The Mad Men of Modern Design

THE MAD MEN OF MID-CENTURY MODERN DESIGN « The Selvedge Yard
theselvedgeyard.wordpress.com
For fans of Mid-Century modern design, this classic image from Playboy, July 1961 is like the Holy Grail. Design masters & fellow peers in their prime, beautifully captured in a time that was aesthetically crisp, uncluttered and innovative.

In the photo: George Nelson, Edward Wormley, Eero Saarinen, Harry Bertoia, Charles Eames and Jens Risom Playboy Magazine, July 1961.

Go to http://theselvedgeyard.wordpress.com/2009/03/17/the-mad-men-of-modern-design/ for the rest of the story.

What We Hope to Watch: Father Knows Best Season Four

Season Four! It's out today!
Father Knows Best: Season 4 @ amazon.com

Thanks to Shout Factory, the First Family of the Fifties has been given back to the faithful with a fourth collection on DVD. The 5 disc set contains 33 uncut episodes from the 1957-1958 season.

• Will Betty finally get through one episode without experiencing a major crisis? (we can only hope and pray)
• Will Kathy leave home to be a lady wrestler? (hmmm)
• Will Bud go to college to become a brain surgeon? (no worries on that one)
• Will Margaret pull off the rubber gloves and go on strike? (oh no!)
• Will Father grow another gray hair with each episodic dilema? (of course!)

I'll have to watch each thrill packed episode to find out the answers to these and other pertinent questions. But where, oh where can one go to buy a copy???

In the mean time, check out the new and official FKB website :)


Video clip preview @ amazon.com


FKB: Season Four
Disc 1
101 Follow the Leader
102 The Awkward Hero
103 The Good Neighbor
104 Bud, The Executive
105 Sentenced to Happiness
106 Mother Goes To School
Bonus: Window on Main St
"The boy who got it made"

Disc 2
107 The Indispensable Man
108 Kathy's Big Chance
109 Margaret Learns to Drive
110 The Way of a Dictator
111 Mr. Beal Meets His Match
112 Kathy Makes a Wish
113 Man with a Plan
Bonus: Radio Program
A New Housekeeper


Disc 3
114 Big Sister
115 Calypso Kid
116 Father's Biography
117 The Rivals
118 Bud, the Mind Reader
119 Margaret's Other Family
120 The Trial
Bonus: Radio Program
New Arrangements

Disc 4
121 Revenge is Sweet
122 Country Cousin
123 Poor Old Dad
124 Betty's Crusade
125 Young Love
126 Tell It to Mom
127 A Friend In Need
Bonus: Radio Program
Vacation Arrives

Disc 5
128 A Medal For Margaret
129 The Weaker Sex
130 Jim, The Answer Man
131 Bud Quits School
132 A Matter of Pride
133 Betty Finds a Cause
Bonus: Window on Main St
"The Haunted House "

Steve McQueen's Atomic Pad

It's Steve McQueen's home... Need we say more?



"Inside His Hollywood Home
McQueen takes a call in the living room of his eclectic home in Hollywood. "Man, if I didn't make my own scene, I could have wound up a hood instead of an actor," he told LIFE at the time, reflecting on a rough-and-tumble past that included a stint in a school for problem kids and 41 days in the brig for going AWOL while in the Marines.
Photo: John Dominis/TIME & LIFE Pictures"

I ran across this gem a few weeks back originally through a Facebook feed. This must be shared.

Visit Steve McQueen: 20 Never Seen Photos / LIFE Magazine for more (sadly Blogger doesn't support the script to share these directly).

Junior's Pinewood Derby - the Pedal meets the Metal

Yes! It's the latest pine wood derby racer for the 2010 tourney, built by Team Von Clutch (Junior, Brother Dear and Pop a.k.a. myself).

Our team's T-shirt logo! Actually the car artwork is by Robert Williams (I "borrowed" this as a stand in since I didn't have time with being pit crew, mechanic, body specialist, and chief designer, to draw the artwork for our logo).


First - The Basics: Team Von Clutch chose to go with a more streamlined dragster design this year. Nearly 50% of the original block was removed.


And now, the final product! She's finished off in metal-flecked red, flames on the body, a very retro cow skull and just look at the engine!


Meet our team driver. He's very happy to be in this year's race. Asked what his feelings are about this years race, our driver's response was... well... somewhat unintelligible...

Yes, he may be a little green, but there's no mistaking we have the right guy for our car!


And theeeeey're off!

Good enough to bring home the trophy - Atta boy Junior!

Fleamarket Finds

The annual Flea Market held at the event center this past weekend is now history. There didn't seem to be as many dealers offering MCM pieces this year (boo!), but I managed to dig out three deals:

• A red plastic Lustro-Ware silverware tray (I needed one - and it was a steal at $3.00)
• A vintage aluminum folding camp chair with striped fabric seat & back (I need one of these too - another good buy at $5.00)
• And the biggest prize, a classic bullet planter (Can one have too many? - and it was haggled down to $12.00). Go me!

Kromex Triple Tier Serving Tray

Kromex Triple Tier Serving Tray, originally uploaded by Space Commander.

Christmas is way past being over, my lovely turkey dinner is but a memory, and the Charlie Brown specials have stopped airing on the television... all that's left is the nagging worry that I'm rapidly running out of storage space for all these decorations.

Space Race Card Game

DSCN5428, originally uploaded by Space Commander.

The card game is called "Space Race." There's two sets of #1-11, one for each player. The rest of the deck consists of cards that forfeit a turn. Each player takes a turn from their deck. The first player to collect all planet cards (collecting only in order, starting with card #1) wins.

The game was reissued/repackaged a couple times from the '50s-'60s by Ed-U-Cards in New York.

On My Nightstand - "You Only Live Twice"

You Only Live Twice
by Ian Fleming
Published 1964
The twelveth novel in the James Bond series.
Bond goes native in Japan in order to dispatch Blofeld.
Overview

You only live twice:
Once when you're born
And once when you look death in the face.

— You Only Live Twice, epigraph

Meet the Imitation Hymalayan Nanny Goat Rug!

"Wooly Bully" area rug at Lowes, offered in off white and cocoa brown in a variety of dimensions.

OooOOoOo... it's just like walking on yogurt! My bare living room floor has been dying for some T.L.C. like this for far too long...

The search took me through large area rugs, small rugs, dark ones and light. I looked at antique rag rugs, cowhide rugs, faux fur rugs(???) and almost settled on noodle rugs. And then... When I saw this baby on the showroom floor, it was L-O-V-E. I love this area rug. I bought it, bundled her carefully in the red wagon and carried her over the threshold in to her new home.

Mind you, she has one fault to overlook, she tends to shed mini fluffs with traffic. But that's okay. This rug will gently kiss your toes all day long without complaint. Ahhh-hhh...

Happy New Years! ...now where's my refill?

1950s_new_years_eve_party_2-1, originally uploaded by ashleyclaire617.