How Thoroughly Modern!.....

... Whilst doing a little bit of internet research recently for Tooth and Claw, I came across these images of interior decor ideas from the early 20th Century. Taken from a French book of plates published in 1925, the illustrations depict room designs by interior design studios from 1921-1925. Looking at them, I can't fail to be impressed by the forward thinking modernism displayed.  Feast your eyes on these fantasy, stylish rooms from the Art Deco period of the early 1920's..... 

www.toothandclawonline.com

Eileen Gray 1924

J.E Ruhlmann 1924

J.E. Ruhlmann 1924

Dufet Et Bureau 1924

Eileen Gray 1922

J. E. Ruhlmann 1924

Pierre Chareau 1925

Coral Bar Glamour...

....So the Miami wedding of my brother and his fiance was last Sunday...a glorious, hot sunny day....After the ceremony, we were treated to cocktails at one of the most extraordinary, glamorous rooms I have ever seen - The Coral Bar at the Tides Hotel. Designed by Interior decorator Kelly Wearstler, the Coral bar is actually a converted double elevator, complete with original panelled ceiling and gilded walls...A fabulous example of hollywood regency glamour....

www.toothandclawonline.com

A tale of Hollywood Regency.....

...Recently purchasing stock for our website, I found that I was revisiting the Hollywood Regency Style, characterized by the high glamour and glitz which emerged through the talents of interior decorators Dorothy Draper, Elsie de Wolfe and Billy Haines. These decorators, Billy Haines in particular, decorated the homes of the Hollywood stars during the "Golden Age" of Hollywood.

The style was originally an off-shoot of the Art Deco style of the 20's and 30's and combined Deco lines with shiny lacquered surfaces,Asian influenced furniture, velvet drapes, silk lampshades and lots of gilt and crystal glimmering chandeliers.
It was a sumptuous, opulent and much more luxurious look than the streamlined look of the high Art Deco age, as the Hollywood stars of the day regularly showcased their homes for magazines.

Billy Haines was an ex-Hollywood actor turned interior decorator and the leading light of the Hollywood regency style - his use of lightness with colour, glass walls, lucite and simple furniture meant that it was easy for him to fuse neo-classicism with the emerging modernist styles.

As the decades wore on, Hollywood regency proved to be popular as a more feminine antidote to Mid-century Modernism, with one of Elsie de Wolfe's apprentices, Tony Duquette, becoming the new star of Hollywood Regency Decor with his maximalist style....

Dorothy Draper

Elsie de Wolfe

Dorothy Draper

Dorothy Draper

Billy Haines' house for Carole Lombard

Billy Haines

Dorothy Draper

Dorothy Draper

Dorothy Draper

Elsie de Wolfe

Billy Haines later work

Billy Haines

Billy Haines later work

Tony Duquette

Tony Duquette

Jayne Mansfield's Hollywood Regency living room

www.toothandclawonline.com

..Loving Lee Broom's "Parq Life" collection...

....Especially the Sideboard!  I love the curves and the glint of the brass top against the herringbone parquet pattern of the walnut veneer. What a stunning piece...pity i have no room left in my house...this would look perfect in my living room...

.. Faces of Eve exhibition.....

..... I Ventured to one of my least-liked places last night... Shoreditch!... What dragged me over East?  A private view for an exhibition by the wonderful photographer Gisela Torres. In an East-End "gallery" that was sweaty and stank of mould it was a real treat to see Gisela's latest work... the photographs have a muted, painterly quality and an almost eerie colouring to them. It was great to see her again and she is finally getting some recognition for her work, winning a Gold Medal for Portraiture from the Prix de la Photographie, Paris in June this year..... the link below the images takes you to more of the "Faces of Eve" series... I particularly like "Widow".......

http://www.giselatorres.co.uk/docs/sales.htm#

Deliciously Dark...

.... I'm loving the new Illamasqua make-up images for Autumn/Winter 11, "Theatre Of The Nameless".
 Created by the amazingly talented Alex Box.... Enjoy! ....


    www.illamasqua.com

Don't raid the Stationary Cupboard.....

.... You won't find anything stylish in there!


I do like my desk to look as stylish as possible..... why settle for lairy bright blue plastic tape dispensers,  rubbish identikit staplers and little pencil sharpeners that you can never find when you need them.....


My latest obsession is vintage desktop accessories - especially from the 1940's and 50's. Their Deco curves and streamlined looks make work seem so much more stylish. I have just purchased a gorgeous stapler and tape dispenser and I'm hoping soon to add a desktop mechanical pencil sharpener to and hole punch to my desk. 
There was some amazing design detail going into these products during the mid-century years - they put modern 'Plain Jane' desk accessories to shame! Most of these items, unsurprisingly, are from the USA. Have a peek below at some of the gorgeous items that adorned the office desks of the past......... 

                                 
                                  The "aristocrat" stapler from 1937

One of these is winging it's way to me from the USA... Designed in 1937, The "Swingline Speed" stapler, produced between 1938-1955

                                                              The "Tatum" stapler 1954

             

I love the hexagonal top on this one. The "Neva-Clog" stapler from 1936

Great lines!!!

                                            

                                          This one is soooo "Mad Men"

                                                           

           Cast iron Tape Dispenser...a common American design from 1930's-50's

                           

Streamline Art Deco hole punch

    Desktop mechanical sharpener

The amazing "Morrisharp" electric pencil sharpener designed in 1946

                               ...... and in chrome! Imagine this on your desk at work!!

                                                  Stylish and streamlined

My Book.....

.... One very, very cold January morning in 2007 I worked with the fashion & interiors photographer Gisela Torres on a series of photos called "Skin". Gisela wanted to capture a soft femininity rather than the hardness of body and taut bronzed flesh that we are so used to seeing in photographs these days. 
Styled by the gorgeous Victoria Cumming, we got to work at about 8.00am At the Painting Rooms in Denman Street, London. Using Vivienne Westwood Couture pieces mixed with Vintage girdles and slips, Vicky created a soft palette of peach, cream & faded white for the clothes. 
The hair team got to work on tight pincurling my hair, to be eventually brushed out into a slightly wild red halo and make-up was almost invisible... the make-up artist even 'removed' my eyebrows! 
Gisela had the resulting images printed up into a little book, on textured paper, which she gave to me as "My Book"......