The U.S., or, more correctly, Herbert Hoover acting as Secretary of Commerce, declined to participate in the 1925 Paris Exposition that defined Art Deco. Why? American advertisers were not modern! In fact, they were still relying on text to sell their wares, when most of Europe had moved to images Read more…
April showers bring May flowers… and sometimes babies! If you are headed to another baby shower and looking to personalize a gift, it might be a fun time to consider printing your own design on fabric and creating a few re-usable bags like the kind we get at make-up counters. Read more…
Sometimes I like to look at how math creates patterns to see if there is something original I could work with to create a new design. In 1891, or thereabouts, a German named David Hilbert documented a fractile, or a product that divides into equal parts, that creates a pattern. Read more…
Many art deco themes revived old ethnic patterns. Designers and architects who favored Art Moderne design features were really culling the past for inspiration. It was a time of enjoying the exploration of the globe and all its ethnic influences. Picture merchant ships from around the world all docking at Read more…
When Art Deco was in production, it was called many things, like “zig-zag” and “modern.” It wasn’t until 1966 when Yvonne Brunhammer put together a seminal show at the Musée des Arts Décoratifs, which she called “Art Deco” (for the decorative arts), that Art Deco was coined. The full title Read more…
During the age of Art Deco, waiters and cooks behind diner and luncheonette counters threw around slang in order to place food orders in the kitchen. One of the side effects of the age of modern style was the novelty of using modern language. For a little bit of fun, Read more…