LIBERTY OF LONDON

Give me Liberty of London!

 Somehow I missed the whole Liberty of London for Target thing...must have been busy.  I, of course, was aware of the storied British fabric line, but I had always thought of L-of-L as little old lady(ish)...you know, ditsy flowers on pastel backgrounds.  Man, was I ever wrong.  A thousand apologies to you Mr. Arthur Liberty...a thousand.

Arthur Liberty, born in 1843, was the son of a draper who as a teenager became an apprentice to a draper in London.  Mr. Liberty loved all things Japanese. He convinced the department store, for which he worked, to purchase all the Japanese items that were available to them and allow him to manage the "oriental warehouse".   Thus began a love affair between fashionable London ladies and Japanese design, particularly the kimono.


With 2,000 borrowed dollars from his father in law, Arthur Liberty opened his own store across the street from the store for which he worked.  Once again, indulging his love of Japanese design, he dressed all of his shop girls in kimonos.  


Mr. Liberty began importing un-dyed silks from Asia and had them dyed in England and hand printed with wooden blocks.  By the 1920's, he had developed relationships with leading English designers of the Arts & Crafts and Art Nouveau movements, making his store on of the most prestigious in London, and his Liberty of London Prints sought after by fashionable ladies everywhere.

I found these Liberty of London neckties on Etsy...I think they are absolutely fantastic...would you wear these Braxton?

MAC Cosmetics issued a Give me Liberty of London collection.  Aren't these darling?

Oh my god, the scarfs!

Found this very posh snake skin design bathing suit on the L-of-L website.

 "I was determined not to follow existing fashion but to create new ones"  Arthur Liberty

 "Liberty is the chosen resort of the artistic shopper"  Oscar Wilde

I am so happy to have been so wrong about Liberty of London...L-of-L doesn't stand for Little old lady at all...I love it!
What do you think?
Have a beautiful day.
yancey

FLORENCE BROADHURST - TEXTILE DESIGNER

FLORENCE BROADHURST 1899 - 1977

 My choice of pattern as this weeks muse is one I'm particularly excited about.  Braxton and I are embarking on a new project, one that requires me to learn all that I can about textile design and production.  With the scope of this project and it's steep learning curve, I will need more time to focus, meaning I'll be blogging a little less...for now.


I promise to take you all along on the ride when I can...but for now I must keep it under wraps.  Oh how I love being mysterious!


Now, on to textile designer extraordinaire....Florence Broadhurst.


Ms. Broadhurst was an Australian, born in Queensland, who reinvented herself many times through out her life.  She was at times an actress, director, model, singer, world traveler..then at the age of 60 (yes, 60!) she went back to Australia and began a textile business.  
Florence was mysteriously murdered in her office in 1977, a crime which has never been solved.

 Florence Broadhurst created hundreds of luxuriously colorful and bold patters, often printed on transparent mylars, foils and metallic papers.  She considered her work "vigorous designs for modern living".

 The Kate Spade company has recently reissued some of Ms. Broadhurst's prints on clothes and home goods, even redecorating many KS stores in her signature black and white prints.
"Florence Broadhurst's prints were far ahead of their time", says Deborah Lloyd, creative director of Kate Spade.

 After being out of circulation for almost 20 years, Florence Broadhurst prints are being reissued by "Signature Prints" and sold through out the United States.

Florence Broadhurst Concept Store in Brisbane Australia.

I absolute have to have this book...like now.  Isn't the cover to die beautiful?

She hand painted her designs which were then hand screen printed, which is how "Signature Prints" is producing them today...how wonderful is that?

Florence at her light box.

How great is this movie poster?  Must see.

 Thank you Florence Broadhurst...I am so very inspired!

Random:  Braxton and I saw "The Artist" over the weekend.  Seriously, treat yourself, you won't be sorry.  It's completely charming, and the period (late 20's/early 30's) fashion and decor is fantastic!  Love love love.


Have a beautiful day 
yancey


BTW:  What do you guys think of Florence Broadhurst?  Isn't she wonderful...I'm pretty sure I want to be her when I grow up...of course apart from the mysterious murder.

PATIO CULTURE AND MID CENTURY LANDSCAPING

Drinks on the patio anyone?

 The term patio culture is synonymous with the post WW11 suburbanization of america.  Patio culture, like suburbia itself, has some negative connotations in modern society...such as the lack of racial integration (definitely bad), the reliance on the automobile ( in fact suburbia owes its very existence to the auto and modern highway system), sprawling shopping centers and homogeny.


Suburban living, or the rise of the middle class, contributed to the economic boom of the mid century.  The middle class suburban house wife  embraced the modern conveniences which were suddenly available to her...dishwashers, clothes washer and dryers, vacuum cleaners and prepared foods, leaving her with more time for shopping for the household, socializing (backyard cookout anyone?), and driving the kids around.


Let's check out some pics I've found of MCM patios and landscaping.

 Suburban homeowners in the 50's and 60's wanted a seamless look between the inside and out...thus landscaping tended to be simple.

The blousy english style garden of the early 20'th century gave way to a simple and affordable style which included brightly colored flowers such as dahlias, hollyhock, carnations, and hybrid tea roses.

 A MCM landscape requires a clean unobstructed view of the house.  Shrubs and flowers were kept trimmed, neat and low to the ground.

 A mid century modern yard would not include the following: stackable concrete walls, vinyl fencing, ornate front doors (please back away from those horrible "etched" glass/plastic doors so popular today), enclosing a car port (embrace these, they are fantastic!), white lattice archways with vines growing up it (or anything else cute or country), and the ubiquitous (in our neighborhood, anyway) one piece plastic molded mail box.

Sadly, Braxton and I don't happen to live in a MCM house.  We decorated the entire inside of the house in our beloved modern style, but the outside is all country cottage, which suits the neighborhood.


What do you think of modern landscaping?  I assume most people prefer an english (overgrown) style of garden, but I'm really getting into the clean manicured look of the modern yard.  Perhaps one day.


Have a beautiful weekend everyone!
yancey