RIP - TIM BATES - PIEFF

I was informed the other day that Tim Bates, the main designer, owner of Pieff Furniture, died on 5th Jan 2012. Unfortunately as it seems I was unable to find an obituary for him. Which appears to be the way with many of our unsung design heroes in this country. I have done a previous post on Pieff here.

http://made-good.blogspot.com/2009/09/best-of-british-design-pieff.html

and its history can be found here...

http://www.pieff-furniture.com/about

Pieff was the must have name in high-end British furniture during the 1960’s and 70’s. It described itself at the time as "Luxury furniture of the late 20th Century, characterised by its original design, flowing lines and usual blending of striking materials. Now used loosely to describe any design which is ahead of its time”.
Pieff Furniture was a family run business that operated from the 1960’s until the 1980’s, in Lye, in the West Midlands. Together with his two sons, Tim Bates and his family designed and manufactured some of the most cutting edge, British made, modern pieces. Pieff designs had a touch of Hollywood regency and were made using the most glamorous materials. The trademark offering was furniture crafted from mirrored chrome, Brazilian Rosewood, high quality leather and Pirelli webbing. With a reputation for excellence and seen as fairly exclusive, Pieff Furniture was sold through Harrods, Heals and other high-end furniture stores.
Their collection at the time, was described in their brochure as “The Pieff collection reflects a certain lifestyle. A privileged one we admit. But then, Pieff is very exclusive furniture. A fact which is recognised not just in Britain, but through-out the world. Our designers are as individual as the people who own them. And our originality can be seen in each addition to our collection. Inspired ideas bring together exciting shapes, contrasting materials, textures and tones. The results are classically simple in concept, utterly modern in execution. The designer's imagination is matched only by the craftsman's consummate skill. And to complement both, we ensure that everything that goes into making Pieff furniture is of the finest quality. The touch is unmistakable. Which is why it may surprise you to learn that not everybody is impressed with the Pieff collection. But, of course, not everybody can afford to be."

Slightly out of vogue, for some reason I do not understand at the moment. Pieff furniture was and is a Best of British..
and Tim Bates your furniture will live on for a long time and am sure will be antiques of the future. Rest in Peace.

BEST OF BRITISH AND DANISH DESIGN - FRANCE & SON - DAVERKOSEN

Reading this months Homes and Antiques there was a feature on a James France's home. It transpired that James France was Mr France's son who had set up the business. I tried to contact James to ask him if he would tell his fathers story but am afraid he declined. What we can transpire is that this is a great DANISH AND BRITISH achievement.

France & Son, where one of Denmark's greatest makers of furniture. Originally the company was called France and Daverkosen, after Mr. France moved from the UK to Denmark and met his business partner, cabinet maker Mr. Daverkosen. Later on the company became France and Son as Julian France joined in his fathers footsteps. The company was sold to Poul Cadovious in 1964 and existed under the name CADO.

France and son, made some of Denmarks most enduring furniture by some of Denmark's leading designers and I believe might have been one of Denmark's first to supply Mass Market furniture. What they achieved was that you could have the best designers, best designs and mass produce. It seems to have been set-up in 1950. The first recorded furniture I could find was by Peter Hvidt and Ole Wanscher, they got the big guns rolling straight away, followed by Sigvard Bernadotte, Grete Jalk, Arne Vodder, Edvard Kindt Larsen and Finn Juhl. To name a few. It seems around 1956 the company changed names to France and Son, not sure what happened to Mr Daverkosen. If anyone else has any info on the company would be greatly appreciated.

Most pics from furniture index Denmark

XMAS WISH LIST - WHITE LOG BASKET

I really really want this for xmas even though it is a little too large for my fireplace... maybe with some jigging I could get it to fit... Its from Graham and Green priced at £95.. click on title for link to their site... here's wishing!

It reminds me of this magazine rack which www.city-furniture.be had a while ago.. now why didn't I think of it as a log holder!!!

