Your very own pieces of practical pop art, courtesy of the Pow! and Bam! comic book cushions by Bodlon.
Both are large handmade cushions, inspired by old fashioned super hero comics. That imagery is handcut and appliqued lettering, with the cushion being 100 per dent wool felt with a feather inner.
45cm x 45cm is the size, £70 is the price. See an image of the other cushion over the page.
We often talk about Art Deco buildings or Brutalist architecture here, but we don’t mention the periods covered by this book quite so much. “The Book of the Edwardian and Inter-war House” by Richard Russell Lawrence looks at the homes built in these periods, a time when most people began to own their own homes and is a great introduction to the subject.
The book describes in detail, across 272 pages, the dominant styles of these periods. It also looks at the showpiece developments such as Hampstead Garden Suburb and Letchworth Garden City and the latter part of the book has sections focusing on individual elements of the house such as fireplaces, chimneys, bathrooms and tiles.
You can buy the book in hardcover for £22.99 from Amazon.
Described as the 'benchmark reference on the subject', The Story of Eames Furniture by Marilyn Neuhart with John Neuhart promises to be a must-buy for anyone with an interest in midcentury design.
A huge, two-volume, 800-page set packed with more than 2,500 images, it paraphrases Charles Eames himself, explaining his life and just as importantly, the story of the furniture of Charles and Ray Eames in exacting detail.
The Lauren Rennells Vintage Hairstyling book was popular a year or so back, so we suspect Style Me Vintage – Easy Step-By-Step Techniques For Creating Classic Hairstyles by Belinda Hay will be equally well-received.
It claims to be everything you'll need to create vintage hairstyles from the 1930s to the 1960s, offering those step-by-step instructions, detailed photographs of the styles in question and a few tips and techniques to get things just right.
A hardback book with 112 pages from Pavilion, it's out on 4th October 2010, with Amazon now doing discounted pre-orders at £7.49.
The 1956 This is Tomorrow exhibition, held at London's Whitechapel Gallery, is widely regarded as one of the seminal exhibitions in British art of the second half of the twentieth century, arguably heralding the start of the British Pop Art scene. To accompany a display looking at the exhibition, the Whitechapel are printing a facsimile of the original catalogue.
That's 132 pages, including 100 black and white images, looking at the work artists, architects and theorists produced for the exhibition. The long role call includes such name as Eduardo Paolozzi, Erno Goldfinger, Lawrence Alloway and Richard Hamilton who exhibited his famous 'Just what is it that makes today's homes so different, so appealing?' collage in the show. The only difference between that and the original is a two page insert from the current director and the archive curator of the Whitechapel.
I know there's a lot of Mad Men fans out there, so The Fashion File: Advice, Tips and Inspiration from the Costume Designer of Mad Men by Janie Bryant will almost certainly find a ready-made audience.
Janie Bryant created all of the looks seen on cult show Mad Men, with this book offering a peak inside the dressing room, revealing how the looks of various characters are developed, as well as tips on where to find quality vintage clothing and accessories, plus ideas on pairing authentic pieces with modern clothing and accessories. Not just for women (although that's the backbone of it), there's also a section on giving men a touch of the Don Draper. Probably more Mad Men-inspired than focusing purely on the TV show, but if the show if your latest obsession, probably worth checking out.
It's got a shelf date of 14th October 2010, with Amazon doing pre-orders for the 192-page hardback book right now – the price is £14.44.
