Chemex 1976 (Part 2)

Part of the 1976 Chemex booklet I recently found was focused on Chemex-related merchandise for sale. There was no shortage of Chemex accessories back in the day! It's probably easiest just to let the pictures do the talking here. All I will say is they need to bring back the Chemex Cosy Collar.

Chemex 1976 (Part 1)

Tucked away inside a vintage Chemex coffeemaker I found recently was an instructional brochure and mail order pamphlet with a print date of 1976. I am a sucker for this kind of ephemera.

The late seventies were an interesting time for the Chemex coffeemaker. It was still a popular design object, of course, AND it was still known to be a great way to brew coffee. But it faced competition from the increasing popularity and accessibility of automatic drip coffee makers, and in the 1980s the French press exploded on the scene. It wasn't until 2010 and beyond, with the resurgent coffee culture, that the Chemex began regaining its standing as a coffeemaker of choice.

Here are the pages with brewing instructions. If you were intimidated out of using a Chemex by the intensity and precision of today's coffee aficionados, these friendly 1970s instructions should allow you to relax a bit and just enjoy a damn cup of coffee.

Chemex: The Original Design-Lover's Coffeemaker

Recently I was excited to find a vintage Chemex coffeemaker from the 1970s. We sell the Chemex line at the store, and I have a small 3-cup version I use myself, but this vintage one was the older style with the sharp angles - like the one included in the MoMA collection and the handmade version currently in production.

The Chemex Coffeemaker was designed in 1941 by Peter Schlumbohm. He was a chemist and used his scientific knowledge to develop the functional aspect of the design. The aesthetic aspect was inspired by the German Bauhaus, specifically their work with heat-resistant borosilicate glass (see the famous glass teapot designed by Wilhelm Wagenfeld).

For over 30 years it was the only real design-forward coffeemaker. Photos of architectural interiors through the 50s and 60s would regularly feature a Chemex in the kitchen, and it was often featured in popular media. Even James Bond, obviously better known for his specifications with a martini, preferred his coffee made in a Chemex. It wasn't until Braun introduced the famous KF 20 in 1972 that another coffeemaker was deemed worthy of discussion as a design object (a great overview of *that* over at Core77).

Mary Richards knew what's what.

Looks aside, Chemex would never have endured if it didn't make an outstanding cup of coffee. In many ways it is the original pour-over, but the combination of that method with the bonded paper filter is what really made it better than the others.

As both a design object and a way to brew a connoisseur's cup of coffee it endured well into the 80s. As often happens, trends emerge and it fell out of favor. Advances in the technology of the very convenient drip coffeemaker as well as the emergence of the stylish French press relegated Chemex to the back burner (so to speak) for a while.

From a 1982 Naugahyde ad in Playboy.

Of course today it has found renewed popularity, and deservedly so. It comes in two styles, both of which I sell at Hugh (links take you to the website) - the handmade version, which is identical to the Chemex as it was originally designed, and the "Chemex Classic," which has had a few tweaks to make it easier to mechanically produce.

Handmade (L) and Chemex Classic (R)

The handmade has a bit more heft and the subtle elegance that is the characteristic of mouth-blown glass. As the "original" version, it is often preferred by design lovers and for special occasions. The Chemex Classic is less expensive and a great everyday coffeemaker. But both function identically - that is to say, brilliantly. If you haven't tried coffee made in a Chemex, you owe it to yourself to give it a try.

Block Chromatics

For years and years I have come across pieces of a dinnerware pattern called Chromatics made by the Block China company. I even got a full set, still in boxes, as part of a lot I bought from a design professor friend back in 2001. It's just so cool and always been a favorite, and oddly it has not been well-documented online.

