AMSTERDAM MODERN

Oh yes, we're gettin' on that #shelfie game too. With Nils Strinning.

We finally got around to planting a few plants in our warehouse! By "planting" I mean leaving a few cacti in their plastic pots and just sticking them in a few awesome west german ceramics. But either way, they're still lookin' gooood if I do say so myself. Also got a few maidenhair ferns to populate our coolest triangular planter... Also thanks VSCO Cam for making my iPhone pictures look so stunning.

As one of the greatest Finnish designers, Ilmari Tapiovaara's iconic designs remain very recognizable and highly popular to this day. His spindle-back chair design has become a classic and even a design essential, with manufacturers still duplicating the simple lines and sturdy structure of his chairs. Even years later, mid-century enthusiasts continue to covet Tapiovaara's famous designs for their versatility and warmth of well-loved plywood. Tapiovaara is most well-known for his 1946 Domus Chair, which he designed with his wife, Annikki, for the Domus Academica. He worked in several capacities as an architect, furniture designer, interior designer, art director, and professor in Europe and America. He was given six gold medals for design at the Milan Triennials as well as many other design awards in Finland. He studied at the Central School for Applied Arts in Helsinki, and worked for Le Corbusier and Mies van der Rohe.  The Helsinki Design Museum celebrated Ilm...

Last Friday we had the pleasure of having the talented Sally Breer in our new space for a shoot! Sally is one of our partners at Shopclass and also runs her own interior design firm, Co-Mingle . Although somehow we're still in the process of organizing our inventory (it seems like a never-ending process), Sally and her team were able to pick out some amazing pieces and whip together a few inspiration vignettes for her newest project. A little backstory - When moving into our new space we discovered that bright red floors, while cool, are very hard to photograph with...and get rid of. After some debate as to whether we should tile, carpet, or build a platform over the red for shoots, we decided that re-painting the concrete was probably the best idea for permanence and quality. It took more than a few coats for the red to stop glowing through and casting a faint orange-ish tinge over all the things we tried to photograph. You can see the final result - Sally was the fi...

Exciting things are happening!!! September 26 update: I guess we can say it's officially official now that we've got our name stamped on the side of the building! To say that this move has been a while in the making is somewhat of an understatement - let's all be real here in saying that we needed to move a while ago. Piles of mid-century gems just kept accumulating into more teetering piles in our Van Nuys warehouse. Our NEW abode sports 10,000 square feet, respectfully doubling our space to store all our (stuff). Nevertheless, three weeks later, we've still managed to fill the floor. At least everything is in a much more organized stack (as opposed to pile). We're still unpacking boxes, but feel free to drop by and browse our inventory, without the fear of being hit by waves and waves of endless furniture glory...But don't worry, the glory managed to stay here! Also subscribe to our mailing list for more updates (in the description side-bar). Se...

Storage is important for many reasons, and everyone collectively needs it. Mostly so you can hide all your junk from your friends or your treasures you don't want them acquiring... However, knowing your storage OPTIONS is just as important for a few of these reasons: 1.  Obvious cuteness : spend the extra time looking for a case piece you like - don't just throw together something painted white you got on a quick run-through of Ikea (you probably just went for the Swedish meatballs anyways...) 2. Mix and match : like always, I love mixing and matching . Why? Because we do vintage, and that means that sometimes you can't buy matching sets of things. Which doesn't mean it's it's not better - that's why I love it! You can grab a variety of different items that suit the same purpose. It also challenges your design sensibility (if you're up for that of course). Tomado Industrial Shelving Wall Unit 3. As always, variety . Size, shape...

It's August...and that means going back to school! The only part I ever enjoyed about that was getting new school supplies and new clothes. And now a new workspace... (desk, chair, lamp, pens, pencil holders, notebooks all inclusive). Since everybody else is getting new things, why not get yourself a little something too? Also check out our post on building your home office with drafting tables ! AND our Pinterest board on workspaces is full of great inspiration. In this picture: Industrial School Chair , G-Plan Desk or Vanity , Hala Style Desk Lamp In this picture: Cees Braakman Style Desk , Industrial School Chair , Orange Enameled Industrial Clamp Lamp In this picture: Friso Kramer Revolt Chair , Coen de Vries Desk for Devo the Hague , Philips Style Cylinder Desk Lamp , Tomado Standing Bookshelf In this picture: Friso Kramer Style Double Desk , Industrial School Chair, Marble-Base Desk Lamp In this picture: Small Dutch Metal Industrial Desk...

Jieldé Task Lamps: The French company name, Jieldé , is derived from its founder's initials JLD (Jean-Louis Domecq). Jean-Louis started the company in 1953 to industrialize production of his lamp design, which was meant to simplify and revolutionize the functions of a task lamp. Prior to his production, task lamps were often heavier - with more wires and less ability to rotate. Jean-Louis was able to innovate task lamp design for easy articulation with a multi-hinged arm and shade. More than being valued simply for its functionalism, they embodied aspects of French industrial art of the 1950's. Although still in production today, we have a bunch of vintage Jieldé task lamps in our inventory that are amazing! Each are unique and have aged well (as you can tell from the color oxidization). These task lamps are functional yet elegant industrial pieces to add to your home or workplace.

It's the onset of summer, and summer happens to be synonymous with the word "beach." Although we live in California and the weather is beautiful and warm year-round (not to brag or anything) - summer seems to have a better feeling.  The vibe is more upbeat, the sun shines brighter but seems lighter, and there seems to be some sort of hazy happiness all around. And we happen to be lucky enough to live by the coast and have a plethora of amazing beaches to choose from. When we think of beach, we think of rattan, bamboo, striped towels, canvas beach chairs, the porch, cold lemonade....which is evocative of summer while simultaneously being SUPER cliché. (On a tangent, Lauren Conrad happens to have some bomb  lemonade recipes) Here are some of our beachy/summer-y fantasies... In this picture: Early 50's Folding Beach Chairs , Leather Ottoman , Rolling Drafting Lamp , Pilastro Style Triangle Side Table , Assorted Ceramic Tile Table Tops In this picture: Gi...

Mixing & Matching! It gives you room to be more stylish and grab at a vintage chair you see at a flea market instead of giving it up because you don't know where it would go and if it would match your dining set. Or grab anything for that matter! We love this look that we've put together (above) because it encapsulates a sort of industrial bohemian vibe that we love with the  school chairs  and the  industrial work table . For a more classic look, two high back chairs at each end of a beautiful teak or glass table would do the trick. Mixing and matching seems to have the ability to combine both fun and easy....