The inretrostore website, relaunched in 2018 after a break of several years, developed out of my interest in mid-century modernist products and design covering a period circa 1945-1985.
The 1960s saw many exciting developments in lifestyle changes which produced a fascinating mix of the contemporary, new technology and the futuristic. In UK music, times were a changing with jazz and early rock ’n’ roll influences still jostling with the sunburst of a take on beat and rhythm and blues offered by upstart young bands in the UK such as the Beatles and the Rolling Stones. On the high street, fashion too was changing and leading designer, Mary Quant of the King’s Road boutique Bazaar, and others, quickly became household names. Also, something called ‘op art’ was sweeping everywhere, even into our homes. As a commentator on the revolution put it: the design world had captured a sense of geometric precision.
Of course, the so-called ‘logical thinking’ in design was not solely the preserve of the ’60s and onwards. The word “retro” has its origins in the 1950s. The decade produced a diverse range of ideas and innovative products, for instance, steel tubular and G-plan furniture. Even before this, though, classic designers of homeware who spanned the mid-century era such as Charles and Ray Eames, Le Corbusier (1929), George Nelson(1949), and Marcel Breuer (1939) were producing their seminal work.
On this site, you can expect to see products, tips, articles, reviews and current information on a wide range of products inspired by the influences of the decades often arguably and loosely referred to as the mid-century era; also of the last decade, from the 1970s through to the 1990s. You will often see some of the familiar and memorable if you were born of those times, and even if you weren’t, you can join in the fun and I hope appreciate the experience.
The decades covered brought in a great diversity of vision and tastes. Some of these created fads which probably justly were left along the way, others have endured effortlessly striding one era to the other – there has been a post modernism movement with more emphasis on minimalism – to stand as inspiration for preservation, reproduction and new design. Why so? Probably it’s the appeal of a lifestyle reflected in them, and the way they can be a sign of belonging to one’s own way of life.
Retro as a concept is back in style if indeed it ever went away. I do hope you will find something that interests here.
Best,
Mike
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