. Some fine scratches and nicks. Shows some sign of usage.

We did some detailed pictures to give a perfect impression of this very cool item.

For those who wanna get off being ordinary.

measurements: ROSITA Stereo incl. tulip base - approx. 43 1/3" high, 24 1/2" wide, 24 1/2" deep

Things I have actually got around to making #1

Just to establish that I do sometimes stroll (never leap) into action,

There are two main areas of activity, Mondrian paintings and Rietveld furniture. On the latter, I am indebted to the authors of this book. Looking at amazon today, it seems to be out of print, but they have numerous second-hand sellers with offers from around £20.


My first example is the Rietveld lamp. Shown left is the illustration from the book.
I began documenting my efforts here, but do not show the final product. I stated in April 2013,

"[5Apr13] This project has been languishing for several years. I must have started it at least four years ago as I obtained the piece of copper pipe from a work colleague, and I retired in 2009. The other two pieces I bought from B&Q. I assembled the pipes a couple of years ago and also toyed with a combination of wood and metal pieces. [6th - I have found the original pack of bulbs I ordered which still had the ebay invoice dated 10th Jan 2007.]

The project ground to a halt when I couldn't find a lamp-holder to attach at the top

The metalwork is already done and I bought pots of Humbrol paint for the project years ago and so this early stage was soon reached."

Bringing matters up to date, I finished the lamp a year-or-so ago and still have the leftovers to make a couple more.

I opted for Mondrian colours.

Light

And here's a light from the same shop as the side table.

laurel memphis

peter shire

Rara lampada da tavolo modello chiamato Laurel, design Peter Shire, prodotta da Memphis Milano dal 1985. Nuova, in perfette condizioni e funzionante. Lampadine a neon incluse. Materiale metallo verniciato. Completa di etichetta in metallo, originale Memphis.

DISPONIBILE IN 2-3 SETTIMANE

AVAILABEL IN 2-3 WEEKS

Dimensioni larghezza 42 cm, profondità 34 cm, altezza 29 cm

Dimension: wide 42 cm, dept 34 cm, high 29 cm

Very rare desk lamp designed by Peter Shire and produced by Memphis Milan from 1985. Model named Laurel. Item new, so in mint condition and working. Neon bulbs included. Material painted sheet steel. Complete of original Memphis metal plate (see pics below)

Side table

This is the item on ebay that triggered the blog, described as:

Ivory memphis

ettore sottsass

Tavolino in legno precomposto, laminato plastico e cristallo. Design Ettore Sottsass per Memphis. Oggetto nuovo, quindi in perfette condizioni, disponibile in 3-4 settimane. Con targhetta originale in metallo Memphis

Dimensioni altezza 100 cm, diametro 50 cm

Dimension high 100 cm, diameter 50 cm

Side table in reconstitued veneer, plastic laminate and glass Design Ettore Sottsass for Memphis. Item new, son in mint condition, available in 3-4 weeks. Marked with metal plate original Memphis

The ebay seller has some fun things that will also make the list - here's the link.