Replacement & different parts.

A little progress for the Gothenburg. Yesterdays arrival - 4 doors, 4 windows, stairs, banister & step (from a 1980's Gothenburg?) should resolve some of the issues - the missing windows, & the broken door handles.  All the pieces smelled very musty, but the musty smell seems to have gone since giving it all a good clean.

One of the door handles dropped off on its own while the pieces were soaking & I was able to get the handle from the other side of the same door off easily, & without any breakages. Hurrah!  However the door handles are a different colour than the door handles in my Gothenburg.  The "new" ones are gold, the ones in my Gothenburg are a darker coppery colour (& less shiny), I'm not sure if I should try spraying or painting them to match.  Something to consider..

It was interesting to see the difference in the banisters from the top of the stairs. 

At the top is the banister from the Småland, below is the banister from the 80's (?) Gothenburg. 

I don't understand why the Småland banister has the extra bit at the end (top left in the upper photo, top right in the lower).  

I've been frustrated with the extra bit since I put the Småland together, the banister doesn't fit properly because of it, & I've been wondering if I should try shaving some of the plastic off to make it fit properly.

Unlike the older Gothenburg banister (which appears to have been glued into place), the Småland one attaches with a screw at one end & a small round plastic piece which fits into the floor at the other end.  Because of the extra bit the banister ends up bending & not standing straight, which looks awful.

No progress with the Form Group in basswood yet, though I did finally dig out some stain & clear matt varnish, so hopefully I can get that done this weekend.  The next step will be gluing everything together.  

The stain I had in storage was rosewood, which isn't perfect (I think teak would be more appropriate), but I'm treating the 2 section I'm working on as another test piece anyway, as the wood I used isn't quite the right size.  What I already had, & have used, is 1.5mm thick, for a "proper" version I want to use 2mm thick, which I think is more to scale.

Forget Me Not

I didn't want to dissect my May 2011 issue of UK Vogue, but here's a much larger version of the double page with miniatures (not the full pages, but as much as i could scan) from the "Forget Me Not" editorial.

photographed by Tim Gutt, with set design by Shona Heath.

related links:
Shona Heath, set designer at AnOther
Shona Heath CLM. portfolio

Reprint & Interplan.

I was very pleased to find out that Lesley Jackson's Robin & Lucienne Day: Pioneers of Contemporary Design is being reprinted & will be out in August.  Definitely a must to pre-order.

Meanwhile I've been making a folder of other Robin Day items I'd like to attempt in 1:16, which includes the following:

• Interplan storage unit 
• Slatted bench/coffee table 
• Interplan sideboard

The Slatted bench/coffee table is listed as being by Brianco in the style of Robin Day here, but as a rare Hille piece designed by Day here.  My guess is the latter, either way, I love it. It's similar to George Nelson's Platform Bench, but with the lovely metal legs as seen on the Interplan storage unit that Christie's sold.

The sofa behind the bench at the twentyfirstcenturyretro link is also by Day - a daybed he designed for Hille.  It reminds me a lot of the sectional daybeds from the lovely 1958 Mattel Modern studio set.

I have about half of the Mattel Modern items produced, but only 1 of the sectional daybeds - which isn't in the best shape. It came in a cheap lot (which all my Mattel Modern items are from) that I bought over 5 years ago, most of the items were in good shape, but the daybed had lost its back & the seat cushion.

The Mame's don't care anyway, it's far too big for them.

Minis in magazines.

I love it when I occasionally come across miniatures in magazines. I probably have a bunch more to scan (if I could remember what issues they were in).  I'll scan & post them as & when I find more.

I found this one whilst going through an old issue of UK Elle Decoration (March 2009) the other night, the photograph (the only using miniatures in the 6 page palette piece, with photographs by Andrea Garuti) continues slightly onto the following page, where it reads:

From the tiny version of the Le Corbusier/Jeanneret/Perriand chaise longue to the perfectly scaled-down artwork, we're totally inspired by the red hues of this mini masterpiece.

Another I saw recently was in the May 2011 issue of UK Vogue, in the editorial "Forget Me Not" photographed by Tim Gutt.  It's a shame the whole editorial didn't feature miniatures.

Form Group in 1:16, Part 4

No progress yesterday, but I did take a photo of where I'm up to (with some Re-Ment miniatures).

All the pieces for a 2 section Form Group are cut & sanded.  I'll probably re-check the measurements on all the pieces again before I glue them.