TRULY INSPIRATIONAL PHOTOGRAPHY AND PLACES - SPOMENIK by Jan Kempenaers

Book by Jan Kempenaers
called SPOMENIK

These structures were commissioned by former Yugoslavian president Josip Broz Tito in the 1960s and 70s to commemorate sites where WWII battles took place (like Tjentište, Kozara and Kadinjača), or where concentration camps stood (like Jasenovac and Niš). They were designed by different sculptors (Dušan Džamonja, Vojin Bakić, Miodrag Živković, Jordan and Iskra Grabul, to name a few) and architects (Bogdan Bogdanović, Gradimir Medaković...), conveying powerful visual impact to show the confidence and strength of the Socialist Republic. In the 1980s, these monuments attracted millions of visitors per year, especially young pioneers for their "patriotic education." After the Republic dissolved in early 1990s, they were completely abandoned, and their symbolic meanings were forever lost.

From 2006 to 2009, Kempenaers toured around the ex-Yugoslavia region (now Croatia, Serbia, Slovenia, Bosnia and Herzegovina, etc.) with the help of a 1975 map of memorials, bringing before our eyes a series of melancholy yet striking images. His photos raise a question: can these former monuments continue to exist as pure sculptures? On one hand, their physical dilapidated condition and institutional neglect reflect a more general social historical fracturing. And on the other hand, they are still of stunning beauty without any symbolic significances.

as found here

http://www.cracktwo.com/2011/04/25-abandoned-soviet-monuments-that-look.html

HOUSE TOUR!

OK here is my home!
Enter House Tour
Survey:
My Style: mid-century modern danish and british with a quirky splattering of surrealism.
Inspiration: Art, books, magazines, other people's homes!
Favorite Element: Art.
Biggest Challenge: I don't own it.
What Friends Say: That is is just me.
Biggest Embarrassment: cheap flooring.
Proudest DIY: new doors from B&Q.. love love DIY.
Biggest Indulgence: Probably the penguin donkey bookcase in the living room and the prints.
Best Advice: From my lecturer at college on lateral thinking :Lateral thinking is solving problems through an indirect and creative approach, using reasoning that is not immediately obvious and involving ideas that may not be obtainable by using only traditional step-by-step logic.".. it just made sense.!

Resources of Note:
PAINT & COLORS
• white, grey, french grey, baby sick colour spare room, vintage green in hallway

ENTRY
• soholm plaque
• B&Q chrome light

LIVING ROOM
• mogens hansen sofa, conran beep light, balzac chair, penguin donkey, various op artists, moller desk, kaiser idell light, fornasetti vase, habitat catherin gray memento vase,


Kitchen
• sarineen marble table, eames chairs, cathrine holm

main bedroom
• Hans wegner bed, stag chest, vintage papa chair

spare bedroom
• Sanderson curtains and duvet

THINGS IN MY HOME - BALZAC CHAIR - SCP - MATTHEW HILTON

Hi been a long time since I posted anything on my home and need to do some up-dating!. I have wanted one of these chairs and stool for along time and finally found one on ebay and managed to buy it. It's in the right colour too as they do not produce black anymore. Yipeee.. Its very comfortable and not as big as you would think.

BALZAC CHAIR

SCP Balzac Armchair by Matthew Hilton. A seminal piece of furniture designed by Matthew Hilton. Solid beech frame with steel springs and elasticated webbing, covered in multi-density foam with feather cushions gives medium to soft support. American Oak legs. A contemporary piece with organic form, upholstered in beautifully soft, full-aniline leather.

"1991 SCP make their first upholstery piece, the Balzac armchair by Matthew Hilton. The chair initially receives mixed reviews, but goes on to become the biggest selling SCP chair of all time, something of an icon, included in the well known Taschen book “1000 Chairs” and a permanent resident at the Geffrye Museum, the Museum of the English domestic interior. Other design of the year at the Auberon table by Matthew Hilton and the Bishop table by Konstantin Grcic." Taken from SCP's History on their website.

Matthew Hilton (1957- ) is a British furniture designer of modern furniture.
Hilton attended Portsmouth College of Art and then Kingston Polytechnic. After graduation he was an industrial designer and model maker until 1984. In 1991, he designed the "Balzac Armchair"[1] for SCP Limited a company started by Sheridan Coakley in 1984 and now based in Shoreditch, London. His furniture is held in the permanent collections of the Victoria and Albert Museum, London, the Geffrye Museum, London and the Manchester City Art Gallery. He was elected a Royal Designer for Industry (RDI) in 2005. In 2007 Matthew launched his company Matthew Hilton Limited.