retro-the-best....: Feb 26, 2011

Saturday, February 26, 2011

Latest articles from Retro To Go

John Lewis modernist-inspired Penelope task lamp
House Industries x Heath Ceramics Eames house numbers
1960s-style Tea Dance linen dress
Rubik's Cube Mug and Rubik's Cube Coasters
For sale: 1950s Erno Goldfinger-designed Wellesley House property in Broadstairs, Kent

John Lewis modernist-inspired Penelope task lamp

Posted: 26 Feb 2011 09:15 AM PST

Ok, stick with me on this one. The Kaiser idell Table Lamp 6631 is an original Bauhaus design, recently reissued for the modern era and available to you for a hefty £601. if you want a similar look for a fraction of the price, check out the John Lewis Penelope task lamp.

It's new in at John Lewis and is incredibly like the Bauhaus original, perfect for adding some modernist style to your home for very little outlay. Available in cream or white, it has a a metal bowl shade and circular base, joined by a C-shaped stem. Love that vintage-style switch too.

All of that for just £40.

Find out more at the John Lewis website

House Industries x Heath Ceramics Eames house numbers

Posted: 26 Feb 2011 08:49 AM PST

This is something of a 'coming soon', but these House Industries x Heath Ceramics Eames house numbers are coming very soon.

Yes, those nasty brass house numbers on your outer wall can be converted into something that's both midcentury and utterly cool, a range of numbers using the Eames Century Modern font, sized at 6 x 6 inches (so pretty big) and printed on clay tiles with a matte glazed finish.

They'll be available in late spring directly from the Heath site, priced at $45 each. Another shot over the page.

Find out more at the Heath Ceramics website

1960s-style Tea Dance linen dress

Posted: 26 Feb 2011 08:24 AM PST

If you're after a mod-inspired 60s look without breaking the bank, this Tea Dance linen dress could be right up your street.

Inspired by the streets of swinging London, the dress has a round neck, button detail at front, side pockets and zip and hook fastening at back. It's also fully lined.

If the 'raspberry coulis' shade above is a bit strong, there's also a 'storm' (aka black). Both retail for the same price, which is £66.

Find out more at the Great Plains website

Rubik's Cube Mug and Rubik's Cube Coasters

Posted: 26 Feb 2011 08:01 AM PST

From being the must-have puzzler game of the 1980s, the Rubik's Cube more of an iconic design, lending its shape and colours to all manner of modern-day items. The Rubik's Cube Mug and Rubik's Cube Coasters are the most recent.

Both are on pre-order now, with the mug following the 'Cube' shape as closely as possible, but throwing in a 'special curved lip' so it's actually easy to drink out of. The coasters also ape the cube, stacking on top of each other to create a cube when not in use.

If you want one of either, the mug is £8.99, while the coasters are £12.99. See a shot of the coaster over the page.

Find out more at the Spinning Hat website

For sale: 1950s Erno Goldfinger-designed Wellesley House property in Broadstairs, Kent

Posted: 26 Feb 2011 03:31 AM PST

We usually feature huge art deco, midcentury or modernist architectural masterpieces on these pages, great to look at, but pretty much always unaffordable to all of us. Well, here is a semi-detached house that's firmly in the 'affordable' bracket for more of us - but it's also an Erno Goldfinger-designed Wellesley House property in Broadstairs, Kent.

In truth, the designer and the history of the house are actually more interesting than the property, but just think…you can tell the world your home was designed by a modernist legend. How cool would that be?

The three-bedroom house was designed by Goldfinger in the early 50s for teachers at the nearby Wellesley House preparatory school. On the face of it, they are fairly straightforward properties, but they do have many typical Goldfinger features including large windows, 'intelligent use of space' and an eye-catching, ribbed flat roof.

In terms of specifics, you get those three bedrooms and a bathroom on the first floor, a living room, dining room, kitchen and hallways on the ground floor, along with a large garden, garage and (interestingly), an outside WC, presumably original to the property. Oh yes, it's also around 15 minutes' walk from the beach. Always a bonus, which perhaps makes up a little for the fairly bland interior. Saying that, it was probably always fairly simplistic.

Price? Offers around £250,000. The image below, by the way, is the house in its original form.

