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They say April Showers Bring May Flowers but what about snow? That's what we're getting for April! Last I heard flowers need sunlight, of which we've had NONE around these parts. Someday spring, someday.... Hopefully it's much more spring-like in your neck-of-the-woods.
(On another note, look at the waist on that lady! Holy, moly!)
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Website Redo
We're still furiously working on our website redesign for you. Our absolutely fabulous designer, Liz Teresa, is hard at work making our website look fresh and new along with being easy to navigate. We can't wait to share it with you!
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Sending Out Samples
We're trying furiously to keep up with sample orders of our newest product, SparkleLam. The local post-office knows us now! (Still not sure if we should be proud of that.) Shown here is our CNC router cutting out our hang-tag samples to be shipped.
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Upcoming Events
Even though we'd like to be everywhere, all the time, we couldn't quite arrange our schedules to be at the 2018 Washington Modernism Show, but we will be represented by our lovely rack cards. Be sure and grab one if you are attending!
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Looking for some good reads for the summer? Look no further than a few of the books that we've highlighted in our social media as of late.
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The Power of Pattern
One of the newest books in our library, The Power of Pattern is published by the Palm Springs Preservation Foundation and is all about concrete screen blocks (AKA breeze blocks or Florida blocks). The book itself is fascinating, but the last section is amazing and contains a comprehensive listing of all of the different styles and names for the patterns. Love this book! Buy it here. |
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Vegas Gold
One of the books on our wish list is this new tome all about the Entertainment Capital of the World - Las Vegas written by David Wills. Filled with beautiful photographs of Las Vegas from 1950-1980, this book is a must-have for any Vegas-aficionado. Buy the book here.
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Motel California
I've had a running joke forever that for me camping is staying in a motel instead of a hotel. But some of these beauties are a far cry from camping! Written by Heather David, this book will remind you of the time before chain hotels. Buy the book here. |
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Designed for Hi-Fi Living
This is a book that we own and we LOVE. It will make you want to collect some of the wacky vinyl highlighted in the book. It made us seek out and buy this album! Written by Janet Borgerson and published by the MIT Press, this book is a gem. Buy it here. |
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Addicted to Americana
Here's another book for our must-have list - Charles Phoenix' Addicted to Americana. This book looks insane - you might need to take a nap (or take some Excedrin) after looking at it for too long. (But that's kind of why we really want this book). The only complaint by readers is that Charles' smiling face is on every other page, but we could deal with that. Buy it here. |
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The Moderns
Quite the opposite of the last book, The Moderns is much more high-brow. The book highlights the lives and careers of many famous mid-century graphic designers and includes amazing reproductions of some of their work. It even includes many designers you might never have heard of but should have. This is on our next-to-buy list. You can buy it here. |
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Mid-Century vs. Mid-Century Modern - What's the Diff?
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We just recently had this conversation with a friend of ours - and also had to online shame an organization who should have known better. Many people use the terms "mid-century" and "mid-century modern" interchangeably. We use both terms, but we try to use them for to describe very specific things.
Think back to your basic geometry class and the old saying, "A square is a rectangle, but a rectangle is not always a square." Similarly, mid-century modern is always mid-century, but mid-century is not always modern. Confused yet? Let us explain.
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The house above is mid-century modern. It has none of the "old" characteristics of a house such as a peaked roof or punched windows. This house has style - and it also has many of the hallmarks of mid-century modern: substantial glass, angled lines, flat or asymmetrical roof, modern materials. This house may also have been designed by an architect instead of a builder.
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You would probably also consider this home mid-century modern. Again with similar hallmarks as the last - the asymmetrical roof, the large picture window and the unusual (stacked concrete block) materials.
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This house is decidedly not mid-century modern. But it is a mid-century home. Not all houses built in the middle part of the 20th century were modern. Many houses were very classical looking. Some even were revivals of past architectural styles like Colonial revival. But they are still mid-century homes because they were built in the mid-century era.
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Many mid-century houses are very classic looking buildings but have small nods to the modern style. Here, the addtion of an assymetrical trellis on the front of the house gives a tiny little modern touch.
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This house again has very classic styling with the gable roof but has some modern additions of a corner picture window and the flat-roofed carport.
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At first glance, this house straddles the boundary between mid-century and mid-century modern. Quite often we think of mid-century modern houses as being large and sprawling, but this is a modest-sized house. Many of the modern stylings are there with the horizontal stonework, asymmetrical trellis, and flat roofs. However, if you look carefully, the main house itself is mid-century, not mid-century modern. The modern bits have been added only to the facade to dress up the house.
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Which house type is better? Define better. The mid-century house is more ubiquitous because it encompasses all styles from the era. A mid-century house may have traces of the modern styling or it may be a complete throw-back to another time period or style, but it doesn't make it any better or any worse, still worthy of love and attention.
Here at Make it Mid-Century we aren't mid-century snobs. Our products support the range of mid-century house types. We personally live in a mid-century home - with some modern touches. Not high style, but we love it none-the-less.
Tell us about your house. Is it mid-century or mid-century modern? What attracted you to your house? What it your favorite feature? We'd love to hear more about how our customers live, and we may feature you in an upcoming newsletter.
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That's all for this month! We're wishing you and yours some beautiful spring weather and some time to finally get outside and enjoy it after a long, dark winter. Do keep in touch - we love to hear from you and hear what you're up to.
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