Graphic, stackable and of obviously high quality, the Chromatics dinnerware pattern is one of the most stunning modern dinnerware patterns to come out of the late mid-century period. Introduced in 1970 by Block China, it consisted of boldly-colored sculptural pieces in porcelain that were designed to stack and fit together with their concave and convex edges. It also had coordinating stainless steel flatware and glassware, which are harder to find but if you get the set ... so good (I got the set). The pattern came in several complementary color combinations - Brown/Gold, Black/Beige, Blue/Green, Red/Lavender, and an unusual black/white pattern called Games.

Block Chromatics was designed by Gerald Gulotta, an American industrial designer and educator who, among other accomplishments, studied under modern master Eva Zeisel at Pratt and eventually took over teaching her ceramics class when she retired. The dinnerware was produced at Porzellanfabrik Arzberg in Germany, one of the great Bavarian porcelain manufacturers (you may be familiar with their wonderful white porcelain relief vases).

It represents an real evolution in thinking about the dinnerware service for 1970, and today you can see the spirit of it in other dinnerware patterns such as Hasami dinnerware from Japan. Architectural, sophisticated and and incredibly cool - it's as good a design choice today as it was in 1970!

Here are some pics of the great starter set we had at the store a while back, still in the box from Hudson's Department Store. A total wedding gift.

Nordiska Treasury of Rya Rugs

A recent find: two catalogs, Nordiskas Design, published by Nordiska Industri AB, a Swedish manufacturer of rya rugs. One from 1967, one from 1968.

The rya rug sometimes gets lumped in with the general "shag" rug trend of the 60s and 70s, but it is an age-old textile technique that goes back thousands of years. From the catalog:

As a warming quilt it was found during most the 18th century in the homes of the nobility as well as in simple peasant cottages. It belonged to the standard equipment at sea until the end of the last century.

During the 18th century a new rya was introduced, now with the pile turned upwards. Beautiful rugs with many colours. Family emblems were knotted in, so were initials together with the number of the year and other kinds of decorative designs. The technique was also used for wall tapestries, cushions and stool covers. Many are still preserved.

Since 1879 Nordiska has carried on this old tradition. Everything has been preserved in our ryas. The design, however, is still in keeping, following with today's modern requirements.

Nordiska appears to have produced both completed rya rugs as well as rug kits to be knotted at home.

A good rya rug today is a great find. Here are a whole slew of highlights from the catalogs (even more after the jump.)

Isblomma, design Aappo Härkönen 

Mila, design Gerd Stenberg-Allert

Symfoni, design Maud Johanneson

Richard Nissen

There were many companies producing teak housewares in the latter half of the 20th century, and the biggest by far was Dansk Designs. The originality and quality of the designs produced made them a sensation from their introduction in the 1950s well into the 1980s (and of course again today). The history of the company and the designer, Jens Quistgaard, is well-documented.

Less is written about the other companies that followed that trend. Companies such as Digsmed, Laurids Lonborg, Ernest Sohn and others all made interesting designs in teak over the years, but in my experience the company that really hit the mark on quality rivaling that of Dansk was Richard Nissen of Denmark. So I guess I shouldn't have been surprised to discover that they were, in manufacturing at least, the same company.

Nissen ice bucket and bowl, at the 2nd Hugh pop-up, 2010.

Den Permanente Catalog 1972 (Selections)

As a follow-up to my post about Den Permanente, here are some pages from the 1972 catalog.

Borge Mogensen sofa, chair, trolley and table, Kvadrat rug, 

Top: H. Vestergaard Jensen sideboard and dining table, Larsen & Madsen chairs.
Bottom: Hans Wegner everything, Nanna Ditzel nursery chair.

1986

"I don't like country and western. I don't like rock music, I don't like rockabilly or rock and roll particularly.
I don't like much, really, do I? But what I do like, I love passionately."

