These Seasonal Toys Christmas cards are inspired by objects in the V&A museum's massive collection. By seasonal, they mean toys very much in the Christmas spirit, such as the clockwork reindeer pictured which dates from the 1970s.
Each pack contains three designs so, as well as the reindeer, you also get an image of a 1970s toy train and a late '40s clockwork turkey. Perfect for a bit of seasonal nostalgia.
A pack of twelve cards costs £4.50.
Buy them online
This apple-patterned notebook from the V&A Shop is a pretty piece of stationery as it stands and is made more remarkable once you've realised it's adapted from a dress fabric design from the 1950s.
The pattern is part of the vast archives of the V&A Museum and, in this case, it's drawn from the work of Joyce Badrocke. She was one of the textile designers for Horrockses Fashions, who inspired a range at the V&A shop earlier this year. This design is every bit as fresh and colourful as you'd expect from their dresses and works well on this A5 notebook.
There's also a smaller notebook available that uses a pattern featuring rabbits, based on one of Badrocke's designs for children.
The notebook costs £3.25.
Buy it from the V&A Shop
Remember Aardvark's Manifesto print? It urged you to do things like bake a cake, write a letter and play a kazoo. Well, Aardvark are back and have produced a new Pause and Wonder print along a similar vein, part of the V&A shop's new Cherry on the Cake collection.
For the Cherry on the Cake collection designers were commissioned to create work inspired by the museum and its principles. Here Aardvark have gone back to the principles of the museum's founder, Henry Cole, for inspiration and depicted them in their trademark style as a letterpress print – here we are urged to marvel, learn and imagine.
Works from eleven further designers make up the collection, including Retro To Go regulars like Lisa Jones, Angie Lewis and James Brown each producing interesting responses to the brief.
This print retails for £25.
Buy it online
This Portofino design tea towel is a charming highlight of the new Autumn collection at the V&A shop.
The design, featuring scenes of pleasure and leisure, dates to the 1950s when it was known as Bistro, a wallpaper produced by The Wall Paper Manufacturers. Held in the vast collection of the V&A, it's been plucked from the archives and given a new purpose and adapted for use on oven gloves and an apron, as well as the tea towel pictured. Perfect for any wannabe 50s-style housewives.
Not on sale yet, you can pre-order this tea towel for delivery next month. It costs £6.
See it online
Out of print for some time, Streetstyle by Ted Polhemus is to be reissued in September by PYMCA.
It's a history of youth cults, originally produced to coincide with an exhibition at the V&A that covered the changing faces of 'tribes' over a 50+ year period – Hipsters, Teddy Boys, Beats, Rockabillies, Rude Boys, Mods, Surfers, Hippies, Punks, B-Boys, Ravers – you know the kind of thing.
This fully updated edition will feature nearly 100 extra pages with a four page bound insert, 5 new chapters, including over 250 images, all packed into 224 pages. The books is down for a launch on 15th September 2010, priced at £18.95.
The V&A is currently hosting its Quilts 1700 – 2010 exhibition and as with most exhibitions, offering a selection of associated merchandise too. Which includes this rather smart limited edition Quilts stool.
The shape is very much early 20th century (think Alvar Aalto's Stool 60), with the design on the birch veneer top adapted from a patchwork coverlet of printed cotton and linen with appliqué and embroidery, dating from the early part of the 19th century. Just in case you were wondering.
That top is supported by metal legs and the whole thing is being sold as a limited edition, although it's not clear just how limited it is. Reasonably priced though at £50.
