Kultur Finds

Wanderlust: Santorini

2011-07-24T13:12:00.000-07:00

How is this for a perfect getaway? These views of the Greek island of Santorini are like a dream of the perfect summer day...

Inspiration: Gnufäll

2011-05-28T07:42:00.000-07:00

Love that fantastic, fluffy couch above, as seen in Skona Hem. According to Google Translate, that is a genuine "gnufäll" on the floor there. Yeah. : )

...and I covet the photo/painting in this shot from desire to inspire via Skona Hem. I need to find out who the artist is...

Vintage Music: Adriano Celentano

2011-03-24T18:16:00.000-07:00

Prisencolinensinainciusol = 70s FUN!

Gotta love Adriano Celentano, one of Italy's top entertainers. The language in this hopping song may sound like English, but was intentionally written to be gibberish. Oll Raigth!!! : )

Fall Walk

2010-11-12T10:04:00.000-08:00

A fall walk in Pacific Grove and Monterey, California.

Inspiration: The Maysles on The Selby

2010-10-03T18:38:00.000-07:00

...and there's another fantastic post on The Selby featuring the Maysles in their fabulous surroundings. Lots of color mixed with tons of vintage treasures... (Al Maysles is probably best known for filming the cult classic Grey Gardens.) I'm off to start contructing a reading nook like this.

Vintage Photos: Erwin Blumenfeld

2010-09-27T19:24:00.000-07:00

Expressionist photography by German-American Erwin Blumenfeld (1897–1969).

Nothing is new.

The Masters: Piranesi

2010-09-13T04:00:00.000-07:00

Giovanni Battista Piranesi (Italy, 1720 –1778) gained fame for his fantastical etchings of atmospheric "prisons" (Carceri d'Invenzione). Looks like he was an early proponent of the steampunk genre...

Inspiration

2010-09-09T18:31:00.000-07:00

I want to live like this when I get older. Vitality and creativity pure. (Found via The Selby.)

The Masters: Frits Henningsen

2010-09-05T11:30:00.000-07:00

Be still, my beating heart. Another god of design has appeared in my starry skies.

Frits Henningsen (Denmark, 189?-1965). Can you believe the designs below are from the 1920s and 30s?

Happy Birthday

2010-06-10T21:08:00.000-07:00

Happy Birthday, Monsieur Costeau.

Vintage Finds: The Girls

2010-06-05T09:51:00.000-07:00

Lovely mugs made in Ireland by Arklow. Each features a well-known cutie from a nursery rhyme. Available in the shop. : )

Vintage Music: France Gall

2010-06-03T20:01:00.000-07:00

Vintage Photos: Dresden. Germany

2010-05-20T08:28:00.000-07:00

Erich Kaestner's autobiography When I Was a Little Boy begins with a lament for Dresden: "I was born in the most beautiful city in the world. Even if your father, child, was the richest man in the world, he could not take you to see it, because it does not exist any more. (...) In a thousand years was her beauty built, in one night was it utterly destroyed".

2010-05-15T07:36:00.000-07:00

j. chanders

Jette Viby

2010-04-24T07:49:00.000-07:00

Not too long ago, I came across the most adorable little bib while thrifting. It features a little toy soldier that can be stored away in his own little guard house...

Turns out it was designed by Jette Viby, a prolific designer from Denmark (1930-1999) who was very active in the 1970s and 1980s and gained recognition for fabric-based educational toys.

Old Love

2010-04-03T19:23:00.000-07:00

Old Love Haunts me in the Morning - Marissa Nadler

Vintage photos: New York girls

2010-03-11T06:00:00.000-08:00

Glimpses of the past from New York Library's digital collection.

The Witch Girl (cinema 1915)

Contests - Beauty - Television Girl - Winner and Runner-Up

(Two guesses who is who... )

Country Girl

New York World's Fair, 1940

Girl and calf, ca. 1920s

Teresa Trull with dog, 1975

Woman with dogs on bridge, ca. 1939

Etsy Artists: Alice

2010-03-07T09:29:00.000-08:00

Going to see Alice today, and searched through all the Etsy Alice coolness in honor of this movie. : )

Wanderlust: Himeji Castle

2010-03-01T19:22:00.000-08:00

Growing up in Europe, I visited a lot of castles. I love them. But there is something almost otherworldly about Japanese castles.

Himeji

Himeji Castle Garden

Gray skies over Himeji

The Masters: Fiep Westendorp

2010-02-25T06:00:00.000-08:00

I recently found a little melamine bowl that opened my eyes to the world of Fiep Westendorp (1916-2004). Besides having a most excellent first name, she was a talented and beloved Dutch illustrator.

via weewonderfuls

via dosomethingpretty

via Dutch Jewish Historical Museum

via fiskerstudio

Fiep Westendorp, via duvekot

The Fiep Westendorp webshop still has amazingly cute items for sale.

Today in History: The White Rose

2010-02-22T19:47:00.000-08:00

Exactly 67 years ago today, three German university students were sentenced to death and immediately executed for their opposition to the Nazi Regime. Hans and Sophie Scholl as well as Christoph Probst had been caught distributing leaflets written by members of the resistance group The White Rose, which they had founded.

Hans Scholl's last words before being guillotined were: "Es lebe die Freiheit!" (Long live freedom!)

You will not be forgotten.

The Masters: Remedios Varo Uranga

2010-02-18T06:24:00.000-08:00

Dreamy and strange paintings by Remedios Varos Uranga (1908-1963). Fantastical gadgets and surreal chracters are mixed with an undeniable sense of humor.

Paradise of Cats, 1956

Woman leaving the Psychoanalyst, 1960

Creation of the Birds, 1957

Exploration of the Source of the Orinoco River, 1959

1950s portrait of Remedios Varo

Wanderlust: Skadarlija

2010-02-15T17:47:00.000-08:00

Skaderlija, the artist's quarter in Belgrade, Serbia

Outdoor room

2010-02-11T21:17:00.000-08:00

From Marie Claire Maison

The New Masters: Nina Pohl

2010-02-01T06:00:00.000-08:00

Fantastic photographs by Nina Pohl (German, born 1968). Her work is available here.

Today in History: Ham the Chimp

2010-01-31T08:21:00.000-08:00

On January 31, 1961, Ham the Chimp became the first humanoid to be blasted into space. He made it back just fine and lived another 17 years as a relative celebrity.

Vintage Photos: Frances Benjamin Johnston

2010-01-28T06:00:00.000-08:00

I recently discovered the wonderful works of photographer Frances Benjamin Johnston (1864-1952).

Portrait of Alice Roosevelt, c 1902. (She is holding her little dog Leo in this image. Incidentally, young Alice also had a little Pekingese dog that was given to her by the Chinese Dowager Empress Cixi. This striking young woman, beloved by the American public of the day for her wit and "devil-may-care attitude" would go on to describe herself as a hedonist in later years.)

Seven women working in Roycroft shop, E. Aurora, N.Y. 1900.

Ferry.

A child of the Orient.

Frances Benjamin Johnston, full-length portrait, seated in front of fireplace, facing left, holding cigarette in one hand and a beer stein in the other, in her Washington, D.C. studio.

The Masters: Lisa Larsson

2010-01-23T07:15:00.000-08:00

Lisa Larsson (born 1931) is a Swedish designer and ceramicist. Some of her most well-known work is the 1950s sculpture series Lilla Zoo (Little Zoo).

1. Charlotta made by Lisa Larsson Sweden, 2. paddan, 3. Fox from Lilla Zoo, 4. Lisa Larson, 5. R0012053_2.JPG, 6. Tax from Lilla Zoo, 7. Lisa Larson "Pelle with Cat" Pottery, 8. Sitting cat from Lilla Zoo, 9. Lisa Larson "Lotta" Pottery

Wanderlust: Kamchatka

2010-01-21T06:00:00.000-08:00

I am drawn to wild, untamed places, such as Kamchatka in Russia's far eastern reaches. Would I love to go? Yep. Will I ever actually go there? Not likely...

Trekking in Kamchatka

Vachkazhets, Kamchatka

One more Kamchatka landscape

The Masters: Boris Kustodiev

2010-01-18T06:00:00.000-08:00

I adore the fearless use of color and realism in Kustodiev's patings. (Russian painter, 1878-1927)

The Merchant's Wife, 1918. Oil on Canvas.

Fair. 1910. Tempera on cardboard.

Tzar Nicholas II. 1915

Self-portrait. 1912. Oil on canvas.

Interiors: Living with books

2010-01-16T08:43:00.000-08:00

Living without books is just not an option for me. I love reading and the way they feel and look. My hodge-podge of vintage bookcases holds about 2000 volumes... Here are some interior design inspirations for fellow bibliophiles, via Flickr.

1. Bookcase, 2. Family room bookcase, 3. Blue Bookshelves, 4. Sitting room bookcase, 5. favorite room, 6. a long story, 7. skona hem library, 8. new old bookcase - with books, 9. town hall

The Masters: Judith Leyster

2010-01-13T06:00:00.000-08:00

Judith Leyster (1609-1660) was one of very, very few female painters to be active in Holland during the 1600s.

A Game of Tric-Trac. 1630. Oil on board.

Young Flute Player. Oil on board.

Self-portrait. 1630. Oil on board.

Vintage photos: San Francisco

2010-01-10T07:53:00.000-08:00

Lovely images from the S.F. Public Library digital collection. Sometimes the description is more charming than the photo.

Referee Billy Burke proclaims the match between Glen Stentson from the Richmond Boys Club and Bobby Munoz from the San Francisco Boys Club a draw, 1950.

Group of women riding a Powell Street cable car to advertise the

"Fishermen's Fiesta" at Fisherman's Wharf, 1946.

Crab stand at Fisherman's Wharf, 1946.

Lois Thomas viewing downtown San Francisco from

Russian Hill, with Telegraph Hill in background, 1944.

Woman and a child playing with a dog at Ocean Beach, 1943.

Reflection of Moon Bridge in the Japanese Tea Garden, 1964.

Model June Smith demonstrating the practical uses

of motor scooters for American housewives, 1959.

McCoppin School student Jacqueline Darling

posing with her pet cat, "Tige", and dog, "Bing", 1939.

Vintage Highlight: Midwinter by Staffordshire

2010-01-07T06:00:00.000-08:00

I have a soft spot for stoneware. My favorites are Staffordshire's Midwinter items, produced in the 1970s . There were several patterns: Stonehenge, Earth, Sun, Nasturtium, Wild Oats, Moon, Autumn and more. Is it wrong to want them all?

Image by A30yoyo

Stonehenge pitcher from my collection

Earth plate, available at Ophelia's Vintage

Nasturtium bowl, available at Ophelia's Vintage

The Masters: Carl Larsson

2010-01-04T06:00:00.000-08:00

The work of Carl Larsson has always been a source of inspiration. (Swedish painter, 1853-1919)

Breakfast under the Big Birch, 1896

Spring, 1907

Flowers on the Windowsill, 1894

Brita and I (Self-protrait), 1895

...and we're off.

2009-12-20T07:57:00.000-08:00

ello friend, welcome to Kultur* Finds. I will be blogging in the new year to share some of the fabulousness I discover in my journey through Life. These pages will include interior design ideas, Etsy artisans & vintage finds, and inspiration from the masters of art and design. I hope to see you around.

-Kultur*