Find out more at the Modern House website

[New post] Professor Zoom crashes Flash #9

Professor Zoom crashes Flash #9

dailypop | February 26, 2011 at 11:46 pm | Tags: flash dc comics, geoff johns superhero comic books, speedster | Categories: The Flash | URL: http://wp.me/p4kUt-2mg

Every superhero needs a supervillain. Superman has Lex Luthor, Batman has the Joker, Popeye has Bluto... etc.

The Flash is renowned for his rogue's gallery of mad scientists, psychic gorillas and evil men who play with toys, but the real threat has always been Professor Zoom. First introduced in Flash #139 (published in 1963, the year that gave us Doctor Who and took from us President John F. Kennedy), Eobard Thawne is a criminal from the future who loots a time capsule only to find one of the Flash's old costumes inside. Already in possession of the evil mastermind moniker 'the Professor,' Thawne alters it slightly to Professor Zoom, dons a reverse-themed Flash costume and a career is born.

Thawne became the most destructive and powerful of the Silver Age Flash's, his mind bent not just on defeating the Flash, but in replacing him completely in history. This madness resulted in the jaw-dropping murder of Iris, wife of Barry Allen. It was a common tactic at the time, with Aquaman's son being killed, Black Canary I's husband being killed, Ray Palmer's wife going insane and Hawkman and Hawkgirl becoming estranged. For anyone who thinks that the DCU has only gotten dark recently, think again.

So distraught over the loss of his wife, the next time Zoom appeared and threatened someone close to him, he snapped Thawne's neck and was placed on trial, one of the longest story lines in the comic's history (soon to be collected in a Showcase edition).

The genius of Eobard Thawne (via http://www.fingmonkey.com/2011/01/flash-friday-reverse-flash-friday.html)

After Barry Allen died and was replaced by his protege Wally West as the Flash, a new character Hunter Zolomon was introduced. Initially a criminal profiler, Zolomon was driven mad by interacting with a malfunctioning Cosmic Treadmill at the Flash Museum (why was the real thing on display?). Determined to transform West into a better hero through tragedy and pain, Zolomon renamed himself Zoom and struck at West's wife, killing her twins in the womb.

But now the real Professor Zoom is back, still manipulating history and determined to replace Barry Allen. When Barry Allen was revived in the pages of Final Crisis, it was clear that a good story better be in the wings. I know that the domain of the dead is a revolving door in comics, but the death of the Silver Age Flash has always been an important moment for readers. Sacrificing himself in the pages of Crisis on Infinite Earths, the Flash horrifically aged and shattered throughout time, merging into the very lightning that caused his transformation into the scarlet speedster in the first place.

Professor Zoom returns in Flash: Rebirth

Many fans were frustrated by the addition of Allen's mother being murdered and his father perishing in prison as the prime suspect. They felt that it was yet another moment of comic book writers 'darkening up' their heroes. Imagine their surprise and excitement when it was revealed that Professor Zoom had been altering Allen's history. The first attack in a renewed battle between the polar opposed speedsters, the next volley has arrived in Flash $9, focused on Professor Zoom's origin.

Professor Zoom Vs. The Flash Via http://theflash.wikia.com

Told in a fractal narrative style, we see Thawne's life of suffering and unfair conditions change again and again as a spectral image of his supervillain self appears to kill any who stand in his way. A neglected child, Thawne's parents have a second child who fills Eobard's life with tasks and whining.

When Thawne is unable to attain a research position at the Flash Museum, he blames it all on his brother who has successfully become a policeman. When Eobard's brother attempts to arrest him for hacking into the Museum archives, he is suddenly removed (violently) from history. The time-line altered, Thawne is next shown as an aspiring student at the Flash Museum.

The story continues to develop, showing Thawne's desperation to create a perfect life, so vicious and precise that even any that would deny him love are destroyed. It is truly chilling. The conclusion is a mind-bender and no doubt sets the stage for Flashpoint, the upcoming cross-over event of 2011.

If you have not been reading the Flash, I highly recommend the new series. Johns is known for his work on JSA, Hawkman and Green Lantern (all superb books), but he really cut his teeth on the Flash and continues to remind readers why he is such a magnificent character.

If you are more of a hardcover and trade paperback kinda guy, please consider the collections below: