Saturday, March 26, 2011

Inspiration in London SE21



Last Sunday noon I headed south-east from central London

to the English countryside.

Well, to Dulwich College, at least. What for, you ask?

For this: Midcentury Modern. Furniture and collectables for the home from 50 top dealers and designers. I read about this last year and I've been wanting to go and see it for myself. I was thrilled to be able to go and enjoy all this mid-century goodness.

At the entrance point there was live music (a lady on ukulele) to welcome us visitors.

The show was quite full-on from the word go.

I just loved the juxtaposition of this shelf of mid-century fabric and the classical portrait painting.


Tulip table with Eames chairs in a rather unusual colour - bright yellow with dark green seat cushions. The Krenit bowl on the table was incredibly expensive, I remember.

Now for my favorite discovery at the show: fellow Norwegienne Maria Hatling. (Amongst all the vintage stuff at the show, there were some exciting young designers selling their products too.) I was drawn to this shelf full of beautiful printed cushions and framed prints. Maria has studied fashion design in Wales and I was delighted to find out she had worked as a creative for Orla Kiely for six years. I have even blogged about Maria's work earlier, without knowing it was she who was behind the designs. I am sure we will see a lot of Maria's work in the future.

An overview of Christon Hall.

I wouldn't mind this little chair. It was way out of my budget, though.

I wouldn't mind this Morris Minor either. 7200 pounds was the asking price.

This illustrated coffee table caught my eye. I really like the line drawing with the colour blocks behind it. (Petrol blue and mustard yellow being my favourite combo at the moment.)


I came to the show with hardly any cash in my wallet. It didn't occur to me that the sellers might not take plastic. In hindsight, this might be just as well, as I could easily have invested in something too big and heavy to carry on the plane home. The one souvernir I did purchase was this:

a London moneybox. To help me save up for the next trip, perhaps...

This cushion above is one of the things I had to pass on. It was by Lucy Bates Vintage Fabric. There was a lot of vintage fabric at the show, but I think Lucy had some of the best.

With a head full of mid-century impressions, I left Dulwich and walked in the lovely spring weather (cherry blossoms and all) across to West Norwood for Sunday dinner.

I hope to be back for this show again. And next time I will remember to bring cash.

6 comments:

Francesca said...

skip my question on the other post, missed this. looks amazing! so apparently on may 14th there is another show in north london, yippeeeee! now, shall i take cash or shall i not? hmmmm....

Skinny laMinx said...

Lucky, lucky, lucky you! What a wonderful visit, and thanks for taking us along too. x

Janne said...

Francesca: Most of the sellers take checks too. Good old Britain! (Where else do people still carry check books? ;-)

Heather: Lucky, I know! They do this show 3 times a year (two in London and one in Bristol, I think). Next time you plan a trip to Europe, you should try to time it so you can fit this in. And then we could all meet up!

Lisa Kjellerød said...

I bet your norwegian kroners go quite a long way in England! Looks like an amazing place and I'm wondering why during my 19 years in London have I never been!!??

Jessica May said...

Wow lucky you, I have always wanted to go there!

Juddie said...

ooooooooh! What a wonderful show (except that I would be sad at not being able to take all the mid-century goodness home with me!). I particularly love the Morris Minor (our fave - my hubby and I are looking for a good one at the moment) and the illustrated coffee table. nice.