We Covet: Raymond Loewy

[Raymond Loewy House image via spfaust]

Of all the amazing, mid-century designers, Raymond Loewy is the most attainable. That’s because so many of the things he created still surround us every day. The curvaceous glass Coca Coal bottle, for example, or the logos for companies such as Shell Oil and NASA.

Loewy was born in Paris in 1893. He studied to be an engineer, fought with the French Army in World War 1 and then emigrated to the U.S. to become a graphic designer. IN New York, we worked as a window dresser. He also drew beautiful fashion illustrations for magazines such as Vogue and Harper's Bazaar. But his training in engineering also proved useful when he was asked to redesign the Gestetner Duplicating machine (if you are of a certain age, you’ll remember these “Ditto” machines from your principal’s office).

And speaking of offices, we are crazy about the wood and laminate DF2000 cabinet series that Loewy designed for French manufacturing concern Doubinsky Frères in the ’60s (pictured above). Or the "Gems" China collection he created for Rosenthal (pictured below). Such sexy shapes! Such alluring finishes. All this from a guy who was in his 70s at the time. But we are getting ahead of ourselves.

[image via art contrarian]

It was in the world of transportation where Loewy made his first big splash. In 1937, he began a collaboration with the Pennsylvania Railroad (you know, from Monopoly) to reimagine their stations, passenger-car interiors and advertising as well as shell of their actual trains. Like the one pictured above.

Loewy brought this streamlined look to all of his three dimensional designs. And he had an amazing range, bringing distinctive silohuettes to everything from automobiles and ceramics to refrigerators and toothbrushes. 

[image via thinking out of a box]

While Loewy was ahead of his time in many ways (the man designed the interior of NASA's Skylab spacecraft), he was also a guy who liked to live in the moment. Photos abound of him hanging out in chic nightclubs with well-dressed socialites. But he was not an affected man, as his Palm Springs house (Shown at the top of this post proves). Designed by architect Albert Frey in 1946, Loewy's house is of a sustainable scale. Built as a bachelor pad, when he finally married, he just adapted the sapce to suit his new lifestyle.

Moomin Mania

[Moomin Volume 5]

If we were to psychoanalyze our love of all things Scandinavian, we would have to start with childhood. Many of us spent our youth surrounded by the sleek, streamlined teak furnishings of our parents’ or grandparents’ homes. So it’s funny how researching and recreating that Nordic style has led us to discover the Moomin series of kid’s books. (To help you get the big picture, Montreal publishers Drawn & Quarterly have collected all of Tove Jansson’s original Moomin Comic Strips in several volumes).

[page from Who Will Comfort Toffle?]

Created by Swedish-Finnish illustrator and author Tove Jansson in 1945, the Moomin are a family of hippo-shaped trolls and other creatures that live in the forests of Finland. Their world is magical, but also grounded in a sort of real world melancholy. In fact, Jansson based many of the characters on family (for example, Too-Ticky is based on her life-partner, the graphic artist Tuulikki Pietilä).

[Arabia Moomin jug and jar]

We adore the whimsical and wistful world that Jansson created for her characters so much that we want surround ourselves with Moomin ephemera. Arabia Finland has been producing a collection of ceramics based on original illustrations since 1950. In 1990 an animated Japanese/Finnish TV show started a “Moomin Boom,” which lead to a demand for other objects (Jansson’s simple, graphic style is well-suited to Moomin-print fabrics).

[Moomin Love fabric]

Sponsor Love: Thunderpeep Designs

Michelle Reaney, the brains behind Thunderpeep Designs, is a lady after our own heart. She blogs about other local designers and runs an Esty shop featuring adorable stationary, totes and other cool objets.

The self-described "designer of fun" is inspired by Scandinavian folklore and the natural world. Reaney puts out two collections a year: The midsummer collection, which uses themes from solstice stories and celebrations around theworld and The Polar Nights collection which draws from her love of  all things frozen and glistening. Right now, you can explore The Polar collection's Christmas component and get all your holiday shopping finished early!

Any day can be a party with Thunderpeep's cheeky and chic greeting cards and collectibles. These colourful and graphic designs encompass almost any holiday (for example, order a set of Canada Goose fridge magnets to celebrate Mother Goose day in May?). Or simply celebrate your friends and family with a lovely note card. Reaney also has a present for you: "like" the Thunderpeep Facebook page and get all the latest info, sneak peaks and special discounts.

Jenn Hannotte on Darkly Playful Design

I realize that this post comes at a very convenient time of year, but stick with me for a second and you might want to incorporate this look all year round. The Darkly Playful Movement (my term, feel free to disseminate widely) has built a foundation on the works of several 'outsider' artists over the last decade or so and I've realized it's starting to creep into well-considered interiors. The idea of tension — juxtaposition of opposing elements — is a central tenant to my design work, and I absolutely love this particular marriage of the dark and morbid with the playful and pretty.

[living room via Cabinet of Curiosities Flickr stream]

[Kitchen designed by Kara Mann]

Marcel Dzama is kind of the modern father of this look, his illustrations and sculptures are suspiciously child-like and fantastical, with characters often in gruesome or violent situations. His Melting Snowman Canisters are the perfect icon for the movement: they hold in time this visual moment between creation and destruction that is paramount to the aesthetic.

[8 Noose Lamp by Marie Thurnauer, Mona Hatoum grenades]

For interiors, we see the tension played out in different ways. Designers Abigail Ahern and Kara Mann have a PhD in the look (not really, guys). Where there's a skull, there's a flower. Where there's black, there's neon. If a table is created from antlers, it's done in a surprisingly fluid and beautiful manner. Installation artists and industrial Designers love this look, too, because there is such a huge narrative contained in a simple object: a noose-turned-lamp (Marie Thurnauer) and gorgeous hand grenades in ceramic jewel tones (Mono Hatoum). The skeletons of mythical creatures are also integral (obviously); a unicorn skull, and mermaid skeletons are a couple to earnestly consider. Trust me, adding a little whimsy via the dark side will lighten your mood and make you an all-around better human being. Or, at least you'll feel a little mischievous and others will find you curiously charming, and who doesn't want that?

Covet Garden is happy to bring another hauntingly great post by interior stylist Jenn Hannotte of Russet and Empire Interiors. Jenn believes in accessible and collaborative design that stems from narratives we create with objects we love. Her work has been featured in Design Lines,  Remodelista, Apartment Therapy and the Marion House Book to name a few. She lives with her two daughters in the West End of Toronto.

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