Get Clocked

This post is about how great things end up in the craziest places. Two years ago, in a tiny house where a couple had lived for decades on Detroit's far east side - a working class neighborhood during its best days - an estate sale listing with these pics shows up:

Eros

Online advertising has really pulled the rug out from under magazine publishing, at least in its mass-distributed form. One of the byproducts of this has been the rise in popularity of the specialty magazine (or journal, or bookazine, or magbook or whatever). They tend to have a higher price point than your typical newsstand read, and they are beautifully printed and have great, specialized content. The idea isn't new however, and one of the greatest examples of the subscription magazine/journal is Eros, a groundbreaking magazine from the early 1960s.

First published in 1962, Eros was a magazine devoted to eroticism. It was geared toward intellectuals and in its four issue run covered a broad range of stories about sexuality in history, politics, arts and literature. Available only through mail order, it featured top talent, starting with a fantastic design by the legendary Herb Lubalin (even then a leading typographer and art director) who was engaged to help elevate the project above the era's popular notion of sexually-oriented publishing.

Glassware

I pick up a lot of vintage glassware. It goes with the gig.

Some of these are in constant rotation in my own household, some are in (or will go) in the shop, some I just pick up to use for a bit and resell online, because I can't just leave them behind.

Sometimes in photos the details aren't really discernible, glass being transparent and all. But all of these are handmade, the craftsmanship is noticeable when you hold it. After so many years of buying vintage glassware I can usually tell if something is worth getting just by picking it up, and as a matter of fact I've found some of my best glasses buying on a hunch.

If you do enjoy adult beverages it's worth it to pay attention to the delivery mechanism. When I say that using good glassware makes it better, just know that I speak from experience.

Hanging around the house today (from left to right):

"Linear" champagne & water glass, Rosenthal Studio-Line, Germany, 1963

"Canada" port & cordial glass, Per Lütken for Holmegaard, Denmark, 1955

"Ultima Thule" double old fashioned, old fashioned and extra large old fashioned, Tapio Wirkkala for iittala, Finland, 1968

"Varm/Kall" combo hot glögg/cordial glass, Lindau & Lindekrantz for Orrefors, Sweden, 1971 

"Skibsglas (Ship's Glass)" wine glass & cognac glass, Per Lütken for Holmegaard, Denmark, 1971

"Gaissa" double old fashioned, Tapio Wirkkala for iittala, Finland, 1973

"Kluk Kluk" decanter, an historic design repopularized by Holmegaard in the 1950s

"Princess" cognac glass, Bent Severin for Kastrup/Holmegaard, Denmark, 1957

"Aarne" cocktail glass, Göran Hongell for iittala, Finland, 1948

"No. 5" whiskey glass, Per Lütken for Holmegaard, Denmark, 1970

"Tsaikka" hot beverage glass, Timo Sarpaneva for iittala, Finland, 1957

Den Permanente

A couple weeks ago I came across some simple teak bar boards. I grabbed them because vintage barware does well in the store, and frankly a nice bar board is a great find under any circumstances, new or vintage. Each had a price sticker from a store unknown to me called “Den Permanente.” I figured they were import items, usually a solid selection, and moved on.

Obviously once I was home I did some digging on Den Permanente. Information online was surprisingly limited, but what I did find left me with one question: Why, after nearly 20 years of researching mid-century design, and after all the Danish Modern furniture and housewares I've bought and sold, did I know nothing about the greatest Danish design store that ever existed?

Den Permanente, 1972 (photo: JC Raulston Arboretum archive)

Feeling Cordial

Doing some spring reorganizing this week and came across one of my favorite drink styling photos ever.

It has served as an inspiration on several occasions, including as part of the invitation to a cocktail party I held at my swank Lafayette Towers apartment during the 2008 election cycle and the subsequent piece I did for Detroit Public Radio about partisan politics and the healing power of disco.

Taken from the wonderful 1971 "Playboy Host & Bar Book," a still-excellent beginner to intermediate resource for any party-giver.

Speaking Into Your Existence

Apparently it really works.

A short time ago I mentioned how a guy I know on social media posts that he is speaking into his existence, the net effect being that he will maintain a positive attitude and have a week of good things. Having a bad run at thrifting myself, I tried to speak into my existence for, among other things, some of Ulla Procope's Ruska dinnerware for Arabia but it didn't work.