I'm not sure what glue I already have or what will be best to use.  I made some kitchen, etc, counter tops for some Ikea Lillabo furniture from basswood a few years ago, & whatever glue I used worked well, I just wish I could remember what exactly I used.

Also, the Mame family will be expanding (again).  Two more will be travelling from Japan soon upping the number to 19. At least they have 3 dollhouses to inhabit now.

A new Bean, & things to make & do.

Whilst I've been busy starting work on the first Form Group piece in basswood over the last couple of days, a new Mame arrived (along with some Jean of Germany furniture), & the Mames have been keeping themselves busy.

Mame Lorelai felt it was a shame to waste all the empty space in the Gothenburg house (it's remaining empty & unfurnished until I can redecorate it), & so made an installation piece for the smaller basement room using the new Jean of Germany chairs.

Evidently Mames aren't very good at naming pieces of installation art.

Meanwhile, the new arrival, Mame Octavia, turned out to have green fingers.

Form Group in 1:16, Part 3

I finished the mock-ups for the 3 & 4 section pieces this morning.  I made extra seats & cushions too (not pictured) so I could try out different combinations.

I still haven't made a cabinet section, I should try putting one of those together soon.

left - 2 section (with chair + seat cushion), back - 4 section (2 table tops + 2 chairs), right - 3 section (2 chairs + seat cushion).

I made a quick pattern for a seat cushion a couple of days ago & threw one together. It looks very scrappy (I didn't iron the fabric & stitched it, poorly, by hand) but I just wanted to get an idea of how it'd look.

I stuffed it with 2 layers of felt, though 1 layer might work better. I can't get to my sewing machine at the moment, but once I can i'll try making the 3 different sized cushions (back & base of chair, + seat cushion), do them properly, then see how they turn out. I think starching the fabric might help too.

I couldn't resist taking a photo with my Angie Lewin "Plants & Places" book (a birthday present from my friend) behind it to function as a wall with oversized wallpaper.  Miniature Angie Lewin prints, wallpaper &/or textiles (as well as miniature Mary White textiles) for my Gothenburg house would be so lovely, ah for a shrinking ray or Pym particles!

Form Group in 1:16, Part 2

My second mock-up of Form Group. I've reduced the back cushion & support in height & I think the proportions are looking better now.  I've also slightly adjusted the position of the legs. 

This time I used cut down matchsticks for the legs of the frame. I've glued them to the frame base, but (just for the mock-up) added thin strips of masking tape to join each side of the leg to the frame base to give added strength.  

I still haven't figured out how to construct the frame base, other than just glueing the legs directly on.  Done that way I think the legs would easily break off the base, & it would be tricky to glue them on at a clean right angle.

There must be a better way of doing it.  I might have had an idea this morning, it's something i'd have to actually test out in basswood though.  

I've had to rethink the cushions, adding a fabric cover to the polystyrene cushions will make them too bulky & I don't think there's any way of doing that as well as I'd like.  

The alternative is to make fabric cushions in 3 sizes (stool, seat base & seat back) constructed like pillow covers - with an opening in the center of the back, which I could insert squares of felt into to pad them out a bit.  I'm not sure how well this would work yet, I'll have to make some patterns & put some together, then see how it looks.  

For picture 3 I temporarily attached some Osnaburg fabric to the cushions to see how it looked, as this is what I'm considering making some test cushions from.  I wanted something to emulate the lovely slub tweed that has been used to reupholster this Form Group seating at Elephant & Monkey.

Form Group in 1:16, Part 1

Some photos of my first mock-up (in card, polystyrene & masking tape) of Form Group in 1:16 scale.

Mock-up #1 is supposed to be a 2 section piece (equivalent to the 4'8" frame) with a seat + table top.  It still needs some work - the back cushion needs to be reduced in height slightly, both the seat & back cushions need reducing by a millimetre or 2 to allow for the fabric cover, & the legs need a lot of work - currently they're too thick + i might make a slight adjustment on their position.

On the 4'8" frame, the legs are positioned about 1/6th of the width in on either side, on the 7' (3 section) & 9'4" (4 section) frames the legs are positioned differently, half way under the sections either side, with 2 extra legs at the centre of the 9'4 frame. Without having any Form Group seating to measure from, I've roughly judged the positions of the legs for the 1:16 version of the 4'8" frame, but I might have to go back to photos &  do some measuring to try & get the correct position for the legs.  

Next I'm going to work on a mock-up of a 3 section frame rather than re-do the 2 section, & see if I can get the back cushion & legs right (or better) 2nd time around.

Robin Day's Form Group modular seating.

For a few days I've been thinking i'd really like to try & make Robin Day's Form Group modular seating in 1:16 scale. Considering I've never made any miniature (or otherwise) furniture, it may be a tall order, but it's a simple shape at least.


       
Ideal Home magazine commissioned Day to design a living room (which appeared in their February 1960 issue) & this included Modulus, a range of modular seating, which was later renamed to Form Group when Hille began to manufacture it.

The Form Group seating has 8 basic elements:

• 3 black steel frames (4'8", 7' & 9'4")
• chair unit
• seat unit
• table top (which came in white or black melamine, teak or mahogany veneer)
• cabinet (which came in teak or mahogany veneer, & had a lift up lid)
• chair arm

So far all I've done is work out the measurements & convert to 1:16.  I think they're right - they're close to the dimensions of a vintage 1:16 couch I have.  I'm going to try making a mock-up in thick paper or card first, see how it looks, & make any adjustments if necessary, then if all is well, try making it in basswood.  I don't have any fancy tools - just the basics, blades, sandpaper, etc, but I'm hoping that will be enough for something that is all straight lines & simple shapes.

I thought the cushions might be tricky (being quite slim on the original seating anyway) but the box the Lundby Gothenberg arrived in had a load of polystyrene plates in it for padding (amongst other things) & I think they're the perfect thickness for the cushions (just 4mm thick) so I'm glad I saved them & didn't just throw them out.

Robin & Lucienne Day

It's a shame this is all the way down in Chichester - Robin & Lucienne Day Design & the Modern Interior exhibition at the Pallant House Gallery (until 26th of June 2011).

From April 11th they will have a Mervyn Peake A Centenary Celebration exhibition on show which would also be nice to see.

by strawberrysoup & bomo* at flickr

further links:

Interview with Lucienne Day (wallpaper.com)

Interview with Robin Day (abitare.it)

Robin & Lucienne Day (designmuseum.org)

Lucienne Day obituaries guardian.co.uk & independent.co.uk

Robin Day obituaries guardian.co.uk & independant.co.uk 

Arrival of the Gothenburg

Yesterday I received a Gothenburg house + extension, it's not in the best condition & needs a lot of work, but despite this, I'm completely smitten with it.

After buying the Småland (on sale, 40%ish off, at Amazon UK!) I admittedly felt a little disappointed. Though the Småland has some positives (being able to take it apart will make it so much easier to redecorate for one!) I definitely didn't feel smitten with it, though I think I will grow to like it more once I have redecorated & furnished it to my liking.

I'm not sure if my Gothenburg is from 1972 or 1973, it has the plain wooden frame, lovely wooden stair rails & banister, beige plastic doors, white brick paper on the outside, but has a red floor on the downstairs level of the main house, rather than the blue floors I've seen in the Gothenburgs in the 1972 & 1973 catalogues.

My favourite Gothenberg is just a little earlier than this, I think it's the 1971 version with the light blue floors, lighter abstract wallpapers + the plastic doors, wooden stair rail & banister, & I think when I redecorate my Gothenburg it will be closer to that style.

I have no idea how best to remove the wallpaper, or redecorate yet.  Doing up an old dollhouse is totally new to me, I have lots to learn.

My Gothenburgs Issues: 

• there's a small split in the front of the frame above the bathroom which needs fixing.
• most of the floors have stains & the felt carpet in the small bedroom was in very bad shape.
• most of wallpapers have stains & damaged sections.     
• the handles on either side of the door to the bathroom are broken.
• it has one missing window frame & 2 missing plastic window panes.

also I'm not sure if the wiring is functional, I don't have a transformer yet, so I will have to wait to test that out.

Lots of quick photos.  I'd already taken out the windows so I could clean them (they were very very dirty) - that's them piled up & waiting to be washed in the larger extension room. They cleaned up really well.

I've since removed the phone, clock, mirror & light, + removed the broken handles from the bathroom door.  There's no way of taking the door & doorframe out without taking the house apart, & as well as a replacement window frame, I'm hoping I can find a replacement door that I can take the handles off (hopefully without breaking them, they are very fragile) & attach to the now handle-less bathroom door.