Interior inspiration: RM's posters in minimalist black & white spaces
White walls, big windows, clean spaces - in simple, minimalist interior poster can work as a stylish detail or a strong color accent. We connected three chosen prints from our collection with this kind of rooms to show that vintage poster + modern interior is a well matched couple.
Posters used here:
1. Polish Swissair Travel Poster
2. Swiss Industries Fair Basle Czech 1933 Original Poster
3. ST RAPHAËL Quinquina Apéritif - Rouge / Blanc 1933 Original Advertising Print
Posted: Oct 19, 2015 | Tagged: collecting, collection, interior, posters, print, vintage, vintage posters
Poster stories
Posted: Sep 30, 2015 | Tagged: collecting, collection, making of a poster, poster, posters, print, vintage, vintage posters
Paper magic, part II: playing with shadow and light
In the first part we showed tiny, richly decorated paper theaters in which colours and shapes played the main role. Now it's time to revive the paper (and not only paper) forms using light and shadow.
Shadow puppetry - inspiration and tradition
The one of greatest inspirations for that kind of art can be found in shadow puppet theaters, which are popular in various cultures, especially in Asia (Indonesia, Thailand Malaysia, China, India, Nepal) but also in Turkey, Greece or France. Shadow puppetry has an old tradition - for example, the earliest references to it came even from the 8th century. In traditional shadow theatres are used three-dimensional wooden forms or flat leather puppets.
Silouette animation
Contemporary shadow puppets are made from various materials, such as paper, wood or plastic. Today such puppets are used not only in special theaters but also in short animated movies or music videos.
The foremost pioneer of silouette animation was a German film director, Lotte Reininger. She made her motion pictures more than ten years before Disney. Below - one of her works:
Here you can read more about this creative woman.
And another example of this kind of animation - Les Trois inventeurs from 80's made by Michel Ocelot - French writer, designer and director of animated films and television programs:
Dioramas
Dioramas are miniature worlds with tiny props and figures. They also have quite long tradition, which reaches up even to the 6th century. Of course, when we're talking about miniature worlds, we also must mention about vintage dollhouses, which are a great inspiration for contemporary diorama creators.
Like shadow puppetry, dioramas also are made not only of paper, but it's quite popular material, often used for creating this type of little landscapes. For example, Tatebanko, very popular in 17th century, was a Japanese art of making dioramas out of paper. Some of those paper creations look quite similar to paper theaters.
Here are contemporary paper cutted dioramas and theather of lights, inspired by vintage mood. First - Boucheron, Theater of Lights - an interactive experience created in paper art and stop motion, which shows 120 years of history of the famous french jeweler Boucheron:
Boucheron, 26 Place Vendôme, Héliodon from Barthélemy Antoine-Loeff on Vimeo.
And paper diorama, prepared as an effect of cooperation of Cognac house Courvoisier and creative agency White Label; the installation was unveiled as part of L'Atelier de Courvoisier:
Alchimie de Courvoisier - Projected Paper Diorama from Davy and Kristin McGuire on Vimeo.
Sources:
The history of Indonesian puppetry Theater (Wayang)
Photo of shadow puppets used in this post:
Magdalena Koscianska (source)
Posted: Sep 18, 2015 | Tagged: animation, paper, video, vintage
Paper magic, part I: Paper Theater
Some time ago we showed our selection of inspiring vintage toys, now it's time for another special thing, which gives a lot of joy since late 18th century - for little owners, as well as for adults. Tiny paper theaters - richly decorated scenes with illustrated sceneries, printed on paperboard and ready to assemble at home. It's not only a charming decoration, but also a kind of interactive toy, a great tool which can be used to play and to learn at the same time. That's why in some places paper teathers are still popularized and really appreciated. Older versions of theaters from previous centuries can be seen in toy museums, such as Toy Museum in Karpacz (Poland), where this paper scene is a part of collection of Henryk Tomaszewski (founder of Wroclaw Mime Theater):
Here's also an example of paper doll from the exhibition of Toy Museum in Roden (Netherlands):
A cradle of toy theaters is based in London, in Pollock's Toy Museum which is famous mainly because of this kind of toys. There is also the Pollock's Toy Shop where you can buy your own toy theater. Shop was originally established in the 1880s by its namesake, Benjamin Pollock - creator of paper teaters.
On this 1920 newsreel you can see how Mr. Pollock created his toy teathers:
Pollock's Toy Museum even prepared an app which gives an opportunity to create your own victorian "paper" teather - of course, digitally:
And even though the real charm of toy theatres is hidden in paperboards, from now, if you can't take your own paper theater with you, there's always a possibility to take an alternate, digital version.
Other great sources of images and infos about whole paper theaters and single elements - backgrounds, scenes, pieces:
This Pinterest feed with really good examples of toy theaters
Photos: Magdalena Koscianska (more about toy museums - here)
Posted: Sep 08, 2015 | Tagged: paper, retro, theatre, toys, video, vintage
Vintage bicycle fashion vol. 2: the Tweed Run - retro cycling
In Vintage bicycle fashion vol. 1 you could find insprations from the past. This time we will show you how they inspire people today and how vintage fashion, connected with cycling, became stylish and popular way of spending their time. If we're talking about stylish retro cycling, classic garments and vintage fashion on two wheels, we just can't miss the Tweed Run: The Tweed Run is a metropolitan bicycle ride with a bit of style. We take to the streets in our well-pressed best, and cycle through the city's iconic landmarks. Along the way, we stop for a tea break and a picnic stop, and we usually end with a bit of a jolly knees-up - we can read here, on official Tweed Run website. First edition took a place in 2009. From this time, year by year, people in London go across the city centre on their vehicles, in traditional British cycling attire.
Of course, vintage cycling is popular not only in London. Other countries also have their version of retro cycling festivals, such as Tweet Ride in Alabama (below - photos by Todd Douglas, see whole series here):
and Tweed Run Budapest (photos by Zsolt Szabo, more - here):
See also vintage Cycle Chic from streets of Copenhagen, here. Those people truly show that bicycle is not only the lovely way of transport but also very stylish element of their vintage image.
For more vintage inspirations check also our Pinterest set - Vintage Bicycles.
Posted: Jul 16, 2015 | Tagged: bicycle, cycle chic, cycling, cyclist, fashion, retro, vintage
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