Yes, well ...

Less than two weeks later, a set of Ruska demitasse cups, at a generally lackluster thrift. Not even an odd number of cups, or partially damaged. Maybe not the motherlode, but thanks for getting back to me, Existence.

By the way, this lovely set is now in the shop and you should pick it up.

And Now Ladies & Gentlemen, Here's Grace

Grace Jones was having a rather good year in 1985. She was in a James Bond film, back when that mattered. And she released the concept album Slave to the Rhythm, one of her most successful commercial releases. And shortly before that, in the July issue of Playboy, she appeared with her lover at the time Dolph Lundgren in a series of photographs by Helmut Newton.

Deliver Me

This time of year is such a bummer, winter just won't let get go. This morning this song was in my head, "Deliver Me" by The Beloved.

Back in the early Aughts this song was on one of the Hed Kandi "Winter Chill" compilation cds we used to sell at my old store Mezzanine, so it brings back some good memories of that. I didn't discover the video until later, but now I love its 1996 moment. The Damien Hirst-style gallery exhibit, the early Wallpaper* magazine look of all the actors, that green that was all over The Matrix only two years later.

Given how quickly we churn through cultural references it seems like people would be looking back to the 90s a little bit more than they do ("Seinfeld" on Hulu doesn't count). Anyway, it's a enjoyable little fin-de-siècle moment on a cold March morning.

Martin Burgers

Dean Martin's contribution to Dinah Shore's 1966 The Celebrity Cookbook.

House Beautiful Indeed

One of my favorite homes, located on the water near where I spent some of my formative years, is the Hawkins Ferry house in Grosse Pointe.

W. Hawkins Ferry is best known for authoring the definitive book on Detroit architecture, The Buildings of Detroit. But he was also a philanthropist, art collector, educator and modernist and was responsible for such great things as the core of the Detroit Institute of Art's modern art collection, the Marcel Breuer-designed Grosse Pointe Public Library (including Calder sculpture) and his own International Style home on the shores of Lake St. Clair, designed by noted local architect William Kessler in the 1960s.

Built as a house for art and entertaining, the residence was featured as the cover story in the September 1969 issue of House Beautiful. Here are a couple scans of this really incredible house to inspire you, or make you feel really inadequate. Most of the art you see in there (dig the Giacometti sculpture) can now be found at the DIA. The floorplan should be helpful to you when the time comes for you to design your own home.

Addiction

As I drove past Greektown Casino this morning I saw an elderly woman getting out of a cab to go in for, presumably, a day of nickel slots. I questioned to myself how someone could find that entertaining, and thought about the way that people get addicted to the high of winning and just end up losing. What a terrible thing, don't do it little old lady!

And then I stopped and reprimanded myself for (a) judging someone else's good time (as usual) and (b) being a total hypocrite. Because nothing beats the high of a good vintage score, especially after a dry run.

I obviously jinxed myself with my last thrifting post because it's been miserable going since. I was planning to go on hiatus for a while, and then at the last minute yesterday decided to hit a couple of my regular spots. A guy I know on Facebook posts every week about "speaking into your existence" and willing yourself to have a good week, so I tried to will into existence some Arabia Ruska dinnerware, an original Braun Aromaster or a Sony PS-F5 linear tracking turntable but my optimism was not rewarded. 

At my final stop, lingering to prolong my chances, I ended up poking through the books (generally a fruitless endeavor at thrift stores). Jackpot.

I don't know how a trove of vintage architecture books ends up in a random thrift store in a working-class suburb, but I'll take them. Naturally the hiatus is a distant memory - I'll be back out there thrifting the next time the opportunity arises. It's a sickness, people.

Ferry & Jerry

Bryan Ferry, with Jerry Hall giving Jerry Hall. Before the heartache. In honor of Valentine's Day.