Pool Party

22:52:00 MoonDoggie 5 Comments


Image via Plan59

I've become quite taken with this illustration of a space age home by Jo Kotula for Vanadium Corp. of America, 1958. It has become my latest desktop wallpaper.

Loving the organic shape of the house and wishing I was part of the action in that pool room/solarium.

Thought I'd post a lot more this weekend but have been a bit preoccupied doing work, celebrating a friend's birthday and looking after my new pet - more on this later...

Hope you all had a great weekend!

5 comments:

1st Blogoversary/200th Post!

09:31:00 MoonDoggie 5 Comments



ondiraiduveau via flickr

On the 15th of February last year, MoonDoggie (the blog) was born. (You can read about my initial tentative steps on my first ever post here).

Since I was away at the time, I forgot all about it. When I realised, I figured the moment had passed. Then I noticed that my last post was my 200th so have especially crafted this post to celebrate that (AND my belated blogoversary). Hooray!

As part of the festivities, I will be serving this delightful luncheon centrepiece from the 1967 Better Homes and Gardens Meat Cookbook. Yes, those really are olive and pepperoni roses. Thankyou so much for coming. Take a slice of meat... no, take two.

saltycotton via flickr

5 comments:

Blocked In

20:40:00 MoonDoggie 0 Comments

Yet another want from the House Industries shop are these Alexander Girard wooden blocks that I mentioned in my last post. I adore all the bright colours, funky fonts and groovy sun designs used on each block.

Unfortunately, these super cool blocks are something else I cannot justify spending my money on. Perhaps if I had children I could pretend these were for them but then again, I don't think I'd allow the children to lay a finger on them if I did.

If you really want to make me jealous, you can buy a set here.


all images via House Industries

0 comments:

Build Your Own Eames House

11:46:00 MoonDoggie 3 Comments


I blogged about the Rosy Casa dolls yesterday. I was going to blog about the fabulous Alexander Girard wooden blocks today until this caught my eye. House Industries have made some alphabet blocks that fit together to form a wooden replica of the Eames House.

You can see more pics of the blocks on the House Industries website but they're not available to buy until May 1, 2010.

If you're not quite sure what the Eames House looks like, here is a photo and a floor plan to refresh your memory (You can see more photographs of the real Eames House on the Eames Foundation website).

3 comments:

Ring-a-Rosy

23:12:00 MoonDoggie 1 Comments



I have fallen for these dolls.

Rosy Casa and Posy Casa were designed by Marilyn Neuhart. Her dolls have become synonymous with Alexander Girard since he asked her to make a bunch for his store opening in the 60s. Rosy and Posy are a new design by Neuhart based on those dolls.

You can get one here but they aren't cheap.

1 comments:

Kaj - agoogoo

18:33:00 MoonDoggie 7 Comments

Whilst looking for information about the bull pitcher in my last post, I came across some more work by the designer, Kaj Franck. Franck was a leading Finnish designer throughout the mid century (and beyond).
There is even a 'Kaj Franck Design Prize' which is "awarded to a designer or team of designers working in the spirit of the late Kaj Franck".
These are some of my favourites:
allerleirau on flickr
studiosmith on flickr
txk on flickr


Now, as I write this post, I'm not completely sure whether all the patterns were designed by Franck or if it was just the form. I know the form of the cup and saucers in the last set was by Franck but the pattern was by Raija Uosikkenen. The lights, on the other hand, were a Fog Morup design but the pattern was Franck. I love the pattern AND form on all these pieces but if anyone has any information, please let me know.

7 comments:

A Load of Bull

17:58:00 MoonDoggie 3 Comments


I've become fascinated with this blasted bull pitcher. It's just so darn cute! Designed by Kaj Franck in the 60s, it seems to be available in a variety of colours (and a couple of sizes). Here it is in a lovely blue hue:

studiosmith on flickr

Unfortunately, other people have realised how cute it is and so they are now worth a lot of money. I'd probably even consider it (and let's face it, I have) except that I have no real use for a pitcher. My grandmother used to set the breakfast table with a pitcher of milk but I don't believe my guests would think any less of me for handing them the milk bottle.

If you simply have to have one, the lovely Cottage Cheese has a yellow one in her etsy shop.

(She also has a cool blog).

3 comments:

Tiki Tiki Tokyo

07:48:00 MoonDoggie 4 Comments

Now that I've had a chance to look through my holiday snaps I thought I'd share some.

While on our travels, we stopped over in Japan. I used to live in Tokyo and still miss being there at times. Still infected with Tiki Fever, I did a bit of research and discovered there were a few tiki bars over there. I was only able to fit in one, the Tiki Tiki, and it was fabulous.

We had a lot of trouble finding this place so make sure you draw a map if you ever decide to go. Here is the view from it's fourth floor location in Shinjuku:

While we were being shown to our seats, all the employees shouted 'Aloha!' as we walked past. There was so much more to this place but I forgot to take photos of the bar and luau areas.

High back rattan chairs and shell lamps - yes!

My first drink of the evening was a pina colada. Spectacularly presented, this was the best pina colada I have ever had in my life so far:

Regulars to this blog will know that this is a first... Behold! A picture of MoonDoggie herself!

I desperately wanted one of these mugs to take home but they had sold out! I asked three times and hinted at taking a used one instead - no dice. The really frustrating thing was as we were being seated, I saw someone receive a neatly wrapped package of what must have been the last one.

Here are some of the other drinks we sampled.

I really loved how they used a lot of mugs. The lack of tiki mugs was something that disappointed me when I visited Trader Vic's in London. At the Tiki Tiki, even drinks in normal glasses were beautifully presented (you can catch a glimpse of such a drink in the pina colada shot above).

After a live show with hula dancing girls (!) and a number of yummy cocktails in our bellies, we stumbled out of the Tiki Tiki. While waiting for the elevator, we got to chatting with this friendly, albeit a bit creepy tiki (his eyes moved).
Unfortunately, he spoke only Japanese and to me it was a bit like having a conversation with a drive thru speaker box so we said our goodbyes and went back to the hotel. I thoroughly recommend this place to any Tikiphile.

If you want to know more about the Tiki Tiki, try here.

4 comments:

Not a Happy Hipster

17:35:00 MoonDoggie 1 Comments


If you haven't already come across Unhappy Hipsters, it's well worth a look.
The author reposts pics of modernist homes (as seen on Apartment Therapy, Dwell and the like) with amusing Gary Larson-esque captions.

I've become so accustomed to seeing, dare I say, pretentious photographs of stylish modern homes that it was quite refreshing to see them being mocked. Let's face it, I'm jealous of the people who own these homes so it makes me feel better when someone pokes fun at them.

I've posted the latest image here but you'll have to go to the site to read the caption. These ones made me literally LOL - one, two, three and four.

Oh, and in case you didn't notice, I'm back from my holiday and had a great time. :)




1